Day 10 & 11 - Venice

At 5:45am we woke up to walk down to the Bus, which takes you to Oulx Train Station. Our hotel is right at the top of Sestriere, and we don't think the residence were prepared for the loud noises of bags rolling through their streets so early in the morning. Especially considering their Ski season had ended on Sunday, and everyone and everything looked like it was winding down or closing until Dec. Sestriere's hibernation definitely got off to a rough start when we left.

Anyway, we made it onto the 7am Sestriere School Bus (feeling rather old but leaving with no ski injuries), and then caught the train from Oulx to Torino. From there, we bought a train ticket to Venice. The train ticket to Venice is 56 Euro's each - but it's a 4 hour journey and the train is the best we've been on yet. While it doesn't have recliner chairs with Super Sport (Bruce's expectation for this train ticket price), it is however immaculate and goes over 300km's/ph.

We arrived in the city of love / Gelato ice cream, in the late afternoon. We aren't staying in Venice as prices for accommodation in central Venice are very pricey, for what you get. So, we are staying in 'Mestre' - in a great hotel with breakfast included, a grocery store (called PAM) next-door, and a bus right outside our doorstep. The bus takes you right into Venice in under 10minutes, and runs throughout the day and night. We took an evening stroll around Venice to Saint Marco square, which is absolutely beautiful. Right on the Grand Canal you have a picturesque view of cathedrals, gondolas and boats, and people gathered eating ice cream or pasta/ pizza with a glass of wine.

The one thing about Venice, however, is that while its an amazing experience walking alongside canals and over bridges through Italian alleyways; it can be a bit of a maze and you can end up walking over 10 km's without even realizing it. Yet, the walking makes up for the copious amounts of gelato ice cream, and the huge pizza slices for takeaways. While the food is definitely priced for the tourists, we found a great sidewalk cafe with an amazing deal: 5 euro's for 1 huge pizza slice, 1 drink / beer AND 2 scoops of ice cream! Apart from walking around Venice to get a feel for the different squares, bridges, museums and cathedrals - you can get around on a Water Bus or catch a ride on a gondola.

We definitely going to sleep well tonight!

Goodbye Venice.
NEXT STOP: Napoli, the home of pizza.