We left the campsite (after locating one person who had gone missing the night before after drinking too much and crashing in another tour's cabin...) and drove all day to Venice. It was a pretty uneventful day until we arrived at the new campsite mid afternoon. The campsite was actually not in Venice - it was close to the water surrounding Venice, though. We had a few minutes to change and put on bug spray before meeting the group to take a boat into Venice.
Venice is a floating city - it is completely surrounded by water and there are many canals that run through it. The buildings essentially were constructed on top of a lagoon and the city itself is sinking - it sinks about 150 centimeters every century, which means that within a couple hundred years (at the current rate) much of it will be underwater. Thankfully, Italy is working on preventing that so hopefully Venice will be around for centuries to come! It looked like it has a long way to go before it's submerged, but it does flood in the evenings with the tide and some other times.
We took a boat from our campsite to the actual city. The boat ride was pretty but uneventful, but when we arrived in Venice itself I could tell I was going to love the city! It is so pretty and has a certain romance about it. We walked first into St. Mark's Square which has a big church, many vendors, and tons of pigeons.
Walking toward St. Mark's Square
St. Mark's Square (and Alex and Nathan)
Our first stop in Venice was a gondola ride, so we quickly walked as a group to get to where it started. Venice consists of a lot of somewhat narrow streets and canals and bridges. It seems like the kind of place you could easily get lost, but it's a really neat place and so pretty.
We arrived at the place where the gondolas pick you up. You could fit 6 people in a boat so our group consisted of the usual suspects - Danielle, Phil, Kris, and Daryl - plus Brittney. We loaded into the gondolas and took a ride that probably lasted 30 minutes or so.
Brittney, Daryl, Kris, and I on the gondola
Phil and Danielle on the gondola - Phil has silly faces in many of these pictures!
Canal on the gondola ride
The girls on the gondola
Our gondolier - he didn't sing but did an amazing job of guiding us through the canals without running into the many other gondolas in our path
Kris and I on the gondola
I loved the gondola ride - it was something that is a "must do" in Venice, and it was so pretty riding through the city on the canals. Venice is such a unique place that you can't help but fall in love with the city.
After the gondola ride, we walked back to St. Mark's Square and had about a half hour before meeting up with our walking tour. Danielle was in search of a Venitian mask to bring home, so she and Phil took off quickly to find one. Kris and I wandered around a bit and just took our time getting some gelato and taking pictures in St. Mark's Square.
There are apparently always pigeons in St. Mark's Square and they are not afraid of humans being close to them!
Then it was time for the guided walking tour. I actually liked this walking tour more than those in Florence and Rome, because Venice obviously has a history but it does not take the level of detail that the other walking tours had to explain it. Our guide mostly walked us through the city and pointed out a few things and told us some anecdotes about Venice, but the pace was good and it provided just the right amount of information. Venice is just a really beautiful place to walk through - I thoroughly enjoyed exploring.
A fairly typical building we saw on our walking tour
After the walking tour, we had some free time before meeting the group again and taking the boat back to the campsite. We found a cute little restaurant to eat dinner - we were able to sit outside and they had a variety of pasta and pizzas. By this point, I was not feeling very well again - I still had no voice at all, so I was basically whispering every time I wanted to speak. I also had the weird experience of my ears being really clogged - I think I just had too much congestion in my head. I ordered a pizza with eggplant on it, and I'm sure it was lovely but I could barely taste it because my sense of smell was just gone.
Such a beautiful pizza, it is unfortunate I couldn't taste it much because I'm sure it was delicious
The guys about to eat dinner in Venice
After dinner, we had a little time to wander around. We stopped in a couple of shops - Danielle and I bought some wine stoppers, and we browsed around a little more. We stopped off for more gelato - our last chance to get it in Italy. I opted for fruit flavors this time and really loved the lemon and strawberry that I chose.
Enjoying the last bit of gelato during our time in Italy
We wandered back toward St. Mark's Square, which was where we were going to meet the group. Danielle and I stopped in a few more shops, and I bought a pair of purple flower earrings made from blown glass (which is something Venice is famous for, so it was a neat souvenir). I also picked up an Italy sweatshirt from one of the street vendors. Before long, it was time to get back on the boat and head back to the campsite. The boat ride was very cold - it was dark by that point and we sat on the top part of the boat so it was very windy. By the time we got back to the campsite, I was ready for bed. I think this was one of the earliest nights on the entire trip, but with no voice at all and not feeling well, it was important to get some sleep.
Final thoughts on Venice
Venice was probably my second favorite stop on this tour - second only to Paris. It was just such a pretty place and had so much character. There is nowhere else that is even similar to Venice. As with every place, I wish we had had more time - but I also felt like I got a really good taste of the city by experiencing a gondola ride, walking through on a tour, and having enough time to sit and enjoy dinner and wander around a little bit. Despite not having a voice the entire day, I was really glad that I felt ok for the most part and was able to really enjoy my Venetian experience.
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