Ah, Venice, indeed. Home to gondolas (and gondoliers!), ferry boats, wooden motor boats, tourists with $3 umbrellas, pigeons and people bustling from one place to the next. Seriously, I think Venetians didn't get the memo that Italians aren't supposed to rush hither and thither. To me, Venice was an assault on the senses that none of the other Italian towns we visited were. There's just so much happening, it was difficult for me to take it all in.
Before we left for Italy, we had booked our tickets on the newish train service, Italo Treno, to help foster the competitive rail travel industry. Pft. What am I saying? Their trains are newer and looked nice and were a little cheaper than the other service. After waiting in the Italo waiting area at the Santa Maria Novella train station in Florence, we sped our way to Venice. It was nice. I like trains; they feel modern and old-fashioned at the same time.
We stepped off the train in Venice to follow the crowds into the station, where we purchased our water ferry passes. Great deal! Unlimited number of ferry rides within the "network" for 72 hours. I think we ended up going up and down the Grand Canal at least three times, just because we could.
Hotel Violino d'Oro was home for a few days and it was lovely. Also, very easy to find, which was fantastic considering we took the wrong ferry at the train station. Ah, well.
After checking in, we got settled in and relaxed for a bit while a rainstorm passed over. When it mostly ended, we ventured out for our first real look at Venice. It was absolutely beautiful. There were very few people out with us, so our first look at Piazza San Marco was beautifully lit with the setting sun and a bit of shimmer from the rain, and practically no one out.
We walked around with no destination in mind, looking for a nice place for dinner. This was our view, and it only got better when the gondolas drifted past.
After dinner, we hopped ferry line #2 to go up and down the Grand Canal and see the beautiful buildings lit up.
I'll give you one guess as to what this is.... Where are all the people? It's packed to the rafters with tourists during the day.
The next day dawned overcast and drizzly, so, armed with our umbrellas, we set out to get lost. And look who we found! There was a gondola station just outside our hotel, so we got to see these guys all the time. Rough, I know.
I love Rick Steves and his walking tours. They really do take you around to places you probably wouldn't find on your own, like this beautiful staircase. According to Rick, external staircases were built in order to conserve space inside. Nice.
Traffic jam without exhaust and honking horns.
Lee and me on the Rialto, photo taken by a very nice American couple.
Of all the bridges in all the towns in Italy, you had to show up on this one. Seriously?? In case you don't know, I'm a Boilermaker. That scarlet ball cap is for the Indiana University Hoosiers, mortal enemies of all Boilermakers. I thought I was inconspicuously taking this picture, so I'm not sure if the bearded dude in the hat is gesturing to me, or if he's just your typical Italian having a normal conversation. Anyhoo, it turned into a fun picture.
After a while, we decided that we'd had enough of aimless wandering and decided to hop a ferry for Lido Island. It was only about a 10-minute ride, so we got there in plenty of time for lunch at the beach. I wouldn't recommend lunch at the Blue Beach pizza place, but the location made up for the uninspiring food. I'm not sure what I was expecting of the beach, but I loved all the broken shells.
One of Lee's favorite things to do is to touch new bodies of water, so she was able to cross the Adriatic Sea off of her list. We could see a storm coming in and decided to head back to Venice. One of my favorite things was to see the crush of boats on the water. It was incredible to see how boats drifted around each other - it was like a dance with no music.
We wanted our last real dinner in Italy to be wonderful and memorable, so we hopped another ferry across the canal and headed to Harry's Dolci. It. Was. Incredible. The food was amazing. The wine was delicious. The service was impeccable. If you can go, I cannot recommed it more highly.
Our last day in Venice dawned grey and drizzly again. No worries. We crossed the canal and walked around what felt like a typical Italian neighborhood. Not a lot of people and window boxes full of beautiful flowers. We loved it over there. Because the crowds were over in Piazza San Marco, we were able to really enjoy walking around.
After that, we left Venice for the airport and we were sad, but full of amazing memories.
