Today we said goodbye to Venice. It was a good thing and a bad thing to have to say the goodbye. I had a lovely time there, but it was very very crowded and also freezing cold! It was also very easy to get lost there so we spent a fair amount of time wandering around not having a clue where we were. We had to clear out of our hotel (after breakfast, of course, you take it when you can get it) by 11am anyway, so we got our things packed up and walked over to San Marco to catch a boat back to Piazzele Roma, where our car was parked in the garage. Having been on a few boats yesterday, I kind of managed to figure out which boats went in which direction, so instead of Adam waiting in line for his ticket, we caught a boat headed in the right direction that was already at the dock (and they don't wait for you - you have to catch it just in time!) and he bought his ticket on the boat.
Back to Piazzele Roma and we got back to the parking garage. 60 Euro later (2 days of parking) and we were out of the garage and on our way to our final Italy location - Como. We read in the Rick Steves book that there was a hostel there in the cute little town of Como, so we called last night and found out they had tons of space. We wanted to drive there, check it out, and then make our decision. I was pretty excited to stay in a hostel for a change - for the price and also the environment. The drive took us through Verona and Milan, but we ended up stopping just at a restaurant at a rest station like thing. It was a gas station and a restaurant all in one. It was a good break, and we needed to kill some time anyway because the hostel didn't open for check in until 4pm anyways. By the time we arrived in Como it was about 3:15, so we parked in a lot right near the Lake, and walked around a little bit checking out the scenery. It was gorgeous!!! It reminded me of Lake George, not because it really looked like Lake George but just because it was what was most in my head that it could look like. We spoted an airport on the lake, some docks, huge homes, and surrounding hills. We tried to kill as much time as possible until just after 4pm when we returned to the car to drive back to the hostel, pulled into the parking lot, and went to the lobby. When I had called yesterday to inquire about the rooms, the woman spoke very good English, and explained that there were no private rooms, so for 2 people (1 male, 1 female), we'd have to split up and each stay in our assigned dorm - one for males and one for females. No problem for us. She let us see the rooms before deciding, and they were both pretty empty of people. It was very promising, so we paid up and checked in. We took her advice on taking a gondola ride up to the top of the mountain facing the hostel, because it offered great views of the town, the lake, and the upcoming sunset. We hopped back in the car and drove around the downtown area of Como (there were no through streets) and started wandering around for parking. We got lost a few times, ended up on a street that dead ended and Adam had to back up the car, almost hitting the back corner into a wall. It was kind of scary! We passed the main parking lot a few times, but there were no spots. So we took another big circle around the area by the bus station, in hopes of some spot opening up somewhere.
We turned back around, heading for the same parking lot, and I spotted 1 parking space in the lot. We got it! We paid for our parking at the little machine, threw the ticket on the dashboard, and stopped for a brief moment to capture the beautiful sunset over the Lake. Then we dashed into the building to catch the gondola. It was right there, so we were about to put our tickets into the machine to gain entry to it, and the doors shut! Man, just when we wanted to see the sunset over the lake, we missed it. If we hadn't gotten stuck on that tiny little street and had to turn around, or had left from the hostel a few minutes earlier, or lucked out with parking, maybe we could have made it! But we decided to get into the next gondola anyways because the sky must have been turning beautiful colors anyway.
A few minutes went by while we snapped some photos on the lake, and we certainly didn't want to miss the next one up to the top, so we gained entry to the gondola with our tickets, and took our seats. A few more people boarded as well, and the gondola took off. What we failed to realize in our haste of getting to the gondola in time to make the sunset, was that, the higher we climbed, the more sun we could see again. We didn't miss the sunset after all. In fact, we had a beautiful view of the sunset from the gondola, and even prettier views from the top of the mountain.
We spent about a half an hour at the top, taking photos from some panoramic viewpoints, and watching the sky turn orange, red, pink, and yellow. The lake and the trees caught the colors of the sun as it went down. I just hope my camera capture the colors as well as seeing it through my own eyes. I have discovered that I really enjoy taking photos but my camera is not exactly professional photography quality. I might invest in a really nice camera to use for scenery and travels in my future.
We caught the gondola back down to the bottom of the mountain and got in the car to go back to the hostel. We had about an hour to kill before dinner so naturally, we spent our time in the hostel lobby on the internet, checking email, sports scores, and talking with people from home. I skyped with my dad (mom wasn't home), and talked to a bunch of people on g-chat, while starting to eat dinner. The servers at the hostel were so attentive and sweet; we had a lovely homecooked meal, including bread, salad, a drink of choice, a huge bowl of pasta (perhaps the best I've had since being in Italy) and for me, a vegetarian dish specially made for me - an omelette! Adam's meat meal was veal, so it was a very good thing I told them I was a vegetarian. Actually, it was a good thing that when we checked in, the dinner menu had a sign that said vegetarian option available for dinner if requested. The dinner was lovely!
We booked our hotel for Paris, our last one of our trip, and decided that the night was really coming to a close. I still had to shower, and then I could go to sleep. Adam and I split up, went to our respective rooms, and I took out my towel and toiletries. I pulled out my pajamas and left them in the bathroom on a stool outside the shower stall, for quick access. I was a little worried about the cold, so I made sure the heater in the bathroom was on, and waited a while for the water in the shower to get hot. Once it was warm enough, I jumped in for a nice relaxing shower - so needed! Unfortunately, a few minutes into the shower, the lights went out - POOF! Just like that. I thought that maybe the lights were motion sensitive, so I stuck my arm out from the shower curtain and waved it around in hopes of the light coming back on. I even tried the light switch on the side of my shower, since each stall had its own light. Nothing was working. I couldn't hear the heater blowing air anymore, so I thought there might have been a power failure. I started panicking a little bit that the hot water might run out while I was in there - yikes! I decided to do a super fast shower and just get out of there so I could see the light again. I grabbed my towel to dry off and attempt to warm up, and of course, the lights came right back on. I was so frustrated, AND so cold, that I just wanted to put my clothes on and head to bed. I'll just need a really good full nice long hot shower tomorrow night when we arrive in Strasbourg, to make up for this lack of a good shower.
Turning off the phone tonight to save some of the battery, in hopes of not oversleeping and missing breakfast in the morning!
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