Gondolas in Venice
Favorite City
The city is truly gorgeous. Keri keeps saying how she can't believe that we are here. The history and the beauty make it our favorite city. Much more so than Florence or Rome. It was sunny and crisp today which made the siteseeing much better.
St. Marks Square and the Pigeons
After having the hotel breakfast, we decided to take a walk through the city. We headed out to St. Marks Square which was a 15 minute walk through squares and alleys. The square is fairly large with offices on three sides and the tower and cathedral on the east.
In the middle were hundreds of pigeons some of them perched on tourists. We decided to get in on some of the action, just for pictures sake. I went in first, but only until I purchased some birdseed did they find me attractive. As soon as they saw the white bag, they mobbed me. At one point I had 10 of them on me. I thought they were going to peck my eyes out if I didn't open up the bag quickly. I yelled for Keri to hurry up and take a picture. After the birdseed was gone, several still wanted to hang out on my head. But at that point, I was worried about any stray poop and shooed them away.
Also, at one point, I took the bag and put it on Keri's back. She didn't know why the birds were attacking her.
Rialto Bridge
Walking from St. Marks to the Rialto bridge consists of many small walkways with shops on both sides. The walkways are maybe four people wide so it was one big traffic jam when people stopped to window shop.
Finally, we made it to the Rialto bridge and took some nice pictures at the top.
We also shopped at a grumpy little store of glass where the owners wouldn't let you touch anything. Even the leather bound book that Keri wanted to open was quickly grabbed away by the owner. At one point the owner wouldn't let me see some of the glass hearts up close and wanted to take them away before I had a chance to buy them. We did buy several things from the store and laughed when we got out.
Gondola
We walked around a bit before finding a Gondola. Another couple was nearby and asked us if we wanted to share a ride with them. We hopped on and rode around for maybe 20 minutes.
I have to admit, it would have been much more romantic if we would have taken one ourselves. Also, it would have helped to be a bit more pushy in demanding that he take us for a certain amount of time.
They are all over the place and the Rick Steves book says that when one of them dies, the ownership goes to the widow. So it is a privileged profession, or racket, depending on your perspective.
Walk through the city
Afterwards, we decided to walk through the city to get back to our hotel. There were many beautiful alleys and squares all over the place. We had to take many turns through small walkways, and over bridges. It was the most enjoyable walk we have taken in Italy so far.
Florian Cafe
After dinner, we decided to go to a small cafe and have a latte and dessert. We walked around a bit through St. Marks square. After consulting with the Rick Steves book, we found a little place called the Florian Cafe right off of St. Marks. The desserts on display looked fantastic so we decided to go in. We found a nice little table way in the back. The cafe was founded in 1720 and had many beautiful paintings from floor to ceiling. It was a beautiful cafe and was an experience just to sit there and take it all in.
We sat down and waited for about 5 minutes before going up to the front and finding a waiter. He told us to sit in another part of the cafe, so we grabbed our stuff and sat down again. This time we waited another 5 minutes and were about to walk out the door when a waiter finally stopped by. We ordered two chocolate cakes and lattes. He brought them quickly, along with the tab. The lattes were 7.50euro each and the cakes were 11euro each. Our bill for coffee and dessert with tip ended up being 41euro. Once again, another expensive funny story that we'll always remember. I'm thinking about writing to Rick Steves to tell him to take it out of his book.
25499
steps today. It didn't feel like it but we did walk to St. Mark's square several times and around the Rialto bridge. The walking is getting easier.
Tomorrow
Another day of discovering Venice. We don't really have any plans and kind of like it that way. I was thinking we might hop on a valporetti (Water Bus) and look at some of the other islands. It will depend on the weather.
The city is truly gorgeous. Keri keeps saying how she can't believe that we are here. The history and the beauty make it our favorite city. Much more so than Florence or Rome. It was sunny and crisp today which made the siteseeing much better.
St. Marks Square and the Pigeons
After having the hotel breakfast, we decided to take a walk through the city. We headed out to St. Marks Square which was a 15 minute walk through squares and alleys. The square is fairly large with offices on three sides and the tower and cathedral on the east.
In the middle were hundreds of pigeons some of them perched on tourists. We decided to get in on some of the action, just for pictures sake. I went in first, but only until I purchased some birdseed did they find me attractive. As soon as they saw the white bag, they mobbed me. At one point I had 10 of them on me. I thought they were going to peck my eyes out if I didn't open up the bag quickly. I yelled for Keri to hurry up and take a picture. After the birdseed was gone, several still wanted to hang out on my head. But at that point, I was worried about any stray poop and shooed them away.
Also, at one point, I took the bag and put it on Keri's back. She didn't know why the birds were attacking her.
Rialto Bridge
Walking from St. Marks to the Rialto bridge consists of many small walkways with shops on both sides. The walkways are maybe four people wide so it was one big traffic jam when people stopped to window shop.
Finally, we made it to the Rialto bridge and took some nice pictures at the top.
We also shopped at a grumpy little store of glass where the owners wouldn't let you touch anything. Even the leather bound book that Keri wanted to open was quickly grabbed away by the owner. At one point the owner wouldn't let me see some of the glass hearts up close and wanted to take them away before I had a chance to buy them. We did buy several things from the store and laughed when we got out.
Gondola
We walked around a bit before finding a Gondola. Another couple was nearby and asked us if we wanted to share a ride with them. We hopped on and rode around for maybe 20 minutes.
I have to admit, it would have been much more romantic if we would have taken one ourselves. Also, it would have helped to be a bit more pushy in demanding that he take us for a certain amount of time.
They are all over the place and the Rick Steves book says that when one of them dies, the ownership goes to the widow. So it is a privileged profession, or racket, depending on your perspective.
Walk through the city
Afterwards, we decided to walk through the city to get back to our hotel. There were many beautiful alleys and squares all over the place. We had to take many turns through small walkways, and over bridges. It was the most enjoyable walk we have taken in Italy so far.
Florian Cafe
After dinner, we decided to go to a small cafe and have a latte and dessert. We walked around a bit through St. Marks square. After consulting with the Rick Steves book, we found a little place called the Florian Cafe right off of St. Marks. The desserts on display looked fantastic so we decided to go in. We found a nice little table way in the back. The cafe was founded in 1720 and had many beautiful paintings from floor to ceiling. It was a beautiful cafe and was an experience just to sit there and take it all in.
We sat down and waited for about 5 minutes before going up to the front and finding a waiter. He told us to sit in another part of the cafe, so we grabbed our stuff and sat down again. This time we waited another 5 minutes and were about to walk out the door when a waiter finally stopped by. We ordered two chocolate cakes and lattes. He brought them quickly, along with the tab. The lattes were 7.50euro each and the cakes were 11euro each. Our bill for coffee and dessert with tip ended up being 41euro. Once again, another expensive funny story that we'll always remember. I'm thinking about writing to Rick Steves to tell him to take it out of his book.
25499
steps today. It didn't feel like it but we did walk to St. Mark's square several times and around the Rialto bridge. The walking is getting easier.
Tomorrow
Another day of discovering Venice. We don't really have any plans and kind of like it that way. I was thinking we might hop on a valporetti (Water Bus) and look at some of the other islands. It will depend on the weather.
posted by Alex at 11:06 PM
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