All good things must come to an end

It is my last night in Florence and I am rather sad to be leaving. Italy has been a dream come true and I do hope to come back someday. On Friday I went on a solo trip to Venice and I was lost the entire time. I don't know if you've ever been someplace and not known exactly where you are for the entire trip, but that was definitely how I felt.

Rick Steves is the man when it comes to trip planning, so I went off of what he said. Claire has his Italy book, so I read up on what he suggested to do in Venice. So, I stepped off the train, had an eventful/slightly stressful time buying a ticket to come back (oh that darn language barrier), and then gawked at the beautiful scenery. It was just like in the pictures, except 3-D and 100 times more detailed! I took the local water transportation, as advised by Rick Steves, to the farthest stop available. The plan was, get from point A to point B via water, and then find my way back within 5.5 hours on foot. Sounds pretty easy, but if you've ever walked those streets you know that there is no sense of direction, lost tourists everywhere, and the temptation to stop and stare at every corner. Since I spent money to make the journey from Florence to Venice, I vowed not to pay anything (other than the water bus fare) while I was there. Sounds like a piece of cake, but not in a tourist town. All the main churches and museums cost anywhere from 6-10 euro, so I wandered outside to find my own entertainment. Each building is ornamented with beautiful coloring, sculptures, or architectural works, so it really was not hard to discover the natural amusement.
I sauntered through Venice and stopped in random churches and little poorly marked museums (that were free of course), crossed all three bridges, asked for help twice, took around 200 pictures, and sat on a red broken bench in front of a church to write in my journal for a short walking break. I did find my way back and had about an hour to spare so I walked across a bridge and strolled around the streets for a little longer. Going on adventures alone is a little scary, but I thoroughly enjoy being slightly lost without anyone to talk to but my maker. We have some great conversations when I'm alone and I really do love being able to process my thoughts and what I observe in other people and the pieces of culture I pick up. God has truly blessed me and I can't wait to find out what else He has in store.