So, we arrived in Venice around 2 or so in the afternoon, and headed for the hotel...kind of. I managed to misdirect everyone, so we got off a stop before we were supposed to, and ended up wandering through the alleys of Venice for a bit before we actually made it. Then we spent a little while searching for an ATM which would accept our US bank cards, before finally making it back out to the Grand Canal for the tour on the waterbus. If you make it to Venice, be aware that Venice offers a multi-day pass on their transportation, which is much cheaper than the trip-by-trip cost that you would pay. We basically hopped on the waterbus and rode from one end of the Grand Canal to the other, before beginning our search for a place to eat.
The next day dawned rather rainy, so we put on the ponchos that my mom and dad had left with us and headed out to St. Mark's Basilica, resting place of - you guessed it, Mark, although apparently the Venetians stole his body from Constantinople. The basilica is pretty impressive, and we walked through looking at the mosaics, and stopped in to the Treasury for a view of their artifacts, including ostensibly, a nail from the crucifixion, a piece of the true cross, and various body parts of saints.
After the basilica, we meandered the shops around St. Mark's Square for a bit before grabbing a bite to eat. As the day had dried off, we then hired a gondola for about 35 minutes or so. The gondola ride may have been somewhat trite, but I enjoyed it, and so did the kids. It also gave us the chance to see some of the quieter back waterways of Venice. In my mind, anyway, it's often the experiences that will stay with you when the pictures have long faded, and besides - how can you go to Venice and not ride a gondola? We then let the kids feed the pigeons, which they enjoyed immensely. I'm not sure why this is a must, perhaps because feeding the pigeons has been banned almost everywhere else (including our own Trafalgar Square), but the pigeons are definitely not shy about eating.
After that, we took one of the waterbuses to the Lido, home of the Venetian beach. I was pleasantly surprised to find it reasonably sandy, and with a good number of seashells on it to boot. Mich and I collected seashells, while the kids played in the sand, and ran back and forth in front of the waves. We rode back and ate, and then back to the hotel for some rest.
3 comments:
I know New Orleans is supposed to have the French influences, but after seeing this latest batch of photos, I'd have to say now it bears more than a passing resemblance to Venetian architecture.
Beautiful place!
Fantastic pictures...love seeing the four of you, too!
Mike - funny you should say so - we felt that it was similar to New Orleans as well, both in architecture, and generally in atmosphere, although lacking the Southern voodoo mystique.
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