Days 20-23: Salzburg and Venice

On our first full day in Salzburg, we slept in a bit, and then went out looking for breakfast. As we were walking, we came across a small cafe called Richie's. The espresso's were excellent but we could not have been more surprised at the quality of the food we ordered. The pasta and wrap were both amazing and very cheap, which made it even better! After, we decided to explore the old town of Salzburg. We walked through little markets, getting some giant pretzels, and even found a store where Matilda got her first dirndl, a traditional German/Austrian dress. After, we tried to get to the castle, but apparently, even your walking all the way up, its still an expensive entry fee, so we ended up climbing half the way up and then going back down. After, it was getting late, so we went to have dinner, and then headed back because we had some big plans the next morning. The next day, we woke up early, got dressed, and then got picked up by Wolfgang from Salzburg Adventures, who brought us to the top of a mountain to go paragliding! If you have never gone paragliding, it is 100% worth the time and money. We had so much fun gliding across the mountains of Salzburg, even though Matilda landed in a tree on her first takeoff (she was fine though). After, we were kind of late to the train we were supposed to take to Venice, our next destination, but we found another train that got us there at approximately the same time. When Matilda and I got to Venice, we got lost trying to find our hostel, but eventually we did find our way to the hostel, which is located on a small side street coming from another small side street. It ended up being a very nice place though, sheltered from the loud nightlife. After, we went and got dinner, and then headed off to bed. The next day, we went to explore the maze-like city of venice. It was beautiful and there were old shops and small restaurants hidden around every corner. We wandered over the winding canals and tried to get lost in the narrow alleys. For linch we stumbled on a restaurant called Oglio, and we had a cheap but delicious lunch of squid ink tagliatelli and spinach tortellini. After lunch, we decided to keep wandering the streets because that turned out to be the best way to explore the city. Then we took a quick break, showered up, dressed up nice, and went out for dinner, where we came across a place called Osteria Ruga di Jaffa. The food we had was incredible. Never have I tasted such good Spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clams). Matilda had the gnocchetti alla busera. The gnocchi were fluffy, and the slightly spicy sauce with shrimp complemented the pasta perfectly. With full bellies and smiling faces, we ventured back out to find gelato and soak up the atmosphere of the city at night, before passing out in our beds when we got back to the hostel. The next day, we took a train to Riomaggiore in The Cinque Terre region of Italy. If you ever go to Italy, this region is a must visit! It is amazing, all the small towns right next to the ocean, cheap but amazing take away food to eat down by the water, and wonderful, warm, swimming conditions makes this place practically perfect. After spending our evening getting delectable street food and swimming, we headed back to sleep and get ready for our tunneling adventure the next day!

** currently the wifi is not strong enough to upload pictures so I will upload them as soon as I get a better connection!**