Venice - Paddling Away in the Canals
Venice was beautiful, but also at times we found could be a bit overwhelming. We took a night train from Naples, two hours south of Rome, all the way up to Venice, which is in the northeast of Italy. It was a long trip, from 8PM to 5:30 AM. We had reserved couchettes, or fold down beds, so that we could sleep on the train. Despite what we had thought, it was pretty hard to sleep on the train. It had frequent stops, swayed, and was louder than expected. Since we were in a four bed compartment, we were also joined at about 12:30 AM by a confused Italian girl.
Getting to Venice at 5:30 AM with not to much sleep, we struggled a bit to find the correct water bus to our hotel. One we arrived, after climbing the 3 flights of stairs to reception, we were graciously allowed us to drop our things off for the day, since check in wasn't until the afternoon. They also allowed us to freshen up, since we had been on the go since leaving ome the day before.
Our first impression of Venice was that canals are great, the water smelled wonderfully and was beautiful. The narrow streets with shops and restaurants were also wonderful. Most of our time in this city, we walked around looking at Murano glass, canals, and we did a bit of watching the tourists. There were so many there!!! The place was packed. Also, there was quite a heat wave going on. Even the hotel staff didn't understand why it was so hot so early in summer. Our hotel did not have air conditioning, so we ended up always on a shady bench in a town square or by a canal, eating cheese and drinking wine until the night cooled off the city and our room.
Venice was a bit overwhelming because the entire city was geared toward tourism. Everywhere you looked were more shops, restaurants, and tourists. Our first day, we walked directly away from the city, and into the residential areas, where we got more of a feel of "old" Venice, which was nice. Everyday, we tried to get lost in the city (apparently the thing to do), but still ended up knowing where we were.
For sightseeing, we walked through San Marcos Square several times, saw the infamous Rialto bridge, and toured the Dodge's palace. This palace was extremely impressive to us, and one of the better 'museums' we have seen. The rooms of the palace were in good condition, and included a level of government halls where the magistrats sat. These were so cool to tour, as the walls were covered in beautiful paintings and frescos and the ceilings were even adorned with beautiful depictions of justice and things of that sort. We also toured the old prision (neat! Cassonova was in jail here!) and the armoury, with TONS of old swords, suits of armor, and medieval firearms. We really enjoyed it.
We also stopped by a few churches, and met some locals that we at times shared our wine and cheese with while in Venice. All in all, it was a great place and we got some good rest after our whirlwind tour through Florence and Rome.
Once again, enjoy the pictures!!!
Eric and Laura in the train compartment.
Eric in front of a bridge on the grand canal. At 5:30 in the AM, gorgeous sunrise!
Laura in front of a boat full of supplies on the grand canal.
Laura in front of a canal.
Laura and Eric in front of a canal with the Arsenal(military building) behind us.
Laura in front of a canal. Note the leaning church tower. Whoa!!!
Laura in front of some Gondolas.
Laura in front of some carnival costumes.
Shopping at Prada and Versace. (Window shopping that is...)
Laura in front of Hermes.
Eric in front of a church.
Eric and Laura in San Marcos Square.
Laura in the courtyard of the Doge's palace.
Eric in front of the gorgeous palace exterior.
Eric spreading his wings at the top of a marble staircase at the Doge's palace.
Laura in front of another amazing staircase made of gilded gold!
Laura at the Dodge's Palace. This was the meeting hall of the largest Venician Council.
Eric and Laura at the Rialto Bridge.
Laura in front of the Grand Canal.
Laura in front of a canal full of Gondolas.
Eric eating coconut in front of a mask shop.
Laura in a little shop on the canal.
Eric enjoying the afternoon.
Well, Chow until Athens, our next stop!
Getting to Venice at 5:30 AM with not to much sleep, we struggled a bit to find the correct water bus to our hotel. One we arrived, after climbing the 3 flights of stairs to reception, we were graciously allowed us to drop our things off for the day, since check in wasn't until the afternoon. They also allowed us to freshen up, since we had been on the go since leaving ome the day before.
Our first impression of Venice was that canals are great, the water smelled wonderfully and was beautiful. The narrow streets with shops and restaurants were also wonderful. Most of our time in this city, we walked around looking at Murano glass, canals, and we did a bit of watching the tourists. There were so many there!!! The place was packed. Also, there was quite a heat wave going on. Even the hotel staff didn't understand why it was so hot so early in summer. Our hotel did not have air conditioning, so we ended up always on a shady bench in a town square or by a canal, eating cheese and drinking wine until the night cooled off the city and our room.
Venice was a bit overwhelming because the entire city was geared toward tourism. Everywhere you looked were more shops, restaurants, and tourists. Our first day, we walked directly away from the city, and into the residential areas, where we got more of a feel of "old" Venice, which was nice. Everyday, we tried to get lost in the city (apparently the thing to do), but still ended up knowing where we were.
For sightseeing, we walked through San Marcos Square several times, saw the infamous Rialto bridge, and toured the Dodge's palace. This palace was extremely impressive to us, and one of the better 'museums' we have seen. The rooms of the palace were in good condition, and included a level of government halls where the magistrats sat. These were so cool to tour, as the walls were covered in beautiful paintings and frescos and the ceilings were even adorned with beautiful depictions of justice and things of that sort. We also toured the old prision (neat! Cassonova was in jail here!) and the armoury, with TONS of old swords, suits of armor, and medieval firearms. We really enjoyed it.
We also stopped by a few churches, and met some locals that we at times shared our wine and cheese with while in Venice. All in all, it was a great place and we got some good rest after our whirlwind tour through Florence and Rome.
Once again, enjoy the pictures!!!
Eric and Laura in the train compartment.
Eric in front of a bridge on the grand canal. At 5:30 in the AM, gorgeous sunrise!
Laura in front of a boat full of supplies on the grand canal.
Laura in front of a canal.
Laura and Eric in front of a canal with the Arsenal(military building) behind us.
Laura in front of a canal. Note the leaning church tower. Whoa!!!
Laura in front of some Gondolas.
Laura in front of some carnival costumes.
Shopping at Prada and Versace. (Window shopping that is...)
Laura in front of Hermes.
Eric in front of a church.
Eric and Laura in San Marcos Square.
Laura in the courtyard of the Doge's palace.
Eric in front of the gorgeous palace exterior.
Eric spreading his wings at the top of a marble staircase at the Doge's palace.
Laura in front of another amazing staircase made of gilded gold!
Laura at the Dodge's Palace. This was the meeting hall of the largest Venician Council.
Eric and Laura at the Rialto Bridge.
Laura in front of the Grand Canal.
Laura in front of a canal full of Gondolas.
Eric eating coconut in front of a mask shop.
Laura in a little shop on the canal.
Laura stealing internet in a public square. With wine and cheese.
Eric enjoying the afternoon.Well, Chow until Athens, our next stop!
Comments