Venice (Venezia)

Our trip didn't start out on the best foot. The train in Avezzano was about two hours late and then once on board they told us it had some problems and we would have to get off. They would have a car to take us the rest of the way. So we made it to Pescara about 11:00 pm. We weren't quite sure how to get our next tickets so we picked the "Fast" option. Don't do that! We ended up sleeping in our chairs, 7 hours and still had to change trains to get to Venezia (Venice.)

We were able to check our bags in at our hotel so we could spend the morning around Venice. We grabbed some breakfast. It was somewhat of a relief that they spoke more English. We hopped on the vaporetto (water bus) and headed towards San Marco square. There were some cruise ships in port and the square was packed. We decided not to worry about going to the museum and Doge's palace. There were pigeons everywhere. People were having them eat right out of their hands. The clock tower is beautiful. It is the first in the world to have a digital clock.

We took David's advice, (my brother served here on his mission) and went across the way to San Giorgio Maggiore to go up this clock tower. There was hardly anyone there and the view was incredible. You could see all around the island. It was late morning and we were dragging. We head back to the hotel for a shower and a nap. Most of the cruise people should be gone in the afternoon as well.

It's amazing what a shower and a nap can do for ya! We started off to the Rialto Bridge. This bridge dates back to 1588. I had very specific shopping wants in Venezia; a mask, ties and glass jewelry. We checked all those items off the list as we wandered our way through the twist and turns of the "roads". You can just about walk from one end to the other in about an hour. Some of the churches had different exhibits on display. We found one with violins and violas. They also showed the tools on how they make them.

We decided that Venezia was great to visit, but it wasn't a place we would likely visit again.