This weekend I took my first high-speed train for a short, two day weekend trip to Venice. This post probably has way more pictures than normal (because who wouldn't take photos of the amazing city) and way less puns than normal because I couldn't think of anything having to do with Venice :(
Day 1
The first thing we did upon getting there was to take a water boat down the Grand Canal to St. Mark's Square–a great introduction to the city! While I've heard so much about Venice, it was literally unreal to see how ingrained the canals and water are with the city. The buildings were also even more beautiful and unique than I could have imagined.
St. Mark's Square, which is at the end of the Grand Canal, is what you always see of Venice and was where we headed first. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be, and had a lot less birds than I'd seen in the photos! The buildings lining the square were really impressive, and while it was full of tourists there was so much room that nothing seemed particularly crowded. The busiest part was near the Basilica, which was very unique compared to others because of the beautiful frescos on the outside.
We also stopped by for some amazing cannolis in the square–yum!!!
After, we explored the streets nearby and went into shops full of Murano glass and Venetian masks, each one more beautiful than the next. Our big activity of the day was a climb to the top of the St. Mark's Square clocktower for panoramic views of Venice. Anybody who knows me knows I love panoramas so I was really in heaven! It was very cold and windy up top but so worth it for the views, and it was also the spot where Galileo showed the Doge the first telescope in 1609!
We wandered to a random street where we found a nice seafood restaurant, of course overlooking a canal. It was surprisingly hard to find good places in Venice, we felt like it was all so touristy and had the same menu. They also had a lot more traditional Italian food like we find in Rome, but I personally was expecting more fish because of the location. We learned in our food tourism class to check the menus–many tourist places use frozen meals, but will say it in small print!
The canal we ate on was picture-perfect, and exactly what I'd imagine in Venice:
The canal we ate on was picture-perfect, and exactly what I'd imagine in Venice:
Day 2
For our second and final day, we woke up early to take in everything Venice had to offer. We took the bus back down the Grand Canal and started at Ca Rezzonico, one of the palaces along the canal. The interior was extremely elaborate and full of famous art, as well as luxurious chairs, china, and Murano glass chandeliers. The rooms were almost endless, and from the third floor there was an amazing view of the Grand Canal! The family that owned the house had produced several Doges and important nobility in Venice culture, as well as hosted the Pope when he came to visit.
There was a large triangular point at the edge of the Grand Canal with a church, that we went and walked through. It was significantly more plain than any I've seen, but the real winner was the view from the pointed edge of the ocean and the entire city.
After that, I went to look at the Ca D'Oro, another palace from the outside, and explored the shopping area nearby. I was shocked to find a McDonalds, Lush, and other American items there!
I found a bakery and had a Pan de Doge (Doge, since I didn't explain this earlier, was the "mayor" or "king" of Venice), which is almost a chocolate scone with these giant nuts and some raisins (and I think some honey?). It was a delicious snack, but I found that as I dropped little pieces the pigeons were following me and literally pecking at my feet! (Amazingly, they're not in this photo!)
I found a bakery and had a Pan de Doge (Doge, since I didn't explain this earlier, was the "mayor" or "king" of Venice), which is almost a chocolate scone with these giant nuts and some raisins (and I think some honey?). It was a delicious snack, but I found that as I dropped little pieces the pigeons were following me and literally pecking at my feet! (Amazingly, they're not in this photo!)
And then we were off :( That's the water bus on the right–check out the bus stop! While I've had enough of boats for a while, Venice was spectacular!
Ciao,
Alyssa
Ciao,
Alyssa