Day 4: Goodbye Rome, Hello Venice!

As much as we'll miss Rome, there was no doubt in our minds that we werent going to simply adore Venice. We had done our reading and educating and were ready to board the 6 hour train ride to our new apartment in V-Town.

The train ride wasnt as bad as we first had thought it was going to be. The seats folded down into beds, which provided some extra sleep hours everyone needed. During the ride, though, I found out some very shocking news: Did you know Venice beach is in CALIFORNIA?! I had no idea! Who names a beach in California after a city in Italy? So when I asked my parents when we would be visiting Venice Beach, I got some very confused expressions for a while, then was laughed at for quite a while. Apparently I have a lot to learn still. I also found out that the bathrooms dont store the waste, so when you use the restroom everything is dumped onto the train tracks. After realizing this, my mom soon nick named our train "The Poo Poo Train." (Get it? It rhymes with chu chu)

After we departed our train, we walked out of the train station and saw our first glimpse of Venice. For a second, we stood there in shock. It was the most beautiful thing any of us have ever seen. The streets were paved with, not gold, but water. There was not one car is sight. To go where you needed to go, you went by boat. Everything was water, except for the narrow pieces of sidewalk between buildings. It was nothing any of us have seen before.

Our apartment is nice, the locals are sweet and welcoming, and so far the food is better then what we had in Rome. Although we had a wonderful time sight seeing in Rome, the streets are far more crowded and its way more stressful to get to where you needed to be. Some how, Venice had a more relaxed vibe. Less people, no car or motorcycle traffic to try to work around, and in my opinion, a lot more fun to look at. We have to admit though, there is a lot more to do in Rome then Venice.

After settling in, going out for dinner and gelato, we're ready for another good nights rest so we can explore the water streets of Venice tomorrow.