Travel Journal:

Italia - Day 2: Venice


Day 2: Venice 2002-11-11
 
We had a really great train ride from Milan. We talked to lots of people in lots of languages. The train to Venice had compartments that sat 6 people. When we first got on there was the three of us and an older Italian woman, and 2 african men. After a while we talked to the men. I forget what country they were from, maybe Guyana, but they spoke french. So Merena and I tried our hand at remember our french - (soooo long ago), and Lincy tried speaking Italian to them. They got off at some point and a young Italian couple got on - Rosa and Alfredo. They were really cool - they also spoke really good English. Lincy tried her Italian out on them too. We asked them for suggestions of places to go. They really got into Naples - since that is where Rosa is from. Plus they told us lots of good desserts and cakes to try. Rosa gave us her mobile number and said to call her when we were in Naples and if she was there she would show us around. Plus the other woman on the train also started talking to us too.

So once we arrived in Venice you walk straight out of the train station to face the Grand Canal. It's amazing. Venice looks just like it does in pictures. We bought all day "tourist" tickets for the vaporetto (water taxi) and went to the Ferrovia bust stop - a floating dock. Cruising along the canal seemed almost like a Disney ride. The water is even that weird greeny blue. We passed under the Rialto bridge. When we got off we had no clue where we were - so we went to the Tourist Information office and got maps and directions.

Our hotel was on a canal with a gondola dock - cool! It 's a big yellow stucco building with green shutters. We came out in the from but there's no way to get in, so we had to go around into Piazza San Marco to get to the entrance. It was early so our room wasn't ready yet, so we went looking for lunch. Nearby we found a little cafe. I had mozzarella and pomodora panini. We decided to also have dessert since we didn't have any in Milan (we totally deserved it). I had a nice cappucinno and a chocolate "pastry" which turned out to be a white cookie half dipped in chocolate. Lincy had a yummy tartufo and Merena once again ordered "cafe" instead of "cafe americano". Drat. The menu described Cafe Americano as "weak american coffee".

The Hotel Cavaletto was definitely 4 stars. Our room had a king sized bed and nice twin. The furniture and decor was really nice. The bathroom had a regular bathtub and a towel warmer! Plus there were chocolates!! We freshened up again (which took forever - lincy!) and headed out to Piazza San Marco. We walked around the square and through San Marco's church. The square is full of pigeons - which is a big tourist attraction as vendors sell pigeon food for €1.

The church was very elegan with the ceilings covered in gorgeous gilt mosaics. There were 5 domes. The facade of the chruch was quite different and impressive. At the top of one balcony were four bronze horses. There is a separate bell tower that must be the tallest building in Venice - you could pay to go up it - but we didn't.
 
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Milan Journal : Italia - Day 2: Venice Travel Photos
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