After waking up from our nine-hour train ride, we were in Venice! We arrived just before sunrise (around 6:45am), so we were able to find a great spot to watch - a bridge over a canal of course! After the sunrise, we decided to find our hotel. Only problem... we didn't have the name or address of our hotel, so we started a 2.5-hour search for free Wi-fi or an open internet cafe. We finally found an internet cafe and then our hotel - Hotel Zecchini. Once our packs were secure, we were ready to wander the streets of Venice.
We saw the Grand Canal, the Rialto Bridge, San Marco, Santa Maria della Salute and many other amazing churches and buildings. Gelato, masks, pastries and restaurants were everywhere! While the sites were amazing, my favorite part was wandering all of the pedestrian-only streets (no vehicles of any kind allowed on Venice). The Vaporetto (water taxi) proved to be a great way to get back to our starting point once we walked the length of the Grand Canal. The sites and sounds of the city of Venice are spectacular.
Observations on Venice...
Bring lots of tissues and allergy medicine if you are allergic to mold.
The romantic allure of a gondola ride is off-set by the Vegas-like antics of the gondoliers trying to entice you to take a ride.
The masks in Venice are amazing, but look for a store where the person is actually making the masks if you want to bring one home.
Write down the name of your hotel and its address prior to getting to Venice because there is no Wi-Fi and internet shops don't open until after 10am.
Set aside your map and enjoy the streets... you will get to your destination eventually.
Venice is small...two days was plenty of time to feel the romantic charm of the city.
Everythinglooks and sounds so wonderful! I haven't seen any pictures of dog parks or squirrels. Do they have any? Thanks for leaving me with the big guy and blonde lady. They treat me real well! Feed me alot, but not so good on the yummies
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying reading your trip blog! So glad to hear that the drinking went well in Germany! They do know how to have a good time. But on to a more civilized country - ITALY!!!! Hopefully you will see how well they eat and limoncello is definitely worth trying, too. It sounds like a great trip so far. Venice is strange, isn't it? Who would build a city on a swamp???
ReplyDeleteMary Mudie
So did you guys fall in a canal? OD on pasta? Inquiring minds need an update!
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