Date: Fri, 3 Jan 2003 14:03:14 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Pizza and gelato in Venice....
Buona sera,
I thought the train to Venice this morning had only one stop in Bologna. That
was the first stop. After that there were about 10 more! This was a Eurostar
train, so it was supposed to be fast!
Well, the trip from Florence to Bologna was the most scenic - going through
some low hills with a lot of good views (whenever we weren't going through any
tunnels, of which there were many). After Bologna was basically flat farmlands
and many many small towns.
Good thing was this train was perfectly on time, and reached Venezia 10 minutes
early!
I only had 7 hours in Venice, so did not see too much. The part that I did see
was gorgeous though. Rome can be described as "dazzling"... Venice is
"enchanting". From the train station I took the Vaporetto (Waterbus) to Ponte
Rialto. Took a few pictures there, had a quick lunch at a pizzeria, then
started walking towards Piazza San Marco - most photographed portion of Venice.
I wish I had a better map! If you plan to do any type of walking in the city,
carry a GOOD map showing not only all the tiny roads (like my maps did), but
also every street's NAME (like my maps did not). I knew the general direction I
had to go, so it did not take too long, but was a little frustrating getting
lost.... at first. After a while I started enjoying it!
There are no cars anywhere in the city - and some streets that I went on had
barely enough room for 2 people to cross each other! Especially if one of those
2 people is as fat as I am! It was fun!
Finally found my way to Piazza San Marco, and spent most of the rest of the day
here. Went to the Campanile tower first -- thankfully they had an elevator to
the top for a small fee. Took that up to the 60m observation deck for some
great views of the entire city! Originally built in 16th century, it collapsed
in 1902 and was rebuilt exactly how it used to be.
Next stop was Basilica San Marco. I have a book called "Top 10 Venice" -- all
the 10 best things in every category - sightseeing, hotels, restuarants,
caffes, historical events, means of transportation...... any 10-best list you
can think of pertaining to the city. Well, Basilica San Marco was number 1 on
the list of things to see in Venice. And even though I did not see that many
things today, it was definitely the best sightseeing attraction today! There
are mosaics on the outside walls of the church... marble columns..... then when
you walk in, more mosaics, paintings, stone carvings... all fantastic! Inside I
went to the museum inside and the Treasury - I liked the Treasury better, even
though it's only two tiny rooms.
Then out of the Basilica again -- I wasn't feeling rushed for time, but did not
linger for too long either like i did in the different places in Rome. Walked a
little bit around the Piazza taking pictures and praying that I wouldn't get
bombed by the hundreds of pigeons all over the place! Then went to Palazzo
Ducale -- Doge's Palace -- the 2nd best according to my book. 4th best
according to me. Its nice.. the artwork inside is the best I've seen since the
Vatican museums... of course all framed with gold. Several ceilings with
paintings, in fact paintings all around -- by Titian, Tintoretto and Bellini
and others.... and more gold.
And more gold.
Went to the prisons -- inside one of the cells. Felt a little spooky, so came
out again. Crossed the "Bridge of Sighs" - named for what the prisoners did.
Also saw the Armory - wasn't too impressed with that. Basically a collection of
swords guns and .... armors. Some of the shields had carvings on them which I
liked, but mostly I wasn't as impressed with this section. The apartments and
the palace were much MUCH better.
After that I was basically done with everything I had intended to see today. By
the way, the book lists Piazza San Marco as 3rd (I'd also rate it 3 out of what
I saw) and Grand Canal as 4th (I'd rate it as 2nd).
Rialto market was 7th according to the book. Since I did not see number 5 and 6
(Accedemia Galleries and Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari church), I would put
Rialto market as number 5!
I walked around the docks some more ... taking many more pictures, then finally
boarded the ACTV waterbus back to the train station - this time I had a great
seat -- the first seat in front of the boat, with a great view!
It's about a 20-minute ride to the train station by the "Canal Grande". Took a
lot more pictures along the way -- amazing to see all those old buildings
coming right up from the water!
After all that I still had 2 hours to kill, so instead of going to any of the
other "Top 10" places I just roamed around the area, going inside some shops
just to warm up (it was starting to get very very chilly outside)... saw a lot
of beautiful - and expensive - glass sculptures! Did not visit the Glassworks
factory on one of the islands though. (Found out about that later).
So just like in Rome there's a lot left to see in Venice, and just like Rome,
I'll be back. yesterday night I did not feel like returning to Pisa, in spite
of not climbing the Leaning Tower. But Rome and Venice both definitely deserve
a return trip... Especially Venice, since it's sinking.... Rome is "The eternal
city" so it'll always be there!
The train back to Florence was also on time, and even though it took the same
amount of time to get back (3 hours), it seemed shorter for some reason.. The
reason being that I was chatting with a couple of people sitting next to me.
The subject of our conversation: Florida and California's weather compared to
Italy's weather. (not any of the sightseeing attractions.... JUST the weather!)
Not very interesting ... but it passed the time.
So... what's left? This is my second night in Florence and so far all I've seen
in this city is Michelangelo's David in the Galleria Accademia. (I won't count
all the other artwork inside that gallery).
Tomorrow I'm seeng the rest of Florence -- Uffizi gallery, climbing the Duomo,
and if time permits Ponte Veccio and Pitti Palace.
Ciao,
-me.
(p.s. hope reading all that has inspired some people to go to Venice... NOW.
RIGHT NOW.... the next flight out.)
Venice: This page has 79 pictures.... please wait for all of them to load before clicking on any of them - it'll make coming back to this page faster.