Arriving to Venice is wonderful. Almost enough to make us forget about the previous night. We were on a night train to Belgrade and had to get off in southeastern Austria at a town called Villach. We waited there for an hour in sub freezing temperatures for a two decker bus to Venice. We slept most of the way as the bus wound through the mountains of northern Italy. We had to cross the long bridge that connects Venice to the mainland and the view is breathtaking. There were boats everywhere and planes landing at nearby Marco Polo airport.
We took a walk around the train station area because we had two hours to kill until we could check in to the hotel. The streets are a labyrinth so we had to be careful of the places we visited. We saw lots of families piling into the gondolas for rides with the local gondoliers. A few of them tried to play Iz for a ride but they obviously didn't realize who they were talking to. We were more caught up in walking around a city that dates back to the early 5th century and was built on piles of wood that have petrified because of constantly being in water. The city only began to sink in the 20th century when wells were dug to provide water for the city. It was soon discovered that pulling water from the aquifer was causing the sinking so they stopped.
After checking into our hotel, we had a more thorough wander through the streets. The water everywhere was blue. The fun of walking through Venice is that you never know where the next turn will lead. What is really nice is when there is a sidewalk that runs down a side of some buildings so you can walk and take in the views.
Our first major landmark to cross was the Rialto Bridge. The bridge is loaded with jewelry and souvenir shops. The first version was built in 1181 and the final stone bridge was built in 1591 and is one of the major tourist spots of the city. It is also the middle point of most of the water taxi services as it connects the train station with San Marco Square. The markets became an important part of the Venetian trade life. Most people around the bridge are elbowing and pushing to get a picture of themselves with Venice in the background.
Thank god there are signs on the buildings in Venice directing tourists to the major spots. Most signs point to the Rialto Bridge and to the Piazza San Marco. One thing you notice quickly in Venice is the lack of bicycles but if they were allowed, it just wouldn't work at all. The streets everywhere are narrow and they are lined with tons of different shops. We stopped along the way and had some pizza for lunch. The streets that surround San Marco are full of high end tourist trap shops and tons of different restaurants. The square itself is amazing. The square is home to the Cathedral of San Marco, which is a gawdy monstrosity of a cathedral. The domes are high and the portals are decorated with ornate paintings and tons of gold leaf. The inside is almost all gold and there were lots of risers as the city had been experiencing flooding a few weeks before we arrived. Across from the church is the Campanile of San Marco, a tower built in 1156, restored in 1514 and eventually rebuilt in the early 20th century. The other part that is quite nice is the clocktower and its brilliant purple/blue colors in the sunlight.
Being in the square was incredible and you could feel the history of the place. The amount of tourists was amazing as well. Along the seafront, there are tons of more important buildings, a view of some of the smaller islands south of the city but still part of it. It's also a hot spot of gondoliers and water taxis. As we hadn't slept much the night before and the sun was starting to set, we decided to find a restaurant, have some dinner, and call it a night. The restaurant we chose was terrible, the service was worse, and we ended the night discovering that our hotel had some of the worst smells in the hallways ever.
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