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We had mostly packed last night, so we had only a few things to get ready this morning before Stefano came to pick us up at 7:00 am. In short time we were in the train station in Codroipo and had about half an hour to wait for the Venice train.
As we are coming back to the house, we had only a small knapsack each to carry which made getting on this regional train much easier than normal. The train was crowded with a school group also headed to Venice. The final leg of the ride into Venice is quite fun as the train travels along a narrow causeway cutting across a small bay. It feels almost as if the train is one of the boats.
Once in Venice, we repacked our bags, taking out the heaviest things and checking in this one knapsack to be picked up at the end of the day. Walking out of the train station, you are instantly in the Venice of postcards with the grand canal running in front.We decided to head to St. Marks Square on foot rather than take the water bus for this first leg.
With all the
narrow streets, and small bridges, Venice didn't seem terribly crowded despite the number of people who must be visiting on any one day. The route from the train station takes you through many interesting little streets and over many bridges. It is well, though sometimes casually, marked at times with a mix of formal signs and spray painted arrows leading the way. As there are no cars, it is interesting to see the various specialized boats that ply the waterways doing everything from deliveries to construction.
At St. Marks square, we encountered the first real crowds that we had met, though even here is wasn't too bad. After wandering around for a few minutes taking photos, we lined up to get into St. Mark Cathedral.
The Cathedral was quite impressive in the mosaics on the ceilings.
As is often the case, no photography or videography is allowed here, but we did take a few minutes to sit down and absorb the scene.
Though the entrance to the church is free, other parts of the Cathedral cost money, so we paid for Joshua to go down to “The Treasury” and determine if it was worth a visited. After
a few minutes, he came back and said it was good, but it we decided to give it a miss.
Another part of the Cathedral that cost extra to visit is the Balcony area which affords a good view of St. Marks square from high up. Evy, Joshua and Benjamin decided to do this while I looked in the gift store.
Signs in St. Marks square prohibit picnicking there, so we moved on to a green park area near the Grand Canal for our lunch. After lunch, we walked up along the Grand Canal to a bridge close to the Bridge of Sighs, so named because it used to lead to the prison. The buildings on either side of the bridge are undergoing restorations and the entire site is wrapped in a mural featuring sky and clouds. The result is that photos of the bridge appear to show it floating oddly in mid-air.
We bought 24 hr tickets for the boat and transit system after this, but continued to walk though the streets. We happened across one old church that had been converted to house a museum of old and rare instruments, some very odd looking indeed.
A bit further on, we came across another church that houses an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci's machines, all constructed based on his plans. At first just Benjamin, Joshua, and I paid to go in here, but it was so good, we called Evy in to join us. Many of the concepts demonstrated tied in well with Joshua's recent science lessons and it was just incredible to see how far ahead of his time daVinci was with machines ranging from the hang glider to the bicycle to the machine gun. For Benjamin and Joshua, I think that this was likely the highlight of the day.
After the da Vinci museum, we walked back to the train station where we picked up our checked bag and made our way to bus station. Here we caught the bus back across the causeway. Though the bus driver was not very helpful in pointing out our stop, we managed to figure our where to get off and walked down the short driveway to the holiday park.
The cabins in the park are small but functional with prices suiting the short (15 minute) distance from Venice, but we really only need the
place to sleep in, so we really don't care too much.
After settling in to the cabin, we went out to a large grocery store down the road to pick up somethings for tomorrow, and then off to a Taverna for a huge pizza dinner. Full and tired after a day of walking, we headed back to the cabin for the night.
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