Day in Venice, Italy

Me and my ice cream. Ice cream is very popular in Venice.
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I got up early, packed my stuff, taped up my feet as best I could, caught the shuttle to Venice, and checked my bags at the train station. I double checked the ticket I had bought for the night train to Vienna and realized that I guy at the ticket counter had given me the wrong date and the ticket I had was for the previous night. I went back to the ticket counter and actually got the same guy, but of course the train had already left so I had to buy another $25 Euro ticket. I guess I learned to really check my tickets before I leave the ticket counter. I then walked to the northern part of the island called Cannaregio, since it wasn't part of the walking tour. I saw a couple of churches, lots of different bridges over the canals, some very narrow alleys, and the main bridge that went from mainland to the island. The only cars or buses on the island are on this bridge and the parking lot and bus terminal on the very northwest corner of the island, everything else is boats and pedestrians. After exploring on my own for about a half hour I went to the start of the walking tour, which was just near the bus terminal. I also noticed that the chruch bells rang every hour all over Venice. I am not sure if it was just for Easter or if it is just normal for Sundays. I got to the bus terminal and headed for the first place on the map. I didn't know that there were yellow signs on the buildings with directions to the San Marco and the Rialto, which are the two main tourist places in Venice. I had circled the sights on the map from the descriptions in the walking tour guide and just put lines between them, I guess it was not needed, but helped me figure out where I was on the map as I went. The Rialto is was huge shopping area with every kind of shop you can think of and they also covered the bridge that crossed the Grand Canal called the Ponte di Rialto. There were three pedestrian bridges that crossed the Grand Canal, the first I crossed from the train station to the bus station when I first arrived called the Ponte degli Scalzi. After cruising through the Rialto area and walked about ten to fifteen more minutes and make it to the Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square), which is truly amazing. I see why it is the main tourist attraction in Venice. The square is surround my magnificent and huge buildings. There is the Basilica di San Marco (a huge church) with huge Byzantin wall mosaics, the Campanile di San Marco (giant Bell Tower), the Procuratie Vecchie and the Procuratie Nuove (former headquarters of high officers in the Serenissima Republic), the Torre dell' Orologio (another Clock Tower with automated statues to beat the bells on the hour), and the Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace). There were also two large marble columns with statues on top and were the main door to Venice from the sea. The space between the columns was used for public executions during the Doge's rule and most venetians still avoid walking between them as it is considered bad luck. I had not really seen any of the Gondola boat, small wooden boats with an oarman Venice is famous for, except near the Rialto Bridge until I reached the water near St. Mark's Square. There were lots of them, but they all cost $80 Euro per trip no matter the number of people. It was a little out of my budget and it was kind of a romantic trip, so I figure it could wait until my next trip to Venice. I decided to follow the water's edge to the Arsenal and the Naval Museum. I wanted to see the Naval Museum, but it was closed. I walked around the Arsenal, which is a fort that surrounded the port where all the naval ships where kept. The one thing about the streets in Venice is that you can't walk in a straight line to get anywhere. There are lots of narrow alleys and dead ends everywhere. I decided to blaze my own trail through the Venice anyways to try to see some churches and other sights, but it became an adventure through the maze of alleys and streets. Luckily, I was able to find my way out after quite a few wrong turns. I did see some churches, but none of the ones on the map I was looking for. I ened up back near the St. Mark's Square, so I decided to go to the Doge's Palace, since the line wasn't to long like the Bell Tower and the Church, it was Easter. The Doge's Palace ticket was a combination ticket that gave me entrance into four other museums in the square. Doge's Palace was pretty cool, it was a castle used for the seat of the Doge's Government. The inside is was all done in Gothic art, which includes the famous Porta della Carta (Paper Door), the Scala dei Giganti (Giants Stair), and the Scala D'Oro (Golden Stair). I started by passing through the large main courtyard and up the Golden Stairs to the Doge's Apartment, which was the living quarters of the head of the government. There were huge rooms decorated with large murals and golden frames on all walls and ceilings. There was a map room with two large globes and maps covering all the walls, which was used as the greeting area for guests. I then went through the area used by the government for meetings and councils. Then to the courts both cival and criminal and to the prison. The prison was later moved to a building adjacent to the Doge's Palace across a canal, so the Ponte dei Sospiri (Sigh's Bridge) was built and prisoners would sigh as they crossed the bridge and had one last look at Venice before going into the dark and cold cells of the prison. I stopped by the Giant stair, which had two large statues at the top on my way out of the palace. I then crossed the huge square to the Correr Museum and the Archeology Museum, which were included in the combination pass I had just bought. These musuems were connected and I walked through both of them and saw lots of old books, coins, statues, paintings, murals, and other old artifacts from ancient Venice. Some of the rooms had huge murals with gold frames just like in the Doge's Palace and marble statues of many of the famous leaders. After the museums I headed for the third and final bridge, the Ponte dell' Accademia, that crossed the Grand Canal, it was a wooden bridge that looked to be under construction, so it was not nearly as impressive as the other two. The Galleria dell' Accademia was just across the bridge and it to was under construction. I walked along the water's edge and then headed back towards the train terminal. I had some practice getting through the narrow streets, so I only hit a few dead ends. I saw a few more churches on the way as well. I stopped at a resturant near the train station as I still had a couple of hours before my train left to Vienna. I got a bottle of wine and the special, which was a seafood pasta with Sea Bass. It was really good, but I did have to pick out a few fish bones and cut the scales off the edge of the fish. I only finished about half the wine during dinner, so I relaxed and finished it at my leisure. The resturant was right on the Grand Canal, so I watched the Gondolas, motorboats, and water taxis cruise by while I finished my wine. After dinner I got some ice cream, since all day I had watched everyone eating it. I guess it is the thing to do, so I figured I wouldn't get the full experience of Venice without one. I got my luggage out of storage at the train station and it was about $13 Euros for both bags, since it cost per hour of storage. I hopped on my train to Vienna and I had to share a sleeping car with two couples, one from Vienna and the other was an Asian couple that I am not sure where they were from. The cabin had five beds and mine was the one on the very top, so I didn't have any head room. It was almost 9:00pm by the time I got settled, so I just went to sleep.

I decided to blaze my own trail through the Venice anyways to try to see some churches and other sights, but it became an adventure through the maze of alleys and streets.