Venice: Day 1
Caroline:
The day after our arrival to Venice we actually began exploring.
Our day began after a long, refreshing night's sleep. We woke up late and almost missed breakfast, but after some bread, cheese, and fruit at Hotel Serenissima we were ready to hit the road.
The day after our arrival to Venice we actually began exploring.
Our day began after a long, refreshing night's sleep. We woke up late and almost missed breakfast, but after some bread, cheese, and fruit at Hotel Serenissima we were ready to hit the road.
|
We strolled the streets without a destination as I gazed in awe at the bright masks lining the roads. We looked for the big destinations: St. Mark's square, the Rialto Bridge, and the Doge's Palace, but also tried to get off the tourist track a bit. We explored the tiny back streets and peered through windows lined with marzipan fruits.
|
|
As recommended, by Rick Steves, we purchased the Venezia Unica, city pass, instead of tickets to our morning tour of the Doge's Palace. It included more and actually cost less! We were able to skip the lines and easily get into the Palace. We enjoyed a beautiful self-guided tour through the magnificent site. We found beautiful examples of Italian art and architecture throughout the Palace.
|
After a filling lunch at a nearby trattoria, we visited the lesser known Museo Correr. It was the home of the later Doges. It was finely furnished and was a cute museum, although we wouldn't have known it was there without Rick's instructions. It was included on our city pass so we figured it was worth a look.
|
After our exciting morning we rested for a bit in our hotel( Uhhhhh.....jetlag!) We were ready just in time to meet our group and go to our get to-know-each-other meeting. We went to the breakfast room to meet the other group members, and knew immediately that it was a great group. To my great surprise and joy there was a girl my age on the tour, Alicia, and we had a lot of fun talking about riddles. We then chose our buddies and talked to our guide, Martin, and began the tour.
Martin took the group on an orientation walk. He showed us how to navigate the city, and it turned out to be much easier than I expected (just follow the signs! They all lead to the Rialto or Saint Marks Square!) Then he got us "lost." Honestly, I was very nervous as we followed him along twisting paths into a part of town where there were no tourists. Then he asked who was the youngest. It turned out that I was, although my new found friend was not much older. He asked Alicia and me to guide the rest of the group back to Saint Mark's square. I became really nervous then! I walked forward with my friend, and I followed his instructions and looked for the signs. Pretty soon it was natural and I knew where we were. We led the way into the square, and I glowed with pride. We had actually done it!
It was pretty dark, though so Martin took us on to dinner at a nice seafood restaurant. We returned to our hotel late and went to bed, so as to be ready for the coming day.
Martin took the group on an orientation walk. He showed us how to navigate the city, and it turned out to be much easier than I expected (just follow the signs! They all lead to the Rialto or Saint Marks Square!) Then he got us "lost." Honestly, I was very nervous as we followed him along twisting paths into a part of town where there were no tourists. Then he asked who was the youngest. It turned out that I was, although my new found friend was not much older. He asked Alicia and me to guide the rest of the group back to Saint Mark's square. I became really nervous then! I walked forward with my friend, and I followed his instructions and looked for the signs. Pretty soon it was natural and I knew where we were. We led the way into the square, and I glowed with pride. We had actually done it!
It was pretty dark, though so Martin took us on to dinner at a nice seafood restaurant. We returned to our hotel late and went to bed, so as to be ready for the coming day.
