The Floating City of Romance

I travelled to Venice by TrainESitalia AV 9406 from Florence on 12 November 2010 with 3 girlfriends.  We got off at St. Lucia Railway Station and as we exited the station, sea water, the jetty and water taxis were right before us, only separated by a broad flight of stairs & a walkway.  On that day, the weather was gloomy but kind, and the temperature was low in the open air, making that a total contrast to the warmth inside the train.  Mist covered my view of the city.  Nonetheless, Venice was still beautiful to my eyes.  I quietly told myself... 'I have finally come to Venice, Italy



I froze for a while on my way down the stairs.  My vision was still focussed on what looked like a dream world with the mist playing dreamy effects.  'Wow....  this is simply amazing'.  The water was thick and greyish green.  Some water taxis were seen rocking upon docking, some sailing steadily behind one another despite the water being shaken by nearby speeding motorboats.  And there they were...... the famous looking boatmen, the people whom to the world, looked almost always dressed in striped white and black long sleeved blouse neatly tucked in long black pants matched with a straw woven fedora hat, the same people whose job was to navigate the gondolas by standing at the famous spot, the edge of the gondola.
and the gracefulness in the way they controlled their taxis could easily imply their experience on the job.  And the walkway....  it was filled with so many people, each dashing across in different directions as though fighting against time.  Oh yes... shouldn't they be?



 That quickly reminded me that I was standing right in front of a popular entry and exit point of Venice.  Those people in hurry mood were most likely on their way to catch the train out of Venice, to more solid grounds.  In my opinion, everyone of them was a tourist just like me. 

The sudden feel of the awful weight on my back knocked all lovely realities aside.  No, it wasn't sudden.  The weight of my backpack had been following me the whole time since I got off the train.It's just that the beautiful sight of Venice had successfully won my attention over everything else.  I was mentally drifted away, like on a spell.  And soulfully mesmerized.

Offload.  Offload!  That was what first came to mind when pain started to strike.  My weary shoulders deserved a break, I decided.  We searched for Hotel Rossi.  From the written directions, it shouldn't be very far away from the train station.  All that was required was to take 2 lefts by foot to a lane called Lista di Spagna.  That sounded very near.  And sure it was!  But the impedimenta was wicked enough to make the journey feel longer than supposed.
The walk to Hotel Rossi had me smacking the mist all the way.  It was cold out there

from - http://www.travbuddy.com/travel-blogs/84825/Floating-City-Romance-Venezia-1