Italy: Day 9 (07-10-09)

This morning we got up to catch the 8:45 train to Venice, or Venezia as they call it in Italy. It was about a two and a half hour trip so we enjoyed watching the scenery as the train rolled through the countryside. Between pointing out the window, Joey, Adam, Anne Marie and I played hearts with a deck of cards. The trip seemed to go fast, especially since Adam whooped us in the card game with ease. When we arrived, we called the owner of the bed and breakfast we are staying in to pick us up from the “bus” station. Then we got on the Venetian version of a bus, which is actually a boat.

Even though this is my second trip to Venice, somehow the initial view of the city always takes me by surprise. It is a truly a one-of-a-kind city. Of course, there are no cars, just a series of canals weaving through the six areas of Venice - three on each side of the large waterway known as the grand canal. Like a huge tapestry, these canals are threaded by over 400 bridges, many of which were built in mid-evil times.

Once we arrived and dropped our luggage in the room, we wandered the small alleyways until we found a quaint restaurant. While the front of the restaurant was full, the waiter led us back to a private garden area in the back where we enjoyed a variety of foods.

After a brief rest in the room, we walked down to Piazza San Marco square - the famous square in Venice with Basilica di San Marco, beautiful old buildings and a ton of pidgeons. (Remember the “I love this woman” commercial from DeBeers diamonds - that was filmed in this square.)

(Above is the ceiling in the Basilica di San Marco and below is the main alter.)

Then, we split into couples to explore. Adam and I meandered through the tiny streets that would be better categorized as passageways. We stopped at several small shops selling a variety of wares - beautiful masks from Carnevale, hand blown glass from the Venetian island of Murano and many other unique items. Then we went back to the Piazza San Marco and sat down at an outside restaurant in order to "people watch" and, of course, enjoy some more desserts!

I got the biggest kick out of taking the above picture. It still makes me laugh.

Above is the street to get to our room. We stayed at a bed and breakfast.

(Above is a typical Venetian street and below features a store selling Venetian glass from the famous island of Murano, which is where they make Venetian glass.)

For dinner we all met back up as a family and walked down to a small restaurant called Tattoria Rivetta tucked away under a bridge. It was a delightful dinner, made even better by the warm grandfatherly owner who also served as our waiter. It was a terrific meal. After which we roamed around Venice. (And, I confess - we stopped for our second gelato of the day.)

A view of a church across the grand canal from our side lit up at night.

(Above features the gondolas parked for the night and below is Mom and Dad looking out over the Grand Canal.)

It was a wonderful end of our first day in Venice and made us anxious for our first full Venetian day tomorrow.