After an 8 hour bus ride overnight, we then took a boat to the island of Venice. Our group had planned to meet in the city center, but the minute we stepped off the boat all the familiar faces quickly vanished into the crowd. There were SO many people! Jason and I walked around for a few minutes trying to find the group, but that was unsuccessful. Instead, we were being attacked by pigeons. We were surrounded by them - I swear there might have been more pigeons in Piazza San Marco (Saint Mark's Square) than tourists - so we decided to partake in the pigeon infestation by feeding them. The euro I spent on pigeon food was the best use of my money the entire trip. A handful of food would instantly direct hundreds of pigeons your way. It was hilarious. I later found out that it's a 500 euro fine if you feed them... no wonder they passed that new law. We then ran into some guys from the group and continuted walking the crowded streets. We abandoned our map from the beginning because we could tell it was going to be useless. Venice is an ancient city built on 117 small islands, and the only way around town is on the 150 canals or on foot. Instead, we thought we would take our luck by walking down random alleys and across canals to see what we would come to. The atmosphere seemed so surreal. The locals dressed up in beautiful, Venetian costumes for the carnival, and most were more than happy to pose for a picture. Others, like the man painted in white in my photos, was obviously just interested in the coin collection in front of him because he got angry if you took a photo without adding to it. First stop- lunch at an Italian restaurant outside of the tourist district. The pizza was some of the best I've ever had, and the $7 euro Coca-Cola probably should have been, too, considering the price I paid for it. I had been warned that Venice was expensive, but was not prepared when I saw that bill. I would have returned the Cola if I could have!! Haha. Most restaurants, on top of charging a sitting fee, would charge for the basket of bread on the table if you gave into the temptation. We then went to the gelateria, which I have been craving for years!! That was another highlight of my trip. It was hell crossing the Rialto Bridge, which overlooks the Grand Canal. People were trying to walk in all different directions, while others were at a standstill in the middle of the bridge. We finally made it to the best spot to take pictures from, and then worked out way down the other side. The next hour or so was spent walking through the residential area, and it was so nice to finally find a few deserted streets. The sun started to set so we went back to Piazza San Marco where there was music, dancing and food. There we had our second round of pizza. With plenty of time, we headed towards the dock to catch a boat back to the bus. This was much more difficult than it should have been. I don't know if it was the language barrier or just bad directions, but we blame it on the employee at the counter for making us miss the 8:30 boat. The next one left at 9:15, and by the time we made it back to the other side we were having to sprint to the bus. One minute later, and our only option back to Austria would have been the train! But I didn't have my train card, and Jason didn't have his passport, so thank God we made it!

I have decided I want to get married on a gondola. Seriously.