Venice

Once our amazing cruise was over, we were back in Venice for 4 days and 3 nights. I had rented a 2-bed/2-bath apartment via Air BnB, so once we got back to Tronchetto we made our way to the ACTV ticket station and got a pass (I believe it was for 72 hours) and found the vaporetto line that we needed in order to get to our apartment.

Venice is divided into six districts – San Marco, San Polo, Santa Crose, Cannareggio, Castello, and Dorsoduro. We were staying in San Polo and our host had told us to meet him at Campo San Polo, which is essentially the town square for that district. We were early, so we sat down at a lovely cafe and ate a delicious meal. It was probably here that I remembered how differently – and wonderfully – Europeans eat, compared to Americans! Europeans enjoy their meal – they are not squeezing it in between tasks, rushing through it to get to the next “thing”…they savor it, taste the food, enjoy the food, enjoy conversation, relax and take their time. The whole experience is so much more enjoyable when time is the LAST thing on your mind!

We met our Air BnB host at the apartment so that we could drop our luggage off. Because we were early, the apartment wasn’t ready, so the host asked if we could meet him in 20-30 minutes and he would be able to give me the key. Of course that was fine – we were happy to be relieved of our luggage, so the three of us walked into the neighborhood and decided we’d get some gelato while we waited.

This is where things could’ve gone really bad. Remember in an earlier post about this trip I said I had a crossbody bag that I use for traveling. It has a lot of great safety features and I’ve had my bag for several years. My bag isn’t huge, but I can pack a lot of stuff in there! That, combined with the foldable backpack, and I’m good to GO!

We found a gelato stand and ordered. Sara and Drake were next to the counter and I was behind them. I handed Sara my card to pay for the gelato – and here’s where I went wrong. Normally I’d USE the safety features of my bag and zip is closed, and attach the zipper pull to the “D ring” on the bag….but I didn’t. I left my bag unzipped. Earlier I had my jacket on so I had the bag strap short so that the bag didn’t hang below my coat. Because of that it was up high, basically right between “the girls”. I was handed my gelato and was standing there in gelato heaven, waiting for Sara to hand my card back to me. I felt movement and looked down to see a hand in my bag!

I wish I had a really clear depiction of what took place next, but it was basically a shit show. I started yelling at the man to my left, who was VERY close, and had a heavy jacket over his left arm. He started yelling at me because I was accusing him of pick pocketing. I looked into my bag and did an inventory of my things – everything was there – but that’s when I noticed the pocket INSIDE my bag. The zipper was open and the wad of cash I had in there (which was mostly $5’s to use for tips and such) was up high in that pocket, basically above the zipper. I KNEW I had not left it like that, because I had handed Sara my card, not gotten into the cash pocket.

The man and I continued to “share heated words” (that’s the PG version) and then he yelled something about me not being normal and my level of “losing my shit” went from about a 3 to a solid 6. I yelled at him that I was in fact VERY normal and what isn’t normal is stealing from people who are trying to enjoy a vacation. He kept saying I was not normal and then I offered that perhaps we should have the police come check that bag under the coat on his arm and see WHO the normal one was. He quickly turned and disappeared into the crowd.

What the actual hell??? Thank goodness my bag was up high, because otherwise I don’t think I’d have felt it. Lesson learned – the safety features of a bag (or anything, for that matter) do not make a difference if you do not USE said safety features! From then on, the bag was opened to retrieve payment method, zipped up, and then reopened to put the card or change back into it’s pocket. I always clipped the zipper pull to the D-ring for extra protection.

Basically, I got really freaking lucky. I got lucky that I caught him, I got lucky that he didn’t get anything, and I got lucky that nobody was hurt. Yelling at a thief is probably not the smartest thing I’ve ever done, but I didn’t really stop to think of that in the heat of the moment!

After that, we went back to the apartment to meet the host to get the keys and then decided after that excitement perhaps we’d unpack, rest, and plan out the day. We got familiar with the apartment, which had 3 “balconies” with windows that opened and lower doors that opened for hopping into your boat. It was very “authentic” Venice and pretty cool – until the first gondola goes gliding by with the gondolier explaining the area to his passengers – and then it was TOTALLY COOL!

After unpacking a bit, some rest, and checking in with home (back in the land of reliable wifi) we decided to head out and walk around a bit. We headed toward San Marcos Square.

Now, you might look at these photos and wonder if I’m insane or what…who could have fun and feel safe after an attempted pick-pocketing??? Well – I’m in Italy to have fun, and I’m not about to let that asshat ruin my time. It was a good lesson to be more aware of my surroundings (even when surrounded by amazing food and drink) and to USE the safety features of my bag. I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed Venice, even after the incident!

Venice is SUCH a beautiful city. We could’ve scheduled things to do, but we just explored and stopped to eat/drink when we felt like it, and then explored some more. There’s nothing as refreshing (to me) than an Aperol Spritz when you’re starting to get a little sweaty and tired! We had ACTV (public water bus) passes so we could just hop on one and ride for a while, get off and walk around and explore. It was a great way to just have freedom to go wherever and do whatever. Might we have seen some really amazing things had we scheduled tours or museums or shows….of course, but we had a great time doing what we wanted to do!

We spent a few more days exploring, shopping, eating, and drinking our way around Venice. It was so lovely. Stay tuned for the next, and final, post on Venice – where I show more photos from our adventures around the city, including my trip to Burano on our last full day in Italy.