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Innsbruck, AustriaAfter a good nights sleep and waking up at 7:15, I was able to grab breakfast before heading out. The breakfast was okay. The scrambled eggs were a little wet for my taste. I tried the bacon which looked different. It was VERY salty. The little sausages weren’t very tasty. So I ate lightly. I left to go to Ulla Popken, the plus size clothing store. I did stop on the way at a bakery to see if I could find a cake called Socher torte. They didn’t have it. I got to Ulla Popken a little early, but after they opened the doors I got right down to shopping. Their prices were a little higher than in America. I found 2 tops and 1 top/capri set (I think it’s pajamas, but I really liked the top). All for €80! Of course I had to wear one of them today. After leaving the store I strolled back to the hotel and decided to go to the little bridge that goes over the Inn River. The river was very swift and an interesting shade of turquoise green. The day was still misting rain, so their were very low clouds over the mountains.
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Innsbruck, Austria We headed for Venice at 10 am. We drove along beautiful landscapes of various shades of green. The sun began to really break through the clouds just as we entered Italy. Scott, the tour guide, stated that just because you cross a border into another country, don’t expect the language to change. Many of the border towns speak the language of the area based on historical borders. So while the border town on the Italian side is in Italy, they actually speak German more than Italian. As we traveled along, I was surprised that along these steep hills, vineyards were abundant. We stopped for a 45 minute break at a rest stop called the Autogrill. I was the first one off for once so I didn’t have to wait in line for food or for the restrooms. The toilets at this stop had a pop up lid that you had to hold down with your fingers until you sit. (ick!). I ordered a slice of pizza and it was almost a quarter of a 14”! It was a Margherita pizza with pepperoni (very spicy). The slice cost €5,50. I had to pay with cash since my card wouldn’t work.
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Innsbruck, Austria Hopefully it’s a error being here in the alps in a small town area. I grabbed some more chocolate covered cookies and an ice cream bar. The temperature is now about 78 degrees and sunny. The homes are now more Italian looking. Square buildings, two story. Besides the vineyards, the other plants I saw were Italian versions of granny smith apples. These plants were about the height of corn in August. We passed one area where they had solar panels on the barrier along the highway. We passed through 3 different toll booths before reaching Venice.
Venice, the capital of northern Italy’s Veneto region, is built on more than 100 small islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. It has no roads, just canals – including the Grand Canal thoroughfare – lined with Renaissance and Gothic palaces. The central square, Piazza San Marco, contains St. Mark’s Basilica, which is tiled with Byzantine mosaics, and the Campanile bell tower offering views of the city’s red roofs.
As we entered the end of the mainland of Venice, we passed a part of the port where they build ships. We say the cruise ship, Carnival Horizon, in the
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Innsbruck, Austria process of being built. We then drove across the bridge that connects the mainland of Venice to the island of Venice. We had to leave the bus at the transportation center at Tronchetto (ALL items that come into Venice must be brought in by boat. Because of this many items are very expensive here.) and board a water taxi. It took 3 water taxis to accommodate all of us. I was able to get a seat that wasn’t inside. We rode that all the way to where we were dropped off at the main square.
As we started to pass building after building, it finally started to sink in that I was in Venice. A place that I have been wanting to come to for most of my life. It’s a beautiful site to behold. I actually got teary eyed when we arrived at the main plaza. I had a poster in my bedroom of this plaza. As far as the police, we passed their police station next to the canal. Tied up were all sorts of boats and jet skis with the words “polizia” written on the sides. We passed one bridge of all steps. For the disabled,
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Innsbruck, Austria they had a round enclosed bubble that one could ride from one side to the other. We walked to the other plaza and then had 30 minutes to wander that plaza. I grabbed a vanilla gelato and headed to the middle of the plaza for pictures. A man carrying roses walked up to me and handed me not one but 3 roses. I asked why and he motioned that they were for me. I started to walk away from him and then he followed me and asked for money! We had been warned by a fellow passenger about this and I had forgotten about this happening. I gave back the flowers and said no thank you. I then called home to show mom and dad the plaza. When the group got back together, Scott led the way to our Gondola ride. We split off into smaller groups. Some of the boats had musicians or singers. We were too full so the other boat got both. We traveled around the various canals, listening to the accordion or the singer, or both as we passed the building up close and crossed under many bridges. One time during the trip in the main
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Innsbruck, Austria canal, Howard, shifted a little forward from the side of the boat and the boat tipped precariously to its side. The rest of gave a cry of alarm and the Gondolier immediately shifted his weight to counter balance. He then stated very sternly not to move around in the boat. Later even when I shifted to turn around to take a picture (I was given the front seat that faced the back of the boat, so I saw the whole ride backwards), I was told to sit back the way I was. The ride was very nice for the hour. The temperature in Venice was a warm 83 degrees. We got off and then headed for the water taxi to take us back to the bus. This time it was a single private boat for all of us, although it was completely covered, we could still see out the open windows very well. The boat was very fast.
We then headed back to mainland Venice. Scott informed us that we would be trying a brand new restaurant for Trafalgar Tours. It was called RossoPomodoro La Pizzeria! A pizza place!!! YEAH! It was in the Metre area of Venice. It
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Innsbruck, Austria was a nice restaurant and we had a large table that sat all of us on the second floor. We were told that we could each have 2 beverages or alcohol or non alcohol drinks, free appetizers would be brought out to share, and to select either a pizza or have lasagna. Everyone chose a pizza. We sat and chatted and some of us stated how we still felt like we were on the water still. They then started with the appetizers, but not just one appetizer but 4!!! We were treated first to bruschetta (excellent), then some other bread type treats. The pizza finally came out and they were huge! Then the salad arrived (customarily the salad follows the meal), then at last a desert! We were so stuffed from the wonderful appetizers that many of the others took the pizza back to the hotel! I didn't need to!
We finally checked into the Novotel hotel about 8pm. It’s a nice hotel. I called the front desk to ask for a fan. They stated I would have to put down as deposit €20. I said no problem. 10 minutes later a person arrived with an ironing board and
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Innsbruck, Austria iron. I laughed and said I wanted a fan. He replied that they didn’t have those. So I will be using the little USB fan tonight that not great for moving air. I unpacked and got out things for tomorrow. We are staying tonight and tomorrow night. But we will be gone from 8 to 8 according to Scott.
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