Mischief in Europe: Two cities in too few time or How to get lost in Venice and Scooter demons of Florence

I decided the time for Italy was upon me so I headed south to Venice. I shoulda planned that move out a little better. It turns out it was a weekend. Every hostel in the city was booked up. So after literally getting the run around the whole city over I was directed to a small hotel. Another old lady, not as nice as my host in Nesselwang. A hotel in Venice cost way more than a hostel would have. It just highlighted my already dwindling budget. I spent most of my time getting lost in Venice, mainly because of my propensity to just take a random turn and explore. I started to get the hang of the cramped alleyways and little canals at the end of my 2 days there. I don't know how many Venetians actually live in Venice but it didn't seem like many. It seemed the whole city was filled with tourists (20 million a year). All of which were lost and trying to figure out which way was up. Venice was a gorgeous city and it's reputation is well earned. Two nights and I was out of a lodging there so I headed off to Florence. Same story. Two nights and I was moving on again. The Duomo in Florence is breathtaking to see. The art museums are out of this world as well and the gelato is tops. This post doesn't begin to describe my time in either city but I'm beat from cooking in the sun today so have some pictures.