We went to Europe in Oct. Our itinerary was to fly to Venice and spend 2 nights there before boarding a cruise ship on the third day. The ship remained in Venice for another day and then we went to Croatia, Montenegro and Greece. We disembarked in Piraeus, spent 4 nights in Athens and flew back.
I had never been to that part of the world before. We flew through Venice once but that was it. I have read lots of books about Venice and set in Venice and thought I knew a reasonable amount of Venetian history and art. I was wrong.
Before leaving, I was in touch with our boutique hotel via email. They wanted to know when I'd be arriving and if I needed someone to meet me. We got in about noon and I like to take public transport as much as possible when I am sightseeing because you experience the city so differently by moving that way. In this case, the expense sealed the deal. A private taxi is very expensive. The public water taxi is cheap but required a transfer. There is also a public airport taxi.
Venetians move about using the vaporetti or water taxis which are frequent and relatively inexpensive. They go up and down the Grand Canal (lines 1 and 2) and also go to other islands as well to other sides of the main islands. Other than them, one walks. The airport is on the mainland, in Mestre. There are buses that go from the airport to Piazzale Roma which is the only point in Venice where you can come in a wheeled powered vehicle. I assume there are bicycles in Venice but since one has to go over canals via bridges, I didn't see any of them. From Piazzale Roma, we would have switched to a vaporetto and gone to our hotel.
Instead, I decided to take the airport taxi (the Alilaguna) which is a boat that you take at the airport. It stops at far fewer places than the vaporetti but fortunately, it stopped very close to our hotel. In fact, it stopped at the same dock that the vaporetto would have stopped at. I also had downloaded maps of Venice and looked up the route to the hotel because we wouldn't have access to the internet till we got to the hotel.
The views were beautiful as we flew in.
Mountains on the mainland
The causeway linking Venice to the mainland
The Alilaguna dock as we wait for our taxi.
Unfortunately, the way the Alilaguna boats are set up. you go down 3 steps to the place where you sit. The windows are high up and there isn't much of a view. After it emptied out a bit, I knelt on the seat and peered out but at first it was not possible to do that.
We got off and started walking towards the hotel. Unfortunately, I had no sense of distance and we went over a couple of unnecessary bridges hauling out suitcases up and down the stairs before I caught on. So we had to backtrack, going up and down them again! But it wasn't very much time. Just effort and coming off an overnight flight, tiring.
Our hotel was in an old palazzo which is what the residential buildings are called. It was small. Only 30 rooms but very comfortable and modern. Our room was up 3 flights of stairs. Fortunately they carried our suitcases up. We rested a bit and then decided to go sight-seeing.
St. Mark's Square was not too far so we started there.
Our first view of the square. Being late afternoon, it was not that crowded. When we saw it the next day, it was packed.
St. Mark's Basilica. I had just read Dan Brown's Inferno earlier in the year. Part of the action is set in Venice in and around St. Mark's. I also read a series of books by Donna Leon whose protagonist is a detective in Venice. Many of the names and places are very familiar and it was exciting to see them in real life and compare them with my imagination.
One of the sides of St. Mark Square with the clock tower to the right.
View of the Doge's Palace from the square.
Photography is forbidden inside the Basilica and the guards stop you if they see you. But I snuck a photo of the Pala D'Oro because there weren't any guards behind the screen.
Up on the balcony there is no restriction on photos. This is the square from the balcony.
Some of the gorgeous murals on the cathedral. Venice's rule extended to Byzantium and beyond and the Cathedral is made up of things that were brought back by the Doges as well as things created in the Byzantine style. This was one of the things I learned. I knew Venice had far-flung impact due to its location and the trade that went through it. But I didn't realize how much they actually ruled in terms of geography.
The famous horses on the balcony. These are copies. The originals are inside in the museum.
Looking out to the laguna from the balcony. The Doge's palace is to the left.
Looking out at the clock tower.
The far side of the balcony, away from the laguna, looks down on this square. Getting to the edge on that side involved walking across some very uneven stones in the balcony.
A close up of the clock tower
A couple of views of the mosaic frescoes taken from the street level. It is such a beautiful structure! That is what I loved about Venice. Everywhere you look, there is gorgeous architecture and it is from all over.
After descending, we walked over to the laguna and got our bearings. We came back here the next day so more on that later.
There are two famous, very old cafes in the square. You can sit inside or outside and have a cup of coffee or a drink and people watch.
Gondolas lined up along the laguna. We didn't take a gondola ride as it didn't appeal to me. But we saw them everywhere and I took a lot of photos of them.
The Doge's Palace.
People sitting around. We went during the quiet season but there were still plenty of tourists!
One of the gondola docks. That green tower is supposed to be a sign of the boats that ferry (traghetti) you across the canal. We went looking for one one day but never saw a boat. They are large gondolas.
I love the way the light reflected off the water.
I promised you architecture!
After all that, we were tired and stopped at a cafe in one of the squares to grab a quick dinner and went to bed.
We lucked out with perfect weather. No rain and no clouds on most days. it was in the 70s F - easy to walk around in the sun without getting too hot.
I had never been to that part of the world before. We flew through Venice once but that was it. I have read lots of books about Venice and set in Venice and thought I knew a reasonable amount of Venetian history and art. I was wrong.
Before leaving, I was in touch with our boutique hotel via email. They wanted to know when I'd be arriving and if I needed someone to meet me. We got in about noon and I like to take public transport as much as possible when I am sightseeing because you experience the city so differently by moving that way. In this case, the expense sealed the deal. A private taxi is very expensive. The public water taxi is cheap but required a transfer. There is also a public airport taxi.
Venetians move about using the vaporetti or water taxis which are frequent and relatively inexpensive. They go up and down the Grand Canal (lines 1 and 2) and also go to other islands as well to other sides of the main islands. Other than them, one walks. The airport is on the mainland, in Mestre. There are buses that go from the airport to Piazzale Roma which is the only point in Venice where you can come in a wheeled powered vehicle. I assume there are bicycles in Venice but since one has to go over canals via bridges, I didn't see any of them. From Piazzale Roma, we would have switched to a vaporetto and gone to our hotel.
Instead, I decided to take the airport taxi (the Alilaguna) which is a boat that you take at the airport. It stops at far fewer places than the vaporetti but fortunately, it stopped very close to our hotel. In fact, it stopped at the same dock that the vaporetto would have stopped at. I also had downloaded maps of Venice and looked up the route to the hotel because we wouldn't have access to the internet till we got to the hotel.
The views were beautiful as we flew in.
Unfortunately, the way the Alilaguna boats are set up. you go down 3 steps to the place where you sit. The windows are high up and there isn't much of a view. After it emptied out a bit, I knelt on the seat and peered out but at first it was not possible to do that.
We got off and started walking towards the hotel. Unfortunately, I had no sense of distance and we went over a couple of unnecessary bridges hauling out suitcases up and down the stairs before I caught on. So we had to backtrack, going up and down them again! But it wasn't very much time. Just effort and coming off an overnight flight, tiring.
Our hotel was in an old palazzo which is what the residential buildings are called. It was small. Only 30 rooms but very comfortable and modern. Our room was up 3 flights of stairs. Fortunately they carried our suitcases up. We rested a bit and then decided to go sight-seeing.
St. Mark's Square was not too far so we started there.
Photography is forbidden inside the Basilica and the guards stop you if they see you. But I snuck a photo of the Pala D'Oro because there weren't any guards behind the screen.
After descending, we walked over to the laguna and got our bearings. We came back here the next day so more on that later.
People sitting around. We went during the quiet season but there were still plenty of tourists!
One of the gondola docks. That green tower is supposed to be a sign of the boats that ferry (traghetti) you across the canal. We went looking for one one day but never saw a boat. They are large gondolas.
I love the way the light reflected off the water.
After all that, we were tired and stopped at a cafe in one of the squares to grab a quick dinner and went to bed.
We lucked out with perfect weather. No rain and no clouds on most days. it was in the 70s F - easy to walk around in the sun without getting too hot.
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