Venice - a City on the Water

A few years ago, in preparation for my epic Birthday Adventure, my friend Ashley gave me a travel journal. I wrote in it religiously - recapping each days events and escapades. I've taken notes on quite a few trips and I definitely think it's worth the time and effort. Especially for big trips where you're traveling to different cities - the notes are very important as you go back through your pictures and start organizing (or if you want to write about your trip and finally get around to it much much later). Hope you enjoy the journal view and notes on Venice!

Train: Verona to Venice - We woke up early to catch a taxi to the train station. This time, we didn't want to risk being in the wrong place! We quickly realized that something was different about my luggage - it was VERY HEAVY. Going up and down steps is a bit of a challenge with 50+ pounds of suitcase. Note to self: when packing for next European excursion, remember that the backpackers are onto something... travel light! We made it to the correct platform and boarded the train... but we were in the wrong car! We had to weave through 5 train cars before finding our seats. Finally, we were able to relax. That's one of the best things about riding the train - once you're settled in, you can just sit back and relax!

There were two stops in Venice: one was still on the "mainland" and then our stop - Venezia St. Lucia. The train crossed the water and we could see the big cruise ships docked nearby.
We got to the train station and started walking toward the end of the platform where we saw a tiny woman holding a sign with our name on it! Nancia was our guide to help find the water taxi and hotel.

We walked toward the dock and Nancia led us to our "taxi" - a motorboat! We hopped on and first sat in the enclosed area - but Nancia said, "No, no! you go to back and stand! Much better for pictures and view!"

That first boat ride through the canals was INCREDIBLE. We were so excited to be in a different place - and it was SO beautiful. The weather was perfect - sunny and breezy - and we were riding in a boat through the middle of a city! Nancia pointed out the Grand Canal and then insisted on taking our picture (and we were so glad she did)!

She told us that we could take the "bus" for a much more reasonable fare than a taxi. Taxis and Gondolas sometimes cost between 80-100 Euros for a half hour ride. The "bus" in Venice is a water bus, of course (you can see one in the picture above), and there were big yellow "bus stops" all along the canal, and one fare was about 7 Euros - with options to get a day pass or 2-day pass for between 20-30 Euros. Definitely a good way to quickly travel between points on the island!

I probably took over 100 pictures on that first boat ride... everywhere I looked there was something GORGEOUS or AMAZING. The picture above, with the water lapping over this gate to a courtyard, just fascinates me. I guess the owners pull up to their gate in their boat and step out into their private square.

Also, you can see how clear and clean the water looks. That's one thing we were anxious about - thinking of a town built on water, your imagination can certainly come up with some pretty wild ideas. However, NONE of the things I'd imagined came true. The water was pretty and blue and even though we were in a port city, right by the sea, there wasn't that "fishy" smell I was expecting. Every now and then I got a breath of salt air - like I was at the beach.

Nancia took us right to our hotel, the Hotel San Moise. We pulled up at a dock and were just steps from the lobby. Our room wasn't quite ready, so we checked our luggage and started walking.

We had a map, but our travel guide books had warned us that we would have better luck following the gold signs pointing to landmarks. We quickly found out that Venice is an easy town to get lost in! Our first mission was to find some food, so we stopped in a square and had a salad and pizza. Delicious!

After lunch we wandered aimlessly for a bit, trying to get our bearings and taking in the sights.

Water fountains and wells like this one were a common sight in each square - but they've been bolted shut for a long time to prevent pollution entering the waterways. They go down down down to fresh water and you can refill your water bottle as you explore the city.

Lion statues and artwork are sprinkled everywhere in Venice. The lion is the symbol for St. Mark, who is the Patron Saint of Venice.

I was surprised by how warm it was, although I don't think I should have been - we were there in late June, so it definitely felt like summertime! We were very glad that the narrow streets led us between tall buildings with shade.

We decided to catch a ride on the bus - one of the bus routes ran on a loop around the Grand Canal (basically the main "street" of Venice). We used the ride as a makeshift tour of the city, and were treated to some pretty incredible views along the way.

Since the sun was starting to set, we decided to head back to our hotel. We got off at a stop that appeared to be close to our hotel... at least on paper. However, the roads and bridges of Venice are like a maze. Sometimes you can see your destination across a canal, but there's no bridge to get across! Prepare yourself for miles and miles of wandering...

Which can lead you to bridges and views like this one. As the sun went down, the gondoliers started serenading the tourists - so it made for quite the backdrop.

With all my rave reviews, you're probably thinking - "wow, can this place get any better"? Well, we finally got back to our hotel and found our room...our little dose of reality for our stay in Venice. In the picture above - besides the fact that I look EXHAUSTED from all that walking - you are looking at our ENTIRE room! That's a window behind my head, but you can see that if I stuck out my legs, they'd be on the other bed. There was a small bathroom behind the picture-taker, but this was by far our smallest room on our trip. It definitely made us laugh - and I was glad to be traveling with someone who knows me well. No room for privacy in this room!

Sorry for the long introduction to Venice... hopefully you made it through!  I'll be sharing more of our sightseeing adventures over the next few posts. Happy Travel Tuesday!