The day started with a bang - we missed our 7:25 am train to Venice! I woke up to realize that it was 7:32 am and that our train to Venice had left 7 minutes earlier! I woke up Samia and we realized that before going to bed last night, I had activated my pre-set weekdays-only alarm that I use for work. Since today is Sunday, the alarm never went off.
We quickly dressed and grabbed a croissant and coffee from our hotel and headed to the train station. We bought new tickets and left for Venice 90 minutes later than originally planned. We left at 8:55 pm. The train ride was peaceful and the scenery outside was serene and lush green. We slept for an hour before waking up to enjoy the train ride and to discuss the various cities that we saw on our way. The two major ones that deserve a mention are Florence and Bologna. Florence is the area of the leaning tower of Pisa and the birthplace of the European Renaissance. Bologna is famous for its food and baloney and the bolognese sauce of meat and tomatoes originated here.
We reached Venice at 12:35 pm and bought tickets to the water boat bus called Vaparetto. While waiting for the water bus, we took in the scene. Venice is a world of its own and seeing canals and waterways in place of roads is unique. The weather was great with the sun out and a slight cool breeze blowing. Our first impression of Venice was a great one and we decided to not do the gondola ride which was in our original plan to both save time and stay away from getting too close to the water and avoid the smelly canals from ruining our memories.
We boarded the Vaparetto around 1 pm for the 45 minute ride to the Saint Mark's square. We listened to the Rick Steves' audio guide to give us a history of the various buildings we saw. Venice has 3 major canals and the one on which our Vaparetto was traveling is called the Grand Canal. It used to be a natural river that the city was built around. When the Roman Empire was declining, some of the wealthy merchants decided to move away to the marshy islands that Venice was built over. Venice was the Las Vegas of its time with a reputation for its casinos and nightlife. It was a city of decadence and the palaces we saw lining the Grand Canal are a testament to the grandeur that this city must've seen in its heyday. The parties of Venice with the colorful and elaborate Venetian masks formed the core of the nightlife of this wealthy city. The engineering achievements of building such magnificent buildings over marshy islands by themselves are remarkable and when you think of the commercial success of this coastal city (just like Singapore today), it makes this city one of its kind in history. Venice was at the center of the trade and the merchants of Venice facilitated an exchange of goods between the Muslims Turks and Christian Byzantines to its East and the Western powerhouses (France, England, Germany, Spain) to its West.
We got off near the Rialto bridge to explore some inner streets of Venice and take in the atmosphere. Then we boarded the Vaparetto again to continue our Grand Canal cruise. The palaces on both sides have exquisite and grand outer facades announcing the wealth of their owners.
We got off our Vaparetto at the stop of Saint Mark's square. We went through the square into the back streets and explored different shops that sold Venetian masks, Murano glass items, jewelery and designer clothes. We found a restaurant and had lunch. The Alfredo pasta was a hit but the Risotto rice-like pasta was a miss. We then walked back closer to Saint Mark's square and got gelato - coffee flavor for Samia and tiramisu flavor for me. We then continued the audio guide with an explanation of the square.
Saint Mark's square is a product of the melting pot that was the commercial hub of Venice. The 4 buildings on the 4 sides all have different architectures from different eras. A good case study is the Saint Mark's Basilica. The basilica has Greek columns, Roman arches, Byzantine golden mosaics, French gothic pinnacles lining the rooftop and Islamic onion-domes. There is a clock tower next to the basilica that was the world's first digital watch and changes time every 5 minutes. Opposite the clock tower is the 300 meter high bell tower. The atmosphere is a memorable one and various famous people from history have sat here to enjoy the same atmosphere that we did (minus so many tourists). Among them are Hemingway, Casanova, Lord Byron, Charles Dickens and Woody Allen.
We continued walking around and exploring the area. Then around 5 pm, we decided the take an express Vaparetto back to the train station. Again, a memorable ride since this time we got the best seats at the front of the boat and enjoyed the sun, the breeze and the peaceful waters of the Grand Canal. We said about Rome that we don't think we'll go there again but we will definitely come back to Venice one day to stay overnight and experience a gondola boat ride in the canals during night time under the stars. It's a city where more than its history, the unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime experiences will be fondly remembered.
We reached the train station around 6 pm. Since there was almost an hour to go before our 6:55 pm train back to Rome, we walked around some more and took pictures over a bridge. We also had a quick lunch at Burger King - our first fast food meal since leaving Calgary.
We boarded our train and are now headed back for Rome. I decided to type today's update during the ride before reaching Rome. We are scheduled to reach Rome at 10:30 pm. After getting there, we'll just take the tram to our hotel, pack our bags and go to bed.
Tomorrow, we have our flight to Barcelona quite early in the morning at 9:50 am. We've already checked-in online so it should go smoothly - as long as we wake up on time!
Our next update will be from Barcelona, Spain. The way we've planned our trip, the pace of our exploration will start slowing down now and we will be in Barcelona for 4 days.
Take care and good night!
We quickly dressed and grabbed a croissant and coffee from our hotel and headed to the train station. We bought new tickets and left for Venice 90 minutes later than originally planned. We left at 8:55 pm. The train ride was peaceful and the scenery outside was serene and lush green. We slept for an hour before waking up to enjoy the train ride and to discuss the various cities that we saw on our way. The two major ones that deserve a mention are Florence and Bologna. Florence is the area of the leaning tower of Pisa and the birthplace of the European Renaissance. Bologna is famous for its food and baloney and the bolognese sauce of meat and tomatoes originated here.
We reached Venice at 12:35 pm and bought tickets to the water boat bus called Vaparetto. While waiting for the water bus, we took in the scene. Venice is a world of its own and seeing canals and waterways in place of roads is unique. The weather was great with the sun out and a slight cool breeze blowing. Our first impression of Venice was a great one and we decided to not do the gondola ride which was in our original plan to both save time and stay away from getting too close to the water and avoid the smelly canals from ruining our memories.
We boarded the Vaparetto around 1 pm for the 45 minute ride to the Saint Mark's square. We listened to the Rick Steves' audio guide to give us a history of the various buildings we saw. Venice has 3 major canals and the one on which our Vaparetto was traveling is called the Grand Canal. It used to be a natural river that the city was built around. When the Roman Empire was declining, some of the wealthy merchants decided to move away to the marshy islands that Venice was built over. Venice was the Las Vegas of its time with a reputation for its casinos and nightlife. It was a city of decadence and the palaces we saw lining the Grand Canal are a testament to the grandeur that this city must've seen in its heyday. The parties of Venice with the colorful and elaborate Venetian masks formed the core of the nightlife of this wealthy city. The engineering achievements of building such magnificent buildings over marshy islands by themselves are remarkable and when you think of the commercial success of this coastal city (just like Singapore today), it makes this city one of its kind in history. Venice was at the center of the trade and the merchants of Venice facilitated an exchange of goods between the Muslims Turks and Christian Byzantines to its East and the Western powerhouses (France, England, Germany, Spain) to its West.
We got off near the Rialto bridge to explore some inner streets of Venice and take in the atmosphere. Then we boarded the Vaparetto again to continue our Grand Canal cruise. The palaces on both sides have exquisite and grand outer facades announcing the wealth of their owners.
We got off our Vaparetto at the stop of Saint Mark's square. We went through the square into the back streets and explored different shops that sold Venetian masks, Murano glass items, jewelery and designer clothes. We found a restaurant and had lunch. The Alfredo pasta was a hit but the Risotto rice-like pasta was a miss. We then walked back closer to Saint Mark's square and got gelato - coffee flavor for Samia and tiramisu flavor for me. We then continued the audio guide with an explanation of the square.
Saint Mark's square is a product of the melting pot that was the commercial hub of Venice. The 4 buildings on the 4 sides all have different architectures from different eras. A good case study is the Saint Mark's Basilica. The basilica has Greek columns, Roman arches, Byzantine golden mosaics, French gothic pinnacles lining the rooftop and Islamic onion-domes. There is a clock tower next to the basilica that was the world's first digital watch and changes time every 5 minutes. Opposite the clock tower is the 300 meter high bell tower. The atmosphere is a memorable one and various famous people from history have sat here to enjoy the same atmosphere that we did (minus so many tourists). Among them are Hemingway, Casanova, Lord Byron, Charles Dickens and Woody Allen.
We continued walking around and exploring the area. Then around 5 pm, we decided the take an express Vaparetto back to the train station. Again, a memorable ride since this time we got the best seats at the front of the boat and enjoyed the sun, the breeze and the peaceful waters of the Grand Canal. We said about Rome that we don't think we'll go there again but we will definitely come back to Venice one day to stay overnight and experience a gondola boat ride in the canals during night time under the stars. It's a city where more than its history, the unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime experiences will be fondly remembered.
We reached the train station around 6 pm. Since there was almost an hour to go before our 6:55 pm train back to Rome, we walked around some more and took pictures over a bridge. We also had a quick lunch at Burger King - our first fast food meal since leaving Calgary.
We boarded our train and are now headed back for Rome. I decided to type today's update during the ride before reaching Rome. We are scheduled to reach Rome at 10:30 pm. After getting there, we'll just take the tram to our hotel, pack our bags and go to bed.
Tomorrow, we have our flight to Barcelona quite early in the morning at 9:50 am. We've already checked-in online so it should go smoothly - as long as we wake up on time!
Our next update will be from Barcelona, Spain. The way we've planned our trip, the pace of our exploration will start slowing down now and we will be in Barcelona for 4 days.
Take care and good night!
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