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| Santa Lucia train station in Venice |
The train experience (we went basic 2nd class) was nicer than I expected. The train was air conditioned (if anything we got cold) and the seats were comfortable. They had assigned seating and it was easy enough to find your assigned carriage and seat, once we figured out what all the signs meant. We left Florence a bit late and arrived in Venice just before noon.
Next we had to stand in line for Vaporatti tickets (the public water buses). The line looked long, but it moved okay and before too long we had four 12 hour passes so we could ride however much we wanted.
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| Classic Venice |
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| A Vaporatti boat |
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| Doge's Palace on the Grand Canal--look at all the people on the shore |
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| More Grand Canal sites |
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The downside to the water buses versus a rented
gondola is that you can't go down the small side
canals like the gondolas do. |
We spent most of our day in Venice on those boats. At first we were trapped inside-- too many people so we couldn't snag the few outdoor seats, but once we passed the major sites on the grand canal enough people got off that we were able to move to the open-air back. That was fun. That was also the point where you leave the canal and are going around the edge of the island, so they go faster.
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| One of the large churches in Venice |
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| A church on an outlying island |
It was fun to feel the breeze and watch all the other boats. We were having so much fun that we stayed on all the way out to the island of Lido. We got off there and found a gelato stand and had some yummy cones. Then we hopped the next boat headed back to the main island.
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Who exactly can afford a yacht this size? The boats around it
are big. This one was just insane. |
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| So many pretty bridges |
The boats came in lots of different sizes and configurations. This one didn't have as many outdoor seats, so instead we were up in the inside of the front. This route ran along the outside edge of the main island and you could see other smaller islands out in the distance. The sky was looking darker and darker and then the rain came. It poured--even some lightning and hail. The water was pretty wavy and people getting on and off at stops got soaked. We no longer felt bad about our indoor seats. The storm was actually quite fun.
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| Here comes the rain! |
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| Some good waves on the water bus |
Once the rain calmed to a drizzle, we moved to the outdoor seats in the back that everyone had abandoned. That was great . There were only four seats back there so we had it all to ourselves and had a great time as we cruised around the island. Gradually the clouds cleared and the sun came out again.
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| Sailing under a bridge |
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| Another water bus (vaporatti) is ahead on the right |
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| Check out the cool statue on the bank |
Around 3:30, we got off at San Marco Square. We had afternoon tickets for the Doge's Palace (costs less after 3 pm). We had bought them in advance to avoid what can be terrible lines, but surprisingly there weren't too many people around. That was great in the buildings because we were spared the Louvre/Versaille packed in a crowd feeling. We were able to roam freely and comfortably except for a few times that we collided with dreaded tour groups. We were glad there weren't too many people because it was quite warm in the buildings as it was. With a crowd it would have been miserable. We wandered through all the apartments and assembly rooms in the castle. Crazily ornate of course. They had beautiful chandeliers. We also went through the armory and the prisons . My boy loved the armory-- case after case of swords, knight armor, shields, arrows, etc. All very ornate as well as functional. We were thinking of how our society doesn't do that anymore. You don't have beautiful decorations all over an AK-47. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside the palace. I hate it when they do that. We did get a few shots out in the courtyard.
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| The Bridge of Sighs leading to the dungeons of the palace |
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| An old gondola in the palace courtyard |
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| Staircase in the courtyard |
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| So strange to be in a building, glance out a door, and see this. |
After seeing the palace, we wandered through the surrounding streets on foot for a while. We checked out the outside of Saint Mark's cathedral but skipped the huge line to go inside.
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San Marco Square. Notice the flying lions on the far building.
It is a symbol of St. Mark and became a symbol of Venice when
they adopted Mark as their patron saint. |
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| St. Mark's Cathedral |
The tourist shops were more fun in Venice then anywhere we've been. I think because the two most common souveniers there were Carnival masks and glass from the glassworks on Murano. Both of those categories include a huge variety of beautiful, colorful objects so it was quite fun to window shop.
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| An amazing of the incredible, colorful glass work |
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An ATM in the wall of an old church--
Funny mix of old and new |
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| Tight spaces |
And Venice really is unlike anywhere we've seen. It is just so unreal seeing the water lapping at the doorsteps and to walk down a little alleyway and run into a little canal. We walked back as far as the Riolto Bridge and then hopped the boat again back to the train station. We took the 6:30 pm train back to Florence, getting back to our hotel around 8:30 or 9. It was a really nice day.
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| The Rialto Bridge--there were stores all along it |
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| A unique street vendor |
