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Published: July 18th 2017
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Geo: 45.4345, 12.3384
We're off to Venice this morning. We caught an earlier train than expected in Genoa and again made an earlier connection in Milano. This will provide us with more time to spend in Venice since we will only spend one day here . From the train Milano appeared to be a large city. The landscape of the countyside went from mountainous to flat. In the area of Verona there are many corn and hay fields along with grapevines and fruit trees. Just an observation-for all the countryside we've traveled through we haven't seen any livestock like cows, sheep or cattle.
From the train station we made our way to our hotel which was quite a challenge. The temperature was high, the sun was blazing and the streets are a maze. Our GPS provided no assistance because we couldn't get a satellite due to the high buildings. Our backpacks got heavier as we searched for street names stenciled on buildings. The maps didn't help much because of the small print. The streets jog left and right every 50 feet and the names changed which was hard to track on a map. Also with the canals in the passageways you have
to find bridges where you can cross over. After searching for 3 ½ hours and walking about only 1 mile we located our hotel! Well, that's what Venice is all about.
It took us extra time too because we kept stopping to take photos, see the sights, watch the people and try to find names on a map. Nearly every passageway has small shops, restaurants, bars, and souvenir stands. Every so often a cruise ship docks putting more people into the already crowded streets. We kept stopping to take photos but so are hundreds of other people so you have to stop and wait while they snap their Kodak moments. Often people ask you to take photos of their group and so you stop for that also. There is such a thing as vacation etiquette. It sounds a little like complaining but we are just trying to rationalize why our one mile walk took so long.
We were amazed at the number of Churches in Venice. We went in a few but in most, pictures are not allowed. We have photos of several of the exteriors but the names are not clearly designated on the Churches or the map. St. Mark's
Basilica is spectacular from the outside. We had planned to go inside but the line circled the square so we passed on this one. We stopped to admire the bell and clock towers in St. Mark's Square.
Of course there are gondolas, water taxis, and small motor boats that resembled rum runners everywhere. In some of the gondolas there were musicians such as accordion players. It was just like in the movies.
The architecture of the buildings creates a good feeling of the past. Shutters and flower boxes add to the charm of the building facades. The streets level spaces are the shops and restaurants ,and the upper levels are apartments and hotels.
We had two wonderful meals here. Lunch was Caesar salad and a ham, brie cheese and veggies Panini. Dinner consisted of lasagna, spaghetti with meat sauce , breadsticks and rolls. The breadsticks were especially tasty. We've never had any like it at home.
The evening was spent walking along the Canal Grande enjoying the atmosphere and people watching!
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