Cold in Venice

I wrote this while in Venice earlier this week, though I've now returned to Milan:

When I left Milan on Tuesday morning, it was the same weather we've been having for a week now - chilly in the shade, but in the sun it'd be downright pleasant. I went out without a coat the other day, in fact, and wasn't cold. It's pretty cold at night, of course, but during the day it's really nice to be outside. I had checked the weather reports for Venice before I left, and although the temperatures were a little bit lower, when I packed my bag I didn't factor in one important thing: the fog.

It's friggin' cold here, folks.

The famous Milan fog hasn't really hung around much since we arrived, but it was pretty foggy this morning when I left. And as the train rolled toward Venice the fog never seemed to lift. Then, as the train turned from Venice's mainland station to make the trip across the water to the station on the island itself, the fog actually seemed to get thicker. As soon as I got off the train in my rain jacket I wished I'd brought my down coat - even though it's supposed to rain here for two of the three days I'm here. (Yes, it's actually supposed to get more damp and cold.)

Now, it's February, so I didn't expect warm temperatures. But I didn't expect it to be quite this cold, and the kind of cold that goes straight to your bones. Venice isn't a museum city as far as I'm concerned, because the best thing to do here is just to wander and get lost in the alleyways, but I might seek out a few museums anyway...

Another thing I didn't expect at this time of year is the number of tourists. It's far less than there are in the summer, but the line to get onto the main tourist line bus/boat was long, and my boat was full nearly the whole trip. Piazza San Marco was crowded when I arrived, although as I walked back to my hotel for the last time that night around 7:45pm the piazza had almost entirely cleared out. It was gorgeous in the fog, but I didn't linger.

Seriously, my teeth were chattering.

We'll see what happens - I may have to buy myself a sweater, gloves and a hat. Or I'll just have to duck into lots of museums and cafes. Neither one sounds too terribly bad, now that I think about it.

More about my 3.5 days in Venice later, along with photos!