Venice: Land of Gondolas and Leather 3-26-2009

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Day 15 - Thursday

This is what I’ve been waiting for, Venice. And if you do not know by now, this is the reason why I came on this trip this year. Thanks Dr. Meyer for making my dream come true. I have today with me Rick Steeves guidebook and his audio podcast of Venice. I plan to explore Venice with Rick, soak up the sun, buy some treasures. The next two days is all about "me".

We arrived Wednesday night about 7 pm. As soon as we checked in, 15 minutes wait time and off we went on a city train to Venice. Best part of the travel here, we could not get lost getting to the station. Why? It was right across the street. Great job Lew! Cost= 1 euro. What a deal. For one euro you take a train for a 15 minute ride to the heart of Venice. This beats any bargain found by Rick or Rachel Ray. One item, we forget to ask which train to get on and what stop to get off? We asked a few people and got on the right train. While we fussed about which stop to get off at, when we exited the train, we noticed that Venice was the last stop on the train, The train tracks stopped at our stop. Boy did we feel foolish.

Seven of us took off for food and a brief foot tour. Roll call: Ann, Angela, Donna, Leah, Shelley, Susan, Dan and Rhonda. It's the first time I've spent the evening with Rhonda. As we got out of the train station, we started looking for food. We found a nice restaurant canal-front. We quickly learned that eating anywhere near the water will cost you 10 euros more. Ask Dan and Rhonda about that 13 euro beer.

This reminds me of my 10 euro gelato last year. I’ll never forget the look on my face when the gelato person told me “10 euros” for a three scoop gelato. Excuse my digression. This meal was almost as bad. But we justified it by saying “we ate at canal view” .After dinner, we walked around the city center and nearly got to the Rialto Bridge. Nearly 11 pm, we headed back to the hotel after a stop for dessert. Now, which stop to get off at? We had to ask again. The Italians are very friendly people. Did some blogging and in bed by 1 am. Yes, I made my goal.

Friday

Up at 5 am and I intended to see the sunrise in the city. I did some more blogging and had a nice breakfast. I missed the sunrise as I got too involved with my blogging. Judy, this can be addicting!
I hope some of you are enjoying my entries, short and sweet. Sorry no pics until I get back. So I planned to leave at 6 and left at 8:30. Close enough. I plan on going with Angela, Shelley and Bill and skip the mass travel with the group.

So it's 8:30 and we waited for Bill. Sorry, had to leave him as the clock was ticking. We plan on meeting the group at 10 am in front of St. Mark's Basilica. Sorry Bill. Off we go to the train station. After last night, we got the drill about buying round trip tickets and which stop to get off at-----the last stop of course.

Off the train and we had a decision to make, take the water taxi or walk by foot to St. Mark's Square? We decided to walk our way, which should take us about 45 minutes. We walked the length of the island to meet the group at St. Mark's Square by way of the Rialto Bridge. We saw a lot of interesting buildings and stores along the way. How do we find some of these stores later? Luck will need to be on our side. We got to the Rialto Bridge and how did we find it? Answer, reading the map and watching for the signs. Reminded me of my favorite show, Amazing Race, minus the quarreling.

As we walked from corner to corner, my anticipation grew to see the bridge. And there it was; as beautiful as I expected and it was not crowded at 9 am. It was just like in the movies. Canals to the right and left, stores, shops and gondolas all over. The city was waking up and we were there to see it. Now this reminds me of the movie You've Got Mail, when Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks are walking to work, nearly missing each other and describing how the city was waking up.

Off to find St. Mark’s Mark's Basilica, one church at a time. And there it was, St. Mark’s Square, St. Mark's Basilica, the Dodge Palace (Duke's Palace) and the Grand Canal. This view was more than enchanting, really magical. This is what I’ve been waiting for. The view from all sides was breathtaking. I am now a complete person. Thanks Dr. Meyer for getting me here. I thought of my friends who wanted to come but could not this year. Thinking of Robin, Dennis, Felicia, Aubrey, Judy, Greg, Natalie, Lex, Rita and so many others.

We got to St. Mark's Square at 10 am and waited for the group. We waited and waited and after thinking about their schedule for the morning: 9 am meet in the lobby, 45 of them walking to the station, buy tickets, hop on a train, hop off, walk to the water taxis and then to the square. No way they will be here in 1 hour. So we waited until 10:45 then left. Our plan was to meet up at 4 pm on the Rialto Bridge or 6:30 at the restaurant we ate the night before. Shelley and Angela went shopping and I went to explore the city.

I walked through St. Mark's Basilica with Rick Steeve’s podcast. It was wonderful. He did a great job explaining the church. I spent 1 hour there and ran into the group. I elected to stay with my private tour and was off to see the city. I had a great morning by myself. So what did I do other than touring St. Mark's Basilica? I toured St. Mark's Square, walked to the end of the island and everywhere in between. I had a great time.

It's now getting to 4 pm, so I headed for the Rialto Bridge. On my way, I ran into Bill. Bill, the one I left behind this morning. Do I ignore him and his group or just apologize? I did the right thing. I profusely apologized for leaving him. After he made me feel bad, it was all good. He enjoyed the morning with the tour of the city. So it's all good.

Now 4 pm and the Rialto Bridge is now packed with hundreds of people. How do I find Shelley and Angela? This time I waited and we were able to meet. Off we went for our last treat and sight for the day, gelato and a water taxi tour of the island. Score, we got both done and got a bonus. We were able to see the sunset over the city. This was a down right gorgeous sight. The water taxi ride was beautiful to say the least and it only cost us 7 euros (100 euros for a gondola ride).

Did I buy something? Yes a few trinkets and a leather purse or as I call it my "sexy red bag"! I got leather but no lace. Back to the hotel via train for the 8 pm group dinner. Dinner was good, nice speeches by Dr. Meyer, Lance, Allen, Lew and the group. Blogging before bedtime and made it to bed by 1 pm.

To sum up my visit in Venice- magical, breathtaking, picturesque and just right down spectacular. Yes, I will be back.

LongStory Short,
Ann

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Photos

Saint Mark's Basilica 2
Saint Mark's Basilica, Venice

Saint Mark's Basilica
Saint Mark's Basilica, Venice

Piazza San Marco
Piazza San Marco Otherwise Known As St. Mark's Square

Piazza San Marco 2
Piazza San Marco Looking Out At The Grand Canal

Venice 5
Gondolas In the Canals of Venice

Venice 6
Sunset Over Venice