I managed to get well and truly lost in Venice's catacombic network of winding pathways, cul de sacs and needle alleyways, and Google Maps did not work here at all - well, it pinpointed my location, but that was it. The map was completely unhelpful. I had twenty minutes to go till my bus left from Mestre, S Lucia to Mestre was a 10 min train ride and I had to factor in things like buying the tickets and getting there in time for a train, and most of all Google Maps kept telling me that my current location was '30 minutes by foot' to the train station. I ran numerous scenarios in my head as I rushed around trying to find my way back, but only succeeded in getting farther and farther away from the train station - cancelling my hostel in Slovenia for the night, booking a last-minute hotel in Venice. It was hellish. I tried asking at a restaurant for directions but the instructions they provided me with were vague and not helpful in the slightest, and in despair, I ducked into a jewellery shop and pleaded for help. The gods must have been smiling upon me that day because the shop owner was very gracious and helpful, even though I must have looked horrible - sweaty and red faced and wildeyed and dishevelled. She told me to follow the signs labelled "Ferrovia", and even wrote it down for me. I thanked her copiously and ran out, and began running. It was remarkable but those signs really were everywhere, and I managed to find my way back to the main causeway and the train station, against all odds. Still have no idea how I managed to pull it off, but pull it off I did. I bought my tickets and got on the next train, and found my Flixbus waiting for me outside Mestre, like a charm. And then it was adios Italy, till the next time, and on to former Yugoslavia and the Balkans. Already those days seem like lifetimes away.
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| Outside S Lucia train station, one last photo |
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| Yes I'm a tourist, deal with it |
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