Yesterday morning (Tuesday) I said goodbye to Everardo, who has been just the most wonderful host to me. Constantly checking up on me to make sure I'm okay, cooking for me, even though he insists its not good, etc. It's so sad to say goodbye, always.
He even made me a lunch for the train so I didn't have to buy any food there. What a guy...
So yeah. I took a train to Bologne, and then got a transfer over to Venice. Now, you have to understand, Venice is a city- nay. THE city in Europe- that I have been waiting for so so so many years to visit so just to be here is amazing. Well... Sometimes...
When I got to the train station, Marco, who is hosting me as a couchsurfer, met me and brought me back to his house to talk about his experience. He's hosted over 1000 surfers over the course of the past 10 years. The reason he is so popular is because he gives back to the CS community by teaching Judo to the surfers, so he always tries to host more than one person, which didn't happen with me. The other guy that was supposed to be here didn't show, so he couldn't teach me any wrestling... Which is a shame.
We visited a beach, but the only way to get there was on a "water bus," basically a boat that acts as a transfer system. The beach was so amazingly beautiful with some amazing gradients at sunset:
The sand was warm and beautiful and soft and I fell asleep for a bit. But I really enjoyed the sunset. It was great. 
Sorry this might be a long post because that was just Tuesday. Wednesday was, by far, the superior day:
So when I got into town this morning, I knew that this is where I was meant to be, out of all of Europe, Venice will be my favorite. (subject to change.) So I started off in the center of the city at the bus station, and went over this really big bridge.
Now, I can't go in order here, because of all the churches I went into, so I'm not sure of any of the names. More on that later.
Okay so I went in a couple churches, then continued around the city, through the backroads, the alleyways, the less touristy parts, you know?
The pictures tell more of the story, so there will be a lot here.
I got a really good croissant with lemon custard filling, and I think some fell on my show without me noticing. I got a really good Strawberry Pomegranate Cherry smoothie which was delicious and refreshing on such a hot day.
On the way around this city, I was heading to another major church, which ended up being super amazing. But on the way, I had to pass through some extremely beautiful gardens. It's nice because at this point, it's far enough away from the city center that the tourists never go there, so you get a better feel of what the city is like. But I misread the map and ended up walking a mile more than I should have...
One of the main attractions of my walk today was the Santa Maria Della Salute (Saint Mary of the Health). It was so beautiful.
The reason I spent so much time in all the cathedrals was because I find each one so exquisitely beautiful and unique, each like a fingerprint in the amazing city of Venice. The peace and quiet inside of each one was moving and lovely. I could go into it more, but that's getting too personal for me. At least for the Internet.
I finally got to go to my Italian Restaurant tonight for dinner, so I finally got to listen to Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, by Billy Joel. I mean, since I heard the song and fell in love with it, I've been waiting to listen to the song in an Italian Restaurant.
I had lasagne, which was delicious and hot and flavorful, but nothing like home... Sorry Italy. You got nothing on Mom's cooking.
I had some salad too and some fresh fruit. And they use the term "fresh" loosely. The pear I had was okay, but the peach they gave me (yes, my family. I actually ate a peach!!) was so unripe and firm, it was practically an apple in all ways except taste...
Wow I've had such a good today. It was just purely wonderful and amazing and I'm so sad to leave so soon, but tomorrow, I get to travel to Trieste, and meet up with Margarita again, who was an Italian exchange student at our school two years ago. I'm very excited about that!
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