2 days on the road and I've already broken a couple travel rules and likely run up a mad data roaming bill!
I was 2 blocks away from my apartment and already realized I'd probably packed too much. Just becuase your bag isn't stuffed to the brim doesn't mean you should start putting extras in, aside from the sundress for Venice of course, that has served me well strolling the sunny canals. My over-packing was confirmed once reaching Venice itself, I always say there's a reason you backpack through Europe and that goes doubly so for Venice. The sheer number of steps you have to go up and down to navigate the bridges will drive you insane if you're dragging even a wheeled sports duffel like mine.
It took me a day to get used to the difference in street widths, here if you stand in a street, stretch your arms out to either side and your fingers don't the buildings...you're on a major street! Today I sought out the narrowest alley in Venice, which is part of Calle Varisco and it is two feet wide! If you're a bit bigger than me you might have to turn sideways to get down the street. I'm also amused that one wrong turn leads you to water, no gates, poles, or any other object or markings, you just land right in the canal. Or that a seeming normal-sized bridge will lead solely to someone's front door.
My other no-no is buying difficult to transport souvenirs, arguably I break this rule pretty often since I like to collect shot glasses in my travels... I only wish I'd stopped there with the Murano glass (don't worry, it's just a delicate-shaped figurine, I haven't bought a vase or anything)
As for the roaming bill, well when you're sleep-deprived, jet-lagged, and have to make 24 turns during a 12 min walk to your hotel while navigating bridges with your heavy bag... you turn on your GPS and google maps pretty damned fast! Get lost a couple more times while gerting acquainted with the city and suddenly that's a lot of data you've just used :(
Those are just the stumbles though, I'll cover the highlights after I visit the Doge's Palace and St Mark's tomorrow. In the meantime go find yourself some ameretto gelato! Trust ;)
I was 2 blocks away from my apartment and already realized I'd probably packed too much. Just becuase your bag isn't stuffed to the brim doesn't mean you should start putting extras in, aside from the sundress for Venice of course, that has served me well strolling the sunny canals. My over-packing was confirmed once reaching Venice itself, I always say there's a reason you backpack through Europe and that goes doubly so for Venice. The sheer number of steps you have to go up and down to navigate the bridges will drive you insane if you're dragging even a wheeled sports duffel like mine.
It took me a day to get used to the difference in street widths, here if you stand in a street, stretch your arms out to either side and your fingers don't the buildings...you're on a major street! Today I sought out the narrowest alley in Venice, which is part of Calle Varisco and it is two feet wide! If you're a bit bigger than me you might have to turn sideways to get down the street. I'm also amused that one wrong turn leads you to water, no gates, poles, or any other object or markings, you just land right in the canal. Or that a seeming normal-sized bridge will lead solely to someone's front door.
My other no-no is buying difficult to transport souvenirs, arguably I break this rule pretty often since I like to collect shot glasses in my travels... I only wish I'd stopped there with the Murano glass (don't worry, it's just a delicate-shaped figurine, I haven't bought a vase or anything)
As for the roaming bill, well when you're sleep-deprived, jet-lagged, and have to make 24 turns during a 12 min walk to your hotel while navigating bridges with your heavy bag... you turn on your GPS and google maps pretty damned fast! Get lost a couple more times while gerting acquainted with the city and suddenly that's a lot of data you've just used :(
Those are just the stumbles though, I'll cover the highlights after I visit the Doge's Palace and St Mark's tomorrow. In the meantime go find yourself some ameretto gelato! Trust ;)
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