What to See in Venice - updated on 7/7/10

Well, we still aren't sure, because it was HOT! All we really remember was the sun!
Okay, we actually did see a lot, and did a lot of walking, but it was around 100 degrees F (not sure what that is in Celsius)! It was a pretty long day, because in order to make the bus, we had to get up at 5:30 am (That's 10:30 pm for you), walk down to the bus (it was already hot outside), and then ride for about 3 1/2 hours to Venice (even the buses are tiny! When the guy in front of me decided to lean his seat back, I thought it was only proper under the circumstances to offer to trim his hair -- since it was right under my chin). I have the highest regard for the "little people" folk (it is improper to call them midgets, I hear), but I would kindly make a suggestion that they don't build buses for us "big people."

Anyway...Here are some photos and some commentary about what we saw on our trip to Venice:

So, we are in Italy, riding in an ever-so-cool European bus, and we stop for a break at a rest area, (admittedly, they are pretty cool) and what do we get? Good, old American Pringles and Gummi Bears! You can take the girl out of America, but you can't take America out of the girl!

We found out that the only way to get to Venice is by ferry (Ok, so I didn't know that it was essentially an island). As we got nearer to the bay, we could see these huge cruise ships towering over everything. I knew cruise ships were big, but these things were huge!

One of the ferries we took.


So here we are, starting out on our first ferry ride together (awwh!). Don't we look good? I mean, fresh? Just you watch, the pictures of us degrade over the course of the day.

There was a lot of people on the ferry, so we just stood. Fine with us!

The captain (?) of the ferry was giving us information of all the buildings as we were passing along the edge of Venice. I didn't know much of the history of the area, so names didn't mean much to me.

One of the more unpleasant discoveries was the water...it was gross. Whether on the shore, or in the canals, it was dirty and smelly.


So, yes, they actually have a lot of canals all throughout the city. It was pretty cool to think you would get ready for work in the morning, step outside your door, and hope your boat hadn't sunk overnight. Literally, the front doors stepped right out into the water. That would creep me out. I didn't realize how much I cherished doorsteps. "Don't play in the street!" takes on a whole new meaning.

There were a lot of churches in the city, but the biggest (and only one we toured) was the Basilica San Marco (Saint Mark). It was pretty cool (actually it was very hot, but cooler than the sun outside) because they had a museum as part of the display, showing art, historical pieces, explanations, etc. They also didn't allow any pictures inside, so I don't have much to share on this blog.

Ok, so I snuck one picture in.

You can't see it in this picture, but one other thing I thought of while contemplating having my front door step into a canal: What if you drop stuff?
Seriously!
They hang their clothes out to dry on lines strung out above the canal. What if you drop something? Bam! It's gone. Favorite shirt or not, it's now carp bedding.

Yup, it's one of those gondola boats with the black-and-white-striped-shirt referee acting as your captain and motor.
Leah, with some referees in the background.

The two biggest discoveries we made (and most disappointing), was that 1.) There was a LOT of people that visit Venice on Sundays. 2.) There were even more shops to sell trinkets to those lots of people. I don't mind crowds from time to time, but after a couple hours, I wanted away from all the people. I also don't mind doing some window shopping, but this was ridiculous! I have officially dubbed Venice with a new name: "The Mega-Mall of Italy." See the awnings in the picture above? Every one of them is a nick-knack store of some kind. If you were going to see the sights, it would have been a little disappointing. We walked around for a while just to get a feel for the city, then we were exhausted fighting the crowds, so we found a place to sit down and rest.

Umm, another famous place with a clock tower right next to the big Basilica.


Me, in front of said clock, waiting in the heat to get into the Basilica.

Umm, I don't know. Leah took this picture.

Actually, there were pigeons EVERYWHERE!! I even kicked at one, just 'cuz it seemed to be asking for it, and it flew up into a girl's face walking past me.
Oops.

The day would have probably been much different if our every thought hadn't been bent on keeping ourselves cool. With the temperature at or over 100, and the sun extremely bright, it was difficult to enjoy the sights as much. Every little breeze that blew through was a gift from God, and one anxiously awaited the next. But our spirits were pretty high, nonetheless.
Here we are, near the end of our day, sweat pouring from every inch of our bodies.

Care to guess what this picture smells like?
(sorry, it's not a scratch-and-sniff)
Hint: Everyone in the picture has been in the same heat for about 6 hours.

Yup. It was.

Fortunately, the bus had air conditioning most of the time, so it wasn't too unbearable.

So, there you have it. Dave and Leah's trip to Venice.

Later!
Dave and Leah