Come to Venice they say!

Everyone showed up safely and almost on time. After gathering up in Jess' apartment, we headed out for Venice. The trip started at the Rome train station, Termini.

There we boarded our train to Venice. It was a 4:30 train ride, broken neatly into two parts. One 4:20 minute train ride and one 10 minute train ride. We passed the time with great conversation, A River Runs Through It, cards, and some sandwiches we picked up on the way to the train station.

First Subway sandwiches we've had in a looooooong time.
Delicious.
We got in late and found a place for the night. We spent the next morning looking around for a place to stay for the next two nights. As we found out, Venice is the hottest place in all of Italy for New Year's. It was hard to find a place but we found two quaint little places. They weren't the nicest places I've ever stayed in, but they did the job. We spent a little time walking around the city and seeing what there was to see. We took it easy and relaxed in the afternoon. That night we took a little stroll and found a nice pizza joint for dinner.

St. Mark's Square, also known as the "the drawing room of Europe."
This was my first taste of real Italian pizza. It would not be my last.
Lane with her "big as my head" slice of pizza.
The "room" (attic) that the girls stayed in.
The second day we really toured the city. We saw the Grand Canal, went back by St. Mark's, and just wandered through all the small little streets and alleys that make the city so charming (and difficult to navigate at times). Lane and I had a nice time sitting next to the Rialto Bridge, walking through St. Mark's Square, and enjoying the view from the mouth of the Grand Canal.

The Grand Canal
Rialto Bridge
Lane and I taking a break next to the Canal.
Lane, laughing hysterically, in front of St. Mark's Basilica.
Looking out into the Adriatic.
That night was New Year's Eve. Since Lane and I hadn't technically had our first date yet, I figured that Venice on New Year's Eve was the perfect opportunity to finally ask her out. She said yes, thankfully, and we headed out to a nice dinner.

She was looking beautiful in her little black dress.
I didn't look too bad in my suit either.
We changed and headed to St. Mark's for the New Year's celebration. We picked up a crepe for dessert on the way.
Like I said, Venice is the place to be for New Year's in Italy. Everybody (and I mean EVERYBODY) crammed into St. Mark's Square for the celebration. We arrived around 10 or so and it wasn't too terribly crowded. By midnight however, it was hard to move. They had a big band playing the best in hits from yesterday and today that kept the partying going strong for most of the night. After midnight though, things were a little less fun. Thousands of people were cramming into the small alleys and no one was making much progress. People were shooting fireworks out of the crowd, some of which sounded like small bombs. The twenty or thirty minute walk to the square turned into an almost 2 hour walk back. It was a crazy night and one of the best New Year's celebrations I've ever been a part of.

The theme for the night was "Love 2008," in English.
The pandemonium was just starting.