Day 7: Ah, Venice!

We were a little behind getting up this morning (my fault), but still managed to make it to the train station in plenty of time. We were going to pop into a McDonalds for breakfast (I did check one out in Florence, but unlike France, the menu wasn’t all that different), but opted instead for a pattiseria (pastry shop). And despite being a little rushed, we still got to the platform before our train did. Though Marsha was so anxious, she almost boarded the wrong one.

Once again the seating arrangements were off kilter, with me a row off again. But at least this time Marsha and Madison were seated together. The only hiccup was trying to get into our seats by maneuvering around one particular family who must’ve had all of their worldly possessions in giant suitcases for which they couldn’t find any room (they eventually succeeded after our first stop in Bologna). Otherwise, the trip was smooth sailing. Lots of tunnels at first, then wide open countryside.

There are actually two stations for Venice (Venezia): one on the mainland (where a surprising number of people disembarked), and one at the top end of the islands. This was the last stop for the line.

We’d decided that as soon as we got there, we’d go ahead and book Madison’s train to the airport. But when we tried to book it on the kiosk, we couldn’t find the airport. So we stopped and asked someone at the transportation booth. She explained that there is no train to Marco Polo airport. Well, that explained that. So we bought “bus tickets” (found out later they meant water bus) instead, which still required some figuring out.

Ah, Venice! As soon as we stepped out of the train station, the views were amazing! Right on the Grand Canal, boats going everywhere. Took a minute to figure out which vaporetto (another water bus) but all it really took was checking a sign. In the movies (like Spider-Man: Far From Home, currently playing at a theatre near you), they always show people going by water taxis (speed boats, for which our hotel has a private dock), but that’s seriously expensive. So we took the vaporetto, which is much cheaper, but took forever because it pulls up to every single stop on the Canal. Gives you a good tour of the city, except for the hordes of people getting on an off and all the shuffling that comes with that.

Our hotel, Hotel Danieli, is amazing! Right on the Grand Canal and right behind our vaporetto stop. It was built in the 1400s (like Rome and Florence, everything here is quite old) and looks like a palace. Which it probably was. I tried to do the check-in speaking Italian, but explaining the extra bed situation (Madison is only staying two out of the three nights) was too much for me. Next time!

Our very nice check-in person led us up to the room and showed us all the amenities. We even had a welcome card, a bottle of wine, and a box of cookies waiting. The room is spectacular and overlooks the Canal. Couldn’t ask for anything better.

By this time, we were getting hungry, so we tried the Terrace restaurant at the hotel, which offers amazing views of the city. They explained that the kitchen was currently closed and all they had was the limited bar menu, so we just ordered some sandwiches. They were rather pricey for a bar menu, but did I mention the view? And the portions were surprisingly huge. Madison’s was the only one small enough to finish. Mine was a giant club sandwich with trianglular pieces arranged to make a well full of french fries. Very creative!

We were going to do a gondola ride afterwards, but Marsha and Madison were just too tired, so they opted to take a well-needed nap. I would’ve done the same, but our friend Michael from London flew in to visit. So we spent a couple hours wandering around and catching up.

Marsha and Madison joined us later, so then we spent several more hours exploring and catching up. Everywhere you turn, there’s another cool street, a little bridge, or intriguing piazza. We saw plenty of Gondoliers paddling their way down the canals, sometimes even singing. Ah, Venice! 

We found we all kept taking pictures of the same things. And every now and then, you reach a dead end that stops at the water. We tried to visit one of the few parks, but found it was under renovation. But as I said, there was plenty to keep our interest. And you just can’t take a bad picture anywhere.

By dinner time, because of our giant lunch, we still weren’t hungry (except for Michael), so we stopped for gelato while Michael grabbed some pizza. We ended up on a bridge crossing the Canal that actually looked fairly new. With the sun down, we marveled at a nearby building with a gondola parked outside and a tiny cafe at the bottom of the bridge. It looked like Disney World. Some passing teenagers saidit looked very “Pirates of the Caribbean,” which was exactly right. Except it was REAL.

Ciao!