venezia, italy

i have procrastinated for too long! time to write these small snippets of what i can remember, before i completely forget what happened in italy and waste my europe trip. it has only been about a month, already italy feels like another lifetime away.

we started off on an evening train from amsterdam to charleroi in belgium. for the first part, the netherlands train was excellent; then we changed to a run-down dilapidated cabin with open windows in belgium. as it got later and later at night, the cabins became empty and it was slightly creepy; the belgium train stops became more and more remote, with graffiti, dim streetlamps, dodgy characters. kenneth and jaclyn fell promptly asleep but jialing and i kept exchanging nervous looks for an hour. i kept thinking "oh my god i don't want to die in a freezing train here" and imagined bloody murder scenes.

at charleroi we were relieved to see numerous other passengers appear from other cabins (why had they looked so empty?) and took a taxi ride to the airport. this was a favourite moment, huddling in the taxi warmth, with huge empty dark skies overhead glittering with stars; and the driver sensibly played very lovely and soothing jazz while rolling down the roads. the charleroi airport was very small but very clean and modern, and we spent a night sleeping uncomfortably on the freezing marble floors.

our ryanair (budget) flight next morning was uneventful. it was a tiny plane, but the pilot was skillful and it was so cute when all the passengers clapped and cheered upon arrival in venice. venice! or venezia, floating city of water-canals.

venezia was my least favourite italian city. perhaps it was the place we spent the shortest time in, or maybe i was inexperienced and jetlagged; but i still look back and love the other italian cities a lot more. we made a vital mistake upon arrival: we did not realise bus-tickets could be purchased only from the central station or the tobacco shop. we also did not realise that the tobacco shop would be closed for their regular afternoon siesta. so after we checked into our (rather-smelly) apartment and dumped our bags, there we were, stranded at the busstop with no ticket and nowhere to go. at first we tried talking to some italians at the busstop but they were very unfriendly; attempts to ask bus drivers for help were also met with glances of disdain and "no no no! no ticket". finally we cheated and boarded a bus without any ticket, hearts pounding furiously; but we were not discovered and arrived safely at the venezia tourist island.

unfriendly locals aside, venezia is without a doubt drop-dead gorgeous. bridges, canals with blue-green waves, old trees, narrow alleyways, cobbled streets, red-yellow buildings and fountains. the piazza san marco in particular was absolutely magnificent! it was a huge square with an immense church, clocktower, two towering pillars in the distance, and elaborate columns all round. there was almost too much to take in at once, like being attacked by grandeur from all four sides.

beautiful as it was, it also felt very touristy and gimmicky. there were swarms of tourists roaming everywhere, decked out in sundresses, shorts and cliche tourist hat. amongst the old buildings, there were gigantic louis-vuittons and chanels, in full glasshouse glory. and just further down any street you would see numerous little stalls, slightly tacky, with all sorts of souvenirs such as shotglasses, masks, figurines, you guessed it... all made in china.

and ah! there were numerous shops selling the famous venetian masks, each with their own "certificate of authenticity". some were huge and delicious, with ruffled feathers and lavish designs, but were all too expensive for my limited budget.

unfortunately, we didn't get to ride the famous gondola. the prices were insanely exorbitant, about 90 euros for an hour's ride! we even found the 6 euros for the bumboat expensive, instead we walked our legs to exhaustion from one end of the island to the other. actually, everything on venezia island is expensive, including food, drinks, souvenirs, alcohol. the only free thing was the ice-cold water gushing out of fountains! which they have everywhere in italy.

so yes, this was venezia completed in a day. i think it is one of those places perfect if you want to do a touristy thing and look at ornate buildings and mix with other tourists; for me, having been there once, i would not go back again. it felt too artificial, i don't think any locals (or very few) actually live on the island itself. a little like a theme-park, very beautiful and historical, but just a park nonetheless.