We wanted to see St. Mark's Basilica, but when we arrived the line was SO LONG! We decided to tour Doge's Palace (the palace where the past ruler's of Venice lived) and that wasn't very crowded at all! We followed Rick Steve's tour of the palace, and really enjoyed it. I loved learning some of Venice's history.
Afterward, Jaren was a little "toured-out" and didn't really feel like walking through St. Mark's Basilica. I didn't really feel like it either, since I was sick and congested. We decided to have lunch in a little pizza place. The pizza's were 12 euros each (we thought) which surprisingly is not that bad for Venice. However, when we got the bill it was 50 euros! We reviewed the tab and there were so many hidden charges. Ridiculous! We sure learned our lesson and we will be WAY more careful from now on!
After paying our stupid lunch bill, we wanted to get AWAY from the crowds. We decided to go to San Giorgio (a little island across from the main part of Venice). We hopped on a water-bus and got to sit up front! It was so fun and relaxing, we ended up staying on the boat for an hour. We just rode from stop to stop enjoying the ride and site-seeing Venice from our seats in the boat! After an hour, we still hadn't arrived at San Giorgio. We decided to get off and catch a different water-bus, only to find out we were on the right bus the whole time! We did eventually make it to San Giorgio, though, it just took a while!
On the water-bus...
San Giorgio had hardly anyone around! It was a nice respite from the crowds. We went to the top of the bell-tower (they charged us of course) and saw some beautiful views of Venice. Then we went back down and sat on the steps near the water. We relaxed, talked, and people-watched. We laughed a lot, too, mostly about our day! It was actually so fun! We soaked in the sun and it felt so good to just sit by the water.
San Giorgio had hardly anyone around! It was a nice respite from the crowds. We went to the top of the bell-tower (they charged us of course) and saw some beautiful views of Venice. Then we went back down and sat on the steps near the water. We relaxed, talked, and people-watched. We laughed a lot, too, mostly about our day! It was actually so fun! We soaked in the sun and it felt so good to just sit by the water.
On top of the bell tower...
Eventually we went back to the main part of Venice. We ate some fresh fruit and then decided we wanted some gelato. We walked around a little and once we had our gelato we found a boat dock to sit on by the water. We licked our gelato while the sun set. We watched the lovers go by on the gondolas. It was a perfect moment in Venice and I loved it. Afterward, we were tired and decided to go back to our hotel.
Eventually we went back to the main part of Venice. We ate some fresh fruit and then decided we wanted some gelato. We walked around a little and once we had our gelato we found a boat dock to sit on by the water. We licked our gelato while the sun set. We watched the lovers go by on the gondolas. It was a perfect moment in Venice and I loved it. Afterward, we were tired and decided to go back to our hotel.
What we loved about Venice:
-The architecture! Venice has amazing architecture, much of it is "Byzantine" architecture which you don't see as much of in Europe.
-The history! Venice is OLD and full of rich, exciting history!
-The weather! It doesn't get better than sunny 75 degree weather. We loved it!
-The water! We loved the boat buses (called "vaporettos"). We also loved sitting by the water and people-watching. Honesty, a day at Venice felt like a day at the beach!
-St. Mark's Square! It's so fun to walk around, especially at night! There's live music and everything is lit up beautifully.
What we didn't love about Venice:
- The crowds! Honestly, I'm pretty tolerant of crowds. But Venice was pushing it for me. People, people EVERYWHERE! (Not good when you're around people with B.O.)
-Smoking! Europeans, so far from what I have seen, smoke more than Americans do. But in Venice, I felt like everyone was smoking! (Maybe it was the crowds...) We hated it. It smells and gives us a headache. We got the impression that people still thought it was the "cool" thing to do. Whereas, in America, I feel like smoking is looked down upon and we are more educated about its harmful effects.
-Venice is SUPER expensive! Europe, in general, is way pricier than America. With EVERYTHING. (I mean, water costs like $4 in Europe and you have to pay to use the bathroom.) But in Venice, everything is marked up x 100! It got old real fast for us.
Overall, we enjoyed our visit to Venice. I feel like we had a wonderful experience and made a lot of fun memories. It wasn't our favorite place that we have visited so far, but we still really enjoyed ourselves!
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