Ciao da Venezia!

A city where there are no cars… Just vaporettos and gondolas along 180 canals… Narrow streets and quaint buildings… A truly walkable destination… In Venice, you can't help but say bellisimo!

Vaporettos in Venice

Day 10

We left Rome at 6:45 and by Frecciargento, we arrived in Venice about 3 hours later. Since we were only spending a day trip in Venice, we left our backpacks at the baggage deposit (7.8€).  When we got off Stazione Venezia Santa Lucia, the first thing I noticed was that the place was crowded with tourists. I estimate that 90% of the people here during the day are tourists. But despite the numerous tourists crowding the place, I found Venice incredibly lovely.

Ponte di Rialto

From the train station, we found ourselves walking towards Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square), stopping frequently to take photos of the canals and gondolas. Even without a map, finding our way towards Piazza San Marco was easy. There were signs everywhere and practically everyone was walking towards the same direction. On the way to this famous square, we traversed the Ponte di Rialto (Rialto Bridge), another major tourist attraction. Listening to Rick Steve’s audio guide, I admired the Piazza San Marco which embodies what used to be the Venetian empire. 

Basilica di San Marco at Piazza San Marco

In this piazza, we found Basilica di San Marco, the Campanile di San Marco (bell tower), Torre dell’Orologio (clock tower) and the Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace). And a lot of pigeons. You can find winged lions, which symbolizes San Marco, everywhere around the square. At the time of our visit, a portion of the Basilica was covered due to repairs but we could still see the colorful pillars of the Basilica. In the piazza, I was particularly fascinated with the clock tower, which has 24 hours and the signs of the zodiac.

Torre dell'Orologio

Venice is quite small that you can walk most of the city for one day. However, walking the entire day can cause a strain in the feet, too. All the public toilets in Venice cost €1.5. And this fact is posted at the WC entrances for tourists who are trying to find one that is for free. This may probably be the reason why some alleys have a pungent smell.

Bellisimo!

At the end of the day, Angela and I just sat at the front of Venezia Santa Lucia, overlooking the Grand Canal, and watched the sun set. The tourists diminished as night began to fall, and I could just imagine how romantic the city would be at night. A local we briefly met told us how she dislikes the canals of Venice and the frequent floods they have to tolerate, but we were charmed by the narrow and quaint streets of this lovely city. Can you just imagine waking up, opening your front door to a canal and travelling to work by vaporetto? Wouldn’t that be amazing?  At 9:05 PM, our night train left Venice and we bid this lovely city buona notte.