According to Blogger, this is my 500th post! So congratulations to me for managing that much waffle, and well done to you for putting up with it!
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| Santa Maria Della Salute on the left, then the Doge’s Palace and Campanile on the right |
We caught the water bus, or vaporetto, for the airport to the Rialto Bridge, which is one of Venice’s busiest areas, and most well-known tourist spots. It’s also one of the few bridges over the Grand Canal, and has shops lining the bridge, selling all sorts of tourist treasures. You can see how packed it gets from the people lined up.
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| The Rialto Bridge |
We eventually managed to find our hotel, which was just round the corner from the Rialto Bridge, but hidden down a rather narrow street. Nice place, really. Clean, comfortable, all the stuff you’d expect. I’m still a little flabbergasted that I managed to find a hotel in such an essentially central location at such a reasonable price – thank you, Expedia!!
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| Typical view while walking around Venice |
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| View down the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge |
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| The Doge’s Palace courtyard |
After that, we explored St Mark’s Square, or the Piazza San Marco, which is sort of Venice’s equivalent of Piccadilly Circus or Trafalgar Square. It’s home to the Campanile bell tower, the Basilica di San Marco, the Doge’s Palace, and the Museo Correr. The last one is pretty much three museums in one, and entry is covered by the same ticket we used for the Doge’s Palace. They have mummies!!
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| Piazza San Marco |
The rest of Saturday was spent wandering, and we popped into the Hard Rock Cafè (just behind the Piazza San Marco) for dinner. Venice is definitely a city which caters to walkers, since the gondolas and water taxis are a bit pricey. But if you’re prepared for many steps up and down the bridges over the canals, and you don’t mind exploring twisty, narrow streets, then you’ll be fine.
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| So pretty! |
On Sunday, we decided to go looking for the church featured as a library in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Paul tracked it down online, and we went looking for the Church of San Barnaba in the Dorsoduro district. The exteriors were filmed in Venice, while the interiors were a studio set at Universal. After walking past it twice and even eating lunch outside it, we finally realised we’d found the place! Good job we didn’t go looking for the Grail too.
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| Church of San Barnaba in the Campo San Barnaba |
Dorsoduro was probably my favourite of the districts, as it’s by far the prettiest and quietest of the five. I could imagine spending many lazy Sundays here, even if it is fairly easy to get lost. It’s also where I found my Venetian mask souvenir, but more on that later.
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| Typical Dorsoduro view |
We ended up spending a fair bit of time just exploring Venice, and the Piazza San Marco at night is well worth a look, if you can stand all the tourists and street sellers.
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| Piazza San Marco at night |
Monday ended up being a chance to take one last look around, and we set off to make sure we had plenty of time to catch the vaporetto back to the airport in time for check in. I certainly enjoyed Venice, and I was glad I’d gone back for a second visit. It was nice to explore its labyrinthine streets, and I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t as expensive as I’d been expecting. Plus, in terms of souvenirs, Venice can’t be beaten with its fabulous array of masks…
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| More traditional masks… |
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| Cyberpunk masks!! |
I am 500% jealous. Looks like a terrific time! =D
What an awesome travel blog, and that mask is fantastic!
Thank you for sharing this narrative and the wonderful pictures. I wish to see Venice. >.>
Lovely mask for a lovely lady!
Cool photos and that may be the greatest mask I’ve ever seen.
Steven – It was!
Carrie – I love my mask 🙂
John – It is a beautiful place to visit.
Tim – It was also the only one I found!