Venice

The day after we went to Verona, we decided to get up early and take the train to Venice. It is about a 50 minute train ride to Venice and it only costs four euros each. We decided that Venice would become our new San Francisco, a fun metropolis we can go to on the weekends.

Venice, however, I must say, is much cooler than San Francisco. I think it is definitely the most beautiful city I have ever been to. Going there was... magical. It was like that magical feeling you get when you watch the fireworks show at Disneyland, but better. The city just seems unreal. First of all, there are absolutely no cars at all in the city, or bikes, or motorcycles, for that matter. It's a fairly small city and you can walk anywhere. Literally, the only means of transportation are boats! There are bus boats, taxi boats, police boats, ambulance boats, people own their own personal boats, and of course the gondolas.Our visit was great because it was not crowded at all, and the sun came out in the afternoon, and it became rather warm. All of the buildings in the city are beautiful, it was inspiring just walking around. It was actually fun to get lost in the city and explore all of the beautiful little neighborhoods there.

The first thing we did when we got there was take a cruise down the Grand Canal. We rode on the bus boats (vaporetto) all the way to Saint Mark's Square.

Me validating my bus ticket for the vaporetto on the floating bus stop/dock.

The view from the Grand Canal was... GRAND! From the canal we could see Venice from the inside of the city through its main artery. We floated by beautiful Venetian mansions, impressive bridges, and many other Venetians driving their boats through town.

The Ponte degli Scalzi (bridge).

Beautiful Venetian mansions along the canal.

Dal and I enjoying the cruise.

Parked gondolas.

The impressive Rialto bridge to the left.

Our cruise on the vaporetto took us to Saint Mark's Square, the biggest square in Venice and also the home of the famous Saint Mark's Basilica. 

The Campanile de San Marco and the Basilica.

Me and Dal in Piazza de San Marco.

Saint Mark's Basilica.

Then we went inside of Saint Mark's Basilica. Such an impressive and ornate building. The outside, though partially under construction, was amazing because it was covered in colorful mosaics and so many ornate details. The inside was also cool to see. It was also completely covered in mosaics. It was fun to look up and recognize the stories of the Bible like Adam and Eve and Noah's ark, illustrated with tiny stones making up a beautiful mosaic.

After exploring Saint Mark's Basilica, we walked around the square a bit, looked in some of the shops, and got a snack. Speck and Brie panino... yum.

Traffic.

Then we went to the Doge's Palace, also near Saint Mark's Square. The Doge's Palace is where the rulers of Venice lived and held council for the Republic of Venice. The palace is large and filled with ornate rooms of countless frescoes, sculptures, and ornamentation.

Outside of the Doge's palace.

Me in the courtyard of the Doge's Palace.

Ceiling in the Doge's Palace.

We weren't supposed to take pictures in this room, so this picture is not the best. But this is the largest oil painting on canvas in the world. It was huge! The painting depicts the last judgement.

This is the "Bridge of Sighs". Unfortunately it was covered in some stupid scaffolding. But it was a bridge that prisoners would walk over just before they would be executed. As they walked over the bridge, they would take one last look out of the bridge at the view of beautiful Venice and... sigh.

Another pic outside of St. Mark's Basilica.

We were on the south side of the island and there were beautiful views so we decided to walk along the waterfront. The sun came out and we just enjoyed the beauty of Venice.

Then we decided to get some lunch. Unfortunately, that was not a very good experience. We were stupid and just went to a very touristy place. Basically we paid 40 bucks for us to eat mediocre food that tasted like it was just warmed up in the microwave. Next time, we will be sure to do some research, listen to Rick Steves and find a good place to eat. After lunch, we decided to make our way to the train station by walking through the back streets of Venice. It was just a joy to walk around in this beautiful city.

And of course, every good day in Italy ends with gelato.

Venice truly is the most beautiful, romantic city that I have every been to. If you ever come to Italy, you must come to Venice. No exceptions. We are so lucky to be able to visit this place whenever we want.