The Rialto Bridge
We took the train from Lake Como and watched the landcape change as we moved south. As we approached our destination, Venice suddenly appeared out of the vast expanse of the lagoon -- it was like Venice was rising out of the mist, out of the sea. And once we were truly there, it still felt magical...the canals and bridges, the centuries-old buildings, the flowers overflowing into green-blue water.
Jim wearing cute hat on Rialto Bridge |
Us in a restaurant on the Grand Canal |
We were initially taken aback by the amazing amount of tourism in Venice -- all the street vendors, the inflated prices, and the sometimes pushy waiters who tried to convince passersby to eat at their restaurant. But we took Rick Steves' advice: "Accept the fact that Venice was a tourist town 400 years ago. It was, is, and always will be crowded. While 80 percent of Venice is actually an untouristy place, 80 percent of tourists never notice. Hit the streets. Get lost." So we walked and walked among the canals, bridges and sidewalks of the city, getting as lost as possible.
We saw a huge amount of the city totally on foot, and occasionally took water buses. We explored a bunch of unbelievable mask shops and watched people making the masks out of papier mache and painting them. Jim bought two very cute, funky hats.
We went to the island of Murano on our last day in Venice. Murano is another island in the lagoon, and is known for its glassmaking factories. (Venice was once the glassmaking capitol but, 700 years ago, the city decided to move all glassmaking factories to the island of Murano, as one blown up glassmaking oven could obliterate the city of Venice.) We saw some beautiful glass in the shops and factories.
On our last night in Venice, we had a nice dinner at one of the restaurants on the edge of the Grand Canal, near the Rialto Bridge. Later that night, we took a lovely, romantic evening gondola ride along the Grand Canal and the gondola route (the many smaller canals off the Grand Canal). We even passed our hotel!
The next morning, we went downstairs for our morning hard rolls with jam and hot chocolate. Then we took the number 82 water bus back to the train station, and boarded a EuroStar train for Florence.
Us on our romantic gondola ride |
View of the Grand Canal from our gondola |
Lake Como
| Venice | Siena & Florence | Rome
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