Off to Venice

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Venice is awesome!!

We loved the Cinque Terre but, after 3 days, it was time to move on. We caught the train for Venice out of Monterosso and changed trains in Bologna. Total travel time was about 7 hours. After 2 1/2 weeks, we've become pretty familiar with how the European rail lines work. It is very helpful to look up the schedules online before heading to the station. Then, when you get to the station, you can tell the agent what train you want rather than trying to work out options in broken Italian.

We arrived at the Venice train station travel weary and starry-eyed. The station was busy with people. On our way out to the vaporetti (boat bus), I was IMMEDIATELY tackled by the police! Not the Venetian reception I was expecting. Thinking that Interpol had finally caught up with me ( :-P ), it turned out that we had unwittingly wandered onto a movie set! The cop directed us to the vaporetti and off the set but not before we caught a glimpse of the action. They were shooting a movie called "The Tourist" starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. Angelina looked like a manequin -totally unreal. Anyway, if you see the movie and happen to see a couple of real tourists wandering into the train station square looking dopey and lost, it's probably us!

We found our hotel -- the Hotel Giorgione -- without much trouble since it was fairly close to the boat stop. But - Venice is very confusing and, without a good map, it is very hard to figure out where to go. Street names are no help because they seem to change mid-block. Bizarre. When we got to the hotel we realized very quickly why we were paying €99/night for a €400/night hotel -- the week prior there was an unusually high tide and the hotel lobby flooded under about 2 feet under water. Although all the water was gone and the lobby was dry they were doing some major remodeling. Regardless, the staff were great and the hotel was beautiful. They even upgraded us to a Junior Suite (on the 2nd floor!) for free.

After getting settled we decided to do some walking to see Venice. First stop was the Rialto Bridge and then over to San Marco Square, which are the two major landmarks in Venice. The Rialto Bridge was very easy to find since it was right next to our hotel, so then we headed for San Marco Square. Even with a good map we got completely lost in the backalley streets that weren't on the map. Luckily, there are signs and arrows all over the place pointing the way. Some of the signs were official city signs and some were just arrows spray painted on the wall. Word to the wise -- some of the spray painted signs don't go to San Marco square but to gondoliers and vendors hoping to lure unsuspecting tourists (like us) to their boats and shops. After some walking we finally found San Marco Square and were glad we did - absolutely beautiful.

As in Rome and Florence, Michelle did some shopping in Venice. Lots of touristy shops selling lame souvenirs, but also good places to buy silk scarves, cashmere, Italian shoes and Murano glass. Also, all of the big fashion places like Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Blumarine are in Venice close to San Marco Sq. Great window shopping.

We were in Venice for three days and could have stayed longer. It was our favorite big city in Italy of all of the places we'd been so far. It is just so unique with the canals and shops and little alleyways. Pictures don't do justice to Venice. It is amazing.

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Photos

Train to Venice
The European fast train - a great ride and worth the extra expense.

Pizza Nazi!
We ran into a VERY grumpy Italian pizzaria owner. We tried to split a pizza for lunch and he promptly barked "ONE pizza PER person". We responded by saying we were going somewhere else to eat and he quickly grabbed our menus and walked off! No pizza for you!

Rialto Bridge
View from the bridge looking down the Grand Canel.

Weird Candy
Weird licorice candy with sugar cream stuff in the center. Had to try it cause it looked so good. It looked better than it tasted.

Where are we?
Trying to figure out where we are (again).

Signs to San Marco
Signs everywhere - but not all of them are real! Venders put up signs to get you to their stores.

Night View
Another view from the Rialto Bridge at dusk.

Street Vendors
View from the top of the Rialto Bridge with all the street vendors.

Fish Market
My favorite place! Lots of fish and slimy things (as Michelle would say).

??
Well, I have no idea where we are, but this is where we need to get to!

Comments

[wendy]

Love the pic of Michelle at night
Sound like you two are having a blast. Love the pic of Michelle at night. Looking forward to hearing all the stories when you get back.