威尼斯; San Marco #2

Hello there everybody! 

How's 2014 treating y'all so far? I've been studying yet I still feel that I'm not ready for the upcoming exams. I have sleeping problem recently, I don't think it's as severe as insomnia though. I hope it's just a temporary thing. Moving on to the first morning in Venice!

San Marco welcomed us with a warm sunny day the next morning. It was really lovely, not too cold and there were no strong winds that will blow us away. Perfect day to explore. We headed to Piazza San Marco, also known as St. Mark's square where the St Mark's Campanile, the bell tower is located. 

We decided to go up to the tower, it costed us €8 each. We had to queue for a while as the only way to get up there is by taking the lift. There was only one lift operating and it was quite small. It took us some time to reach the top. Awkward silence and eye contacts all the way. HAHA. I have to admit, it was quite pricey but it's really worth it. The view was absolutely breathtaking. 

It was really hard to take pictures because there were quite a number of tourists at the top and the glaring sun is not cooperating at all. So selfie it is ;

I just love this picture. The gondolas, ocean & sunshine <3

There is a story behind this picture.

Yes, Venice is known for their carnival masks & costumes like this, but that's not it. This lady here was really sneaky. You know the moment you get over excited when you see really amazing stuff and just ran towards it? That was what happened to us. Okay, not us. Me. My cousin warned me while I was running towards her. I smiled at her like a stupid little girl as she pulled my hand and ordered my cousin to snap a picture. 

After both of us got our pictures, she asked €5 from us. Please, it's our choice to give how much we want. I mean, it goes like this all the time. You see that white gloved hand holding onto mine? Yes, she held it so tight so I couldn't run away. Great move. We could've at least do crazy poses around her or play with her hat if we knew that it would cost us €5. Okay, maybe it's partly my fault but it's okay. We got our revenge the next day. HAHA.

Just me hangin' around with a street light ; 

It was a really long walk. We've arrived at the other end of San Marco by noon. We were looking for a good restaurant that have cheap and good foods. To be honest, in San Marco in general, it's really hard to find such restaurants. I did spend more money on foods instead of souvenirs for myself throughout this trip. What am I saying, I've always spend more on foods. We've decided on this restaurant cause they serve lobster spaghetti. 

Oh yes! It's located right beside the ocean. It's not directly beside, otherwise I would've fallen into the ocean by accident. The service again, was absolutely shocking. I'm not sure if it's cause the locals have not seen Asians before or they are just that friendly. We were treated as if we were aliens from outer space. They kissed on our cheeks after we were escorted to our table. Not this once. After we order, when they serve our foods, also when we were eating. One of the waiters even offered me a free shoulder massage when we were eating. I know we should feel very uncomfortable about this but you don't get treated like this all the time. We just went along but being really cautious at the same time.

Prawn cocktails ;

Squid ink spaghetti ;

Lobster spaghetti ;

These were absolutely divine, especially the lobster spaghetti. I am absolutely in love with it. We made a big mistake by ordering prawn cocktails once again. It's not that they are not tasty, it's because they taste exactly the same in every restaurants. We could've ordered other starters instead. Despite being treated like rare pretty Asian girls around the restaurant, I ate the lobster like a monster. Yes, I used my bare hands to rip off the shells, fed my cousin with my hands and sucked the juices & lobster sauce off my fingers. Anyhow, that was one of the most worthy meals we've had. 

After our lunch, we continued walking down San Marco and arrived at Arsenale di Venezia unexpectedly. Arsenale di Venezia is another area, which is located right beside San Marco. My hair was not in a good mood that day, so there were not many pictures of me.

Here's the main gate of Arsenal, Porta Magna. 

Random Fact: We saw a DHL motor boat at Arsenal doing deliveries. 

After snapping countless amount of pictures in Arsenal, we walked back to San Marco. 

Me being me, I told my cousin that I was hungry even after our filling meal previously. We settled down in a random café in San Marco, to have Cappuccino and Tiramisu. We made sure that it was quite hidden so that it was not pricey. Yes, it was a budgeted trip.

We wanted to get some souvenirs so we walked to the other end of San Marco, where we first stepped into San Marco from the airport. We went there cause we spotted a few set-up stalls selling souvenirs at that area that time. I ended up not getting as many as my cousin did though. The sun was setting by that time and again, the view was gorgeous. Dinner was very simple. Why? As I've said before, this was a budgeted trip.

Have a great weekend everybody!

zhi wei x