Venice! (Finally There!)

So, Its now about 1:30 a.m. and I find the dock where the ferries take off. I Hop on a ferry, and hope that something will come along fast, as I have no plan on where to stay, or where to go, the boat operator knows as much, after questioning me at the docks for whatever reason.
So I jump on, tapping my fingers, nervous, because up to this point, I have always relied on the fact that it will work out no matter what…As I am admiring the stillness (the streets are empty), and the lit up architecture, I hear two voices on the boat. One clearly American, one French.
As it turns out, the French guy lives on an island called Lido; he actually owns a B&B, and gives tours to his guests, which happen to include an American woman from New York. I ask him if he knows any hostels around, and the price, the cheapest one in the area during high season is about 60 Euro. He notices that I am carrying a tent, realizes that I don’t much care where I sleep, as long as its somewhere, and lets me know of an “unofficial” camping spot.
We get off the ferry, and into his car, on the way, he takes us for a few drinks…my first taste of Prosecco! He then takes me to an empty beach, a wildlife sanctuary of sorts, and since I don’t litter, and won’t be making a fire, we assume it will be fine, as some people camp in the area already. So in the pitch black, I set up Ol’Blue, my tent.

My tent on Lido

I awake the next morning at what I assume is about 8 a.m. based on the sun (yes, I taught myself this on my travels), and began walking the beach. I had the beach all to myself, complete quiet, peace, clear waves along the sand. I stood knee-deep in the water, it was warm, and I felt an utter happiness, one that I seem to get quite often now that I am traveling.

8 a.m. waves outside my tent

After about 20 minutes standing in the water, reflecting on me good fortune, I decided to head in to Venice. I got ready for the day, and took bus B to the water port, and headed on in. This was my first time seeing Venice in the daylight, and it was just as amazing! Startling architecture entwined in colors, the venders selling Venetian masks, the smell of food and sea water…this was it, this was my SUPREME happiness, my supreme love of life. This is what I had gone through everything bad in my life for…and I would gladly go through it all again, just to reach this point, had I known this would be my destination!