One of the first things we saw when we got off the boat was the Bridge of Sighs. Then it was off to some demonstrations. First we all went to a glass-blowing demonstration (Venice is well known for its glass) which was really cool. Then we went to a lace-making demonstration which wasn't as boring as I thought it was going to be. I almost bought something but decided against it (I was on a very limited budget for the trip). Then we had some free time.
Here is me in San Marco Square, with all the pigeons. Me, Tash, Vanessa, Paul, and Meaghan walked around sort of aimlessly. Actually, first we snuck into St. Mark's (San Marco) church. We didn't want to wait in line, so we sort of snuck in through the exit while Paul watched our bags. It was really dark inside and only mildly interesting. You couldn't really walk around a whole lot, there were just a couple areas you could look at and most places were off-limits. We were glad we hadn't waited a long time to get in.
Then, we started wandering in the direction of the Rialto Bridge. As always, I was navigator, and I assured them that we were headed int he right direction even though I had no idea where we were. It is really easy to get lost in Venice. And that's one of the things I liked most about it. It's such an interesting city and you never know what you're going to see on the next block. Also, since there are no cars or bikes or anything like that, it's very quiet on the streets. There's no traffic din like every other city. And because the streets are just big enough for pedestrians, the buildings are close together which gives you a really intimate feeling. I loved Venice.
On our way to the bridge we got hungry and started looking for a snack. Luckily we found this gelato place that was absolutely amazing. It was the best gelato we had on our trip (and trust me, we had a lot).
So then we found the bridge (good job, me) and took some pictures.
There was also a little store right there so we went in and Tash, Meaghan and i all ended up buying a glass necklace. They're really cool and weren't that expensive and I'm really glad I bought mine.
Then we walked over the Rialto Bridge, overlooking the Grand Canal, and took some pictures. Somehow, Tash and I got separated from the rest of the group. We were really hungry and started looking for a place to eat. We ended up at a little restaurant near San Marco square and shared the most amazing pizza. It had different kinds of meats and vegetables on it, I don't even remember exactly, but it tasted fantastic.
After that, we went window shopping for a little while and then went back to the square to meet up with the big group for the gondola ride.
We had six people per gondola - here's me, Mick, Tash, Paul, and Vanessa (and Meaghan behind the camera). It was a fun ride and we saw the city as it is meant to be seen - from the canals. We went by Mozart's old house and lots of little places. We ran into a gondola traffic jam at one point and listened to the Mexicans singing "La Bamba" from their gondola. It was a great way to end the afternoon. Then we all took another motorboat back to the Fusina campsite.
That night, we all hung out at the bar. I kicked Dave's, the bus driver, butt at ping pong and we all watched some traveling Christian group do some kind of performance. It was pretty funny.
Here is some of our group, enjoying our last night in Venice.
next day...
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