Day of Days
Trip Start
Jun 18, 2008
1
12
14
Trip End
Jul 03, 2008
Though they use "Day of Days" for referring to D-Day, this describes my trip to Venice, one of the most beautiful cities in the world in my opinion. Though I only had a day here, and I wish I had more, I still made the trip as best as I could to me. After going through Brenner Pass, the Dolomites and Verona, Shakespeare's home for Romeo and Juliet, we made it to the tronchetto (the coach park). After eating a packed lunch on the mainland, we then boarded the vaporetto (water taxi) to St. Mark's Square. I could hardly contain my excitement, after all seeing all these pictures of Venice really waters the palate. We met our tour guide, and she took us around the areas near St. Mark's Square to the Bridge of Sighs, and into the Square, going into St. Mark's Cathedral, probably the most amazing church I've ever seen in my life, even with all these great churches in Europe. From there, we went to a glass blowing demonstration, glass being the symbol of Venice besides the canals. The glass is very strong and does not scratch other glass or smear, guaranteed. From there, we walked away from St. Mark's Square to catch a gondola. Gondola rides are very expensive in Venice, so my advice would be to get in a group and split the cost up. Our ride was 80 Euros, between 6 people, so less than 15 Euros per person. Pure bliss is what I describe the gondola ride, going past where Mozart performed. What surprised me is that the canals are like roads in a large city: full of traffic. Our gondolier had many near misses, but so did all the other gondolas and boats near us. Definitely a must in Venice, but go farther from St. Mark's because it cheaper the farther away it is. From there we went toward the Rialto Bridge, arguably the most famous bridge in Venice, 1 of 4 over the Grand Canal. The fruit stand near the Bridge is a must. Cheap and definitely try the fruits that you've never seen because they are all good. Also getting Italian ice cream (gelato) is a must while in Italy, the best ice cream I've ever had. Once again, buy all this stuff far away from St. Mark's Square. It's a shame we had to leave though, because I was the epitome of most tourists to Venice, only visiting for the day, and you definitely need more than that to see Venice. I have no regrets though. Definitely a must see for all the world. After all, it is a UN World Heritage Site. The ride back to Seefeld was filled with pictures forever etched in my memory.
