Experience a Touch of Europe in Bozeman (Part III Venice) [SPONSORED]

When I was once a younger man, I decided to backpack around Europe. After careful months of planning, reading and research (this was before Google, kids), the day came and I was off for what would become the first of my adventures abroad.

In today's remembrance of my adventures we are off to: Venice! I almost didn't make it to Venice. It's a rather long, strange and complicated story. But the short version is, I joined up with a troupe of three gorgeous Swiss women in Dresden, Germany as we all decided to head to Prague, Czech Republic together. The four of us arrived in Prague to much fanfare, we thought - in our conceit - it was for US and warmly received it. Turned out a famous soccer player was getting off the train just behind us. We did abscond with a few bottles of FANTASTIC wine. Sorry, welcoming party!

After a week or a little longer we had "done" Prague and it was time to move on. As a group, we spent that last night in an Old Town pub discussing the destination. The women wanted to head east to Budapest. I had made a commitment to friends I made in Berlin to meet them in Florence on the steps of the Duomo in a little more than a month and really wanted to see Italy. It was one of my toughest decisions: head east with three great new friends or south to meet, as promised, with older friends. I headed to Florence. First stop - Venice!

First off, Venice is unlike any other place on earth in every way. There are no cars, just canals and boats. The Grand Canal snakes through the city, which is filled with narrow, maze-like alleys and smaller squares. The place will steal your heart forever or you will find it maddening! With a little help from a kind stranger, I found the correct vaporetto, a water bus - yeah, a boat that took me to my hostel. Well, the island it was on.

The list of things to see is stunningly amazing: Saint Mark's, Teatro La Fenice, Bridge of Sighs and the Rialto Bridge to name but a few. And that leaves out all the museums! I strongly recommend the Guggenheim, trust me.

What do I remember best about my time in Venice? As much as I hate to say it, winning about $100 (U.S.) from street hustlers playing three-card monte. They were slow and I knew the con. You can find comfort in the fact I only use this power for good these days. Beyond that, it's easily the warmth of the residents of Venice. It quickly became a habit of mine to end the day at this tiny, tiny restaurant just off the back ally of my hostel. I spoke broken Italian, and they spoke broken English, but some way we connected. They comped me my meal on my final night in town - the most amazing pasta, breads, olives, cheese and wine. Following the meal, I bought five or six bottles of wine for the gang and we drank them on the Grand Canal watching the vaporetti pass, smoking cheap cigarettes and talking until a breathtaking sunrise exploded across the sky.

Travel Café is bringing a taste of Europe to Bozeman. If you’d like to learn about European travel and all the different options travelers have, whether you want to piece together your dream vacation or set sail on a river cruise, the experts will be on hand to answer any of your questions at the Baxter Hotel, Oct. 15 at 5 p.m. This post was sponsored by Travel Cafe.