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Published: April 20th 2006
The Rialto Bridge
Coming up the Grand Canal, complete with the ever present gondolasI will openly admit I have fallen hard for the charms of Venice. The city is one marvelous maze of canals, alleyways, and gorgeous architechture. It is such a beautiful city, I can only imagine what it would have been like in its prime.
My friend Kennedy flew into Zagreb, and after a quick morning tour of the old town we headed for the train station. The train ride its self was not that bad. It took only about 30 to 45 minutes to hit the Croatian/Slovenian border. Since we traveled during the day we were treated to beautiful views of the Slovenian countryside with picturesque little villages tucked away in valleys and on the river’s edge. The only nuisance was the 500 passport/ticket checks they did from the Croatian to the Italian border. All in all it took us about 7 hours.
The real fun started when we go to the train station in Venice. There are two train stations in Venice one on the mainland and the other across the causeway. Of course our ticket was to the wrong one. After getting off the train we set off to find the water bus to takes us down
The Grand Canal
This was taken from the bridge. the Grand Canal and to our hostel. Unfourtantely not only could we not find the water bus, we couldn’t even find any water! It took us about another hour to finally get sorted out and on another train for the 10 minute journey to the right station.
The first sight of Venice however made it all worth while. We arrived around 10 pm and the city was all lit up. We took a Vaporetto (water bus) down the Grand Canal to the Rialto Bridge, 1 of only 3 bridges that cross the canal. The directions to our hostel were pretty bad (“go to the small square” I mean its Europe, there are small squares everywhere!) but we finally found it thanks to the ever helpful Italian police.
Our first morning we went to the Piazza San Marco, home to the world famous Basilica di San Marco. The Basilica dates back to the 9th century and houses the remains of St. Mark. We had to wait in line about 45 minutes or so, but Kennedy and I tried to use the opportunity to score job contacts with this nice New York couple behind us. He was a producer for
St. Mark's Basilica
The first look as you come into the Piazza HBO, she worked for an International Non-profit.
After our tour through the Basillica we headed for lunch on the Grand Canal. The food in Itlay is divine! We basically have spent the entire time stuffing our face with pizza, pasta, and gelati, not to mention the pastry.
Luckily we are walking all that food off. Mainly all the walking is due to the fact that we are constantly getting lost. I find Venice extrememly hard to navigate. Venice is actually in a lagoon and is made up of 118 different land bodies. This means the Venetian roadways are waterways, and the streets and alleys for pedestrians are small, narrow, and often with no signs. We spent forever trying to find the Dodge’s Palace and the Bridge of Sighs only to realize when we found it I had already taken 3 pictures of it!
The only bad thing about Venice (and I will readily admit I am a guilty party here) is all the tourists. I think I have met more Americans here than Italians. It would be a safe bet to say that the city depends on the tourism industry. It’s a bit of a shame really.
Taking a Break
Resting in front of the Basilica. Next stop Verona.
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Sara
non-member comment
Such beauty!
Hey, Jodi! What gorgeous pictures of Venice. I can see why you have been seduced by such a lovely city. My sister went years ago, and she fell for it hard, too. I'll get there eventually! Keep blogging, girl. I am living out my travel fantasies through you!