We arrived In Venice after changing trains three times. We’ve learned that we don’t have to pay any additional money with the eurail pass if we take regional trains only. Unfortunately that may mean a longer train ride but we don’t mind. We left the train station and took bus 15 to camp jolly, part of the plus hostels (thank you mom for telling us about it). On our way there we walked under a tunnel filled with graffiti, or art, depending on how you look at it. A lot of Italy is covered in graffiti, I would think that they would like to preserve the beauty but maybe they want some modern touches? 🙂

We arrived at camp jolly and immediately see a gondola stationed in the entry way. The camp was like most of the other plus hostels but the pool was lovely and the restrooms had a modern feel to them.

Although we arrived later in the day and without a reservation the camp had room for us. It was 9.90 euro per person for a three bed tent. When we get to our door we hear music being played on the bench near our tent. Sitting there were two people that we would spend talking the night away until the early morning hours. Their names: Erica, from NY and her boyfriend Fergus from Scotland. The two of them are cycling across Europe with their end destination being Turkey. That’s pretty incredible. They too have a blog: thepilgrimschoice.wordpress.com.

As we all sat there drinking our rum and having a good time another traveller came to sit with us, his name: Ayoib. Ayoib was from Saudi Arabia and just finished getting his masters at Edinburgh.

The next day we had arranged to go into the city. Again, we took advantage of the bus system. The train stop was just one away from where we were staying. Venice has absolutely no cars, there are a ton of bridges to walk over or you can take a water taxi or gondola ride. The gondola ride was about 80 euros. The streets of Venice were crowded and you can easily get lost. The streets almost always look the same, one right turn, becomes another and before you know it your an hour away from where you started. If you have time it’s a great city to explore. In almost every window you can find artwork made of glass and masquerade ball gowns and masks. And if your lucky you can catch people dressed up for some social event. There’s lots of energy in this city.

Tid bit for the day: Always look at the app prices for hostels and compare it to what the hostels advertise. Often times you’ll find that the app proves are cheaper.