Hotel Plaza Venice

... only about half an hour to the city center which was a relief after our experience in Paris. When we got in to Venice, our hotel instructions told us that we should take a four minute water taxi ride to get there.  Ultimately, we decided to just ...

... 27th             Brandon and I decided to go to Venice Thursday through Saturday so that we could get a cheaper hotel.  We took a euro star train (the nice ones) to Venice and got there by ...

... and then meet back up with the boat, which took us to our hotel. Once we settled in our rooms we walked through Venice to San Marco plaza which is the official entrance to the city. We were given a tour of the Ducal palace by this amazing tour guide, ...

... landing in Italy. I snapped some pictures of the Swiss alps as we flew over. As the aircraft made its final approach to Venice Marco Polo airport I looked out the window and saw Venice in the distance. Just before we touched down, I could see swamp land ...

... you often stay in hotels that are not in the easiest of locations to get where you want to go.  My last visit to Venice, the hotel we normally stay at had plumbing issues and we stayed in Padua (Padova), which was a lovely little city, just not easy ...

... a strong coffee with loads of frothy milk and we're good to go. Today's the day to see Venice.  We start out positive until the helpful hotel clerk informs us, "Everything in Italy is closed on Sunday."  Her words foreshadow our entire ...

... 5 minutes on the gondola ride drizzle gave way to rain.  We were getting wet but it didn't matter, a gondola ride in Venice made the rain insignificant.  But soon, it did become significant.  Once we left the shelter of the small canals ...

... every morning just under our window.  And best of all, it’s not expensive by Venice standards – a really great value.  Very near our hotel, there is a "hidden" plaza right on the Grand Canal with several nice cafes and ...

... nothing there.  It was a very suburban residential area, and there was no one at the train station.  Thankfully there was a Crowne Plaza hotel across the tracks, problem was, I had no idea how to get over there. So, I walked around for about an ...

... consisting of plastic bags tied over your shoes and a plastic foot gripper strapped over the bag to give you traction. I think Venice is sinking under the weight of tourism. Rick thinks Venice is sinking under the inertia of the various restaurant touts ...

... , on the next night (Saturday.)  If we had to not sleep that night we'd deal with it, but we already had our Venice hotel booked for tonight, and a couple days ago we booked our Munich hotel so we had a nonrefundable hotel in Munich Saturday night. ...

... ! ok exclamation point will have to do because can not find question mark on wacky european computer. So just outside of Venice I stare at train timetable... hoping that suddenly, like staring at an escher painting, it will become clear to me what it ...

... just take it all in! The next day, we walked back to San Marco and went on an excursion of the islands surrounding Venice: Murano, Burano, and Torcello. Murano is a city that is world renown for its glass manufacturing, and part of our boat tour included ...

... walk through narrow streets trying his best to whip up enthusiasm for his city. I kept thinking of all the bad press that Venice had received over the years including the sinking thereof, the stench, the litter and the tourists. I am pleased to report ...

... time to go into the doges palace where there are some fantastic tintoretto work, as well as very well preserved rooms from when Venice was a autonomous country. In about the third room my cousin Tessa passed me so we caught up - we live about 90km apart ...

... Kelly & Lily (5 months pregnant) at train station. Walked to Hotel Canal & Walter, dropped off luggage & navigated our way over to the main plaza area. J&B feeling sick so back to hotel for nap. Pasta dinner meal (a little disappointing). Internet ...

... we were headed or even show you where we went, but we walked on and on.  It was fun to see the backstreets of Venice.  After a couple hours we were pretty tired and as we crossed a bridge to a small platform that connected to many other bridges ...

... and canals to the main land. Did you know that the mainland that actually has roads also is called Venice...DO not be fooled when you book your hotel. Even though we walked for hours and got lost, we happened to see a lot of nice architecture and ...

... we were headed or even show you where we went, but we walked on and on.  It was fun to see the backstreets of Venice.  After a couple hours we were pretty tired and as we crossed a bridge to a small platform that connected to many other bridges ...

... the city. We go "Off the Beaten Path" as they say. On the other hand, when we want to go somewhere specific, like to the hotel, its annoying and very frustrating. We were given a map that has the smallest writing in the world. I'd show it to you in a ...