Discipline: My Life as an Amateur Athlete: October 2013

After three wonderful days in Florence, we woke up and got a cab to the train station. We got there a little too early so we had to stand around for about 30 minutes but better early than late. The train ride to Venice was uneventful which is just they way I like it. Once we got to the train station, we had to catch a taxi to Venice. Important to note is all the taxis and buses that move people around Venice are boats. It was 50 Euros to get to the San Marco stop which was near our hotel. Right now, 50 Euros is the equivalent of about $70. It was an expensive boat ride. However, the taxi driver gave us excellent instructions on how to get to our hotel from the San Marco stop. Venice is a maze and we did not have a map. I was grateful for the precise instructions and tipped the driver (captain?) generously. When I go on vacation, I like to think I am working hard to stimulate the local economy.

Venice was fascinating. We got a map at our hotel which was mandatory for any trips outside the hotel. While in Venice we did a Venice Walking Tour which was very interesting and informative. We learned about how the city was built, the rising tides, the sinking city (it appears to have stopped sinking), the ancient history of the people of Venice and a little about the present day locals.

We also did a boat tour to the islands of Murano, Burano, and Torcello which are small islands in the Venetian Lagoon. In Murano we saw a demonstration of glass blowing. The master glass blower was quite the artist and it was fun to watch him create two pieces in a matter of a few minutes right in front of us. On Burano we visited a lace shop where all matter of elegant lace fabrics were made. I am guessing Joan Q would really have liked this shop. There was even a woman there on display while she made some custom lace fabrics.

Venice was super crowded. So many tourists like us. A few cruise ships came and went while we were there, dropping thousands of people off on the Island. At times it was just too busy to relax and enjoy. But in the evenings, the crowds thinned out and we were able to get around without bumping into too many people. Like in Rome and Florence, there was tons of shopping including lots of high end fashion.

Of course we had to do a Gondola Tour. We did a quick 30 minute spin around the canals. It was a group ride with 2 other couples and as you will see from my pictures, it was hard to get any good pictures as there was always someone in the shot. In fact, in most of these pictures, you will see that there are almost always people in the shot. It made us wonder how many other people's photos we must have been in. I could have cropped them but there are just too many so I took the lazy way out and just posted lots of them here as is. I hope you enjoy them.

Here I am with the ever so precious map. Don't leave home with out it or you might never ever get back to your hotel again.

This is just around the corner from our hotel

Ponte Rialto-A famous bridge in Venice

One of the many pictures I took from the bridge

One of the many churches in Venice.

Melissa loves the Murano Glass

Our hotel room before we got settled

Gondola

Bus

Venice was very crowded with tourists like us. At times it was a little overwhelming

Doge's Palace

The buildings really could not be captured with one photo unless you did one of those panoramic photos and with all the people that would have been hard

Bridge of Sighs - Leads from the courts to the prison

This is the door to the building that our hotel room was in

You can see the Gondolier ducking as he goes under a bridge

Our tour guide for our Venice walking tour. She was very informative and funny too.

Residence of Marco Polo

Another shot of the Ponte Rialto

Outside the cathedral. The entire ceiling of the cathedral is a giant mosaic. These are little glass tiles covered in gold and another layer of glass. In the next few pictures I zoomed way in so you could see the little tiles

Lots and lots of tourists in Saint Marco's Square

Here you can see a bus pulling up to the bus stop

One reason there were so many people there. We saw several of these giant cruise ships

Another shot of the Bridge of Sighs

Artists at work early in the morning before the crowds

Since the government does not have the money to restore the ancient buildings, they get corporate sponsorship to pay for it and then display an advertisement. I thought this was an interesting ad.

Early in the morning, the boats all arrive with daily all the supplies. Everything on the island comes in by boat and all trash is carted away by boat.