We just finished four days in Venice and it is our favorite Italian city so far. The old buildings surrounded by water is unlike anywhere we have been before. There are bridges everywhere but none rivals the Rialto Bridge which was right by our hotel. This bridge is awesome and the views from the top are unparalleled, but the steps are no joke! Especially fun if carrying all our luggage!! But no worries, I survived and we found an easier way back to the train station at the end of the visit.
Our first full day started with a 3.5 hour walking tour to St. Mark’s Square and Basilica, the Doges Palace, and a couple other hidden gems. This included amazing walks through hidden paths, an Opera House, and an outside spiral staircase. We, of course, learned a lot. The Doges Palace was actually the center of government and the Doges were the political leader. The palace was their office, court of law, meeting hall, and jail. They even built a bridge from the old jail to new jail and it is called the Bridge of Sighs because if convicted you walked across and saw Venice for the last time and it made you sigh. The church was huge as well and filled with art-a recurring theme of every church. This one has 24 carat gold leaf on the entire ceiling. Each evening was a new adventure when trying to find our restaurant location using Google Maps on Venice streets–some turns lead down dark, narrow alleyways! Good thing its an island so your are never turned around for too long.
The next day was our mostly “water” day. We started out visiting the Rialto Fish Market-wow! That’s a lot of fishing and such–squid or octopus anyone? Next up a gondola ride because when in Venice… It was fun and really cool being on the small canals. Next we bought a two day Vaporatto pass (think busses on water) and hopped on board to visit a small island with views right back at St Mark’s Square. We walked around a bit and found there was a sailboat race happening so we found a place to watch and enjoy a drink! The weather was perfect. Then we got back on the Vaporetto and scored front row seats so we rode it around and used it as a Grand Canal Tour.
Finally, we used the water bus again on our last day and went to Murano and Burano Islands. Murano is the place for glass and Burano is known for its brightly painted houses and lace making. Yes, we bought some glass art and watched a glass blower in action. He made a glass winged horse in about 5 minutes! We had a great visit even though we were not alone. Quite a crowed place. Two thumbs up for Venice, Next up we go to Tuscany.
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