"Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go."---Truman Capote
Day 12
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Off To Venice |
As newly minted independent travelers we say our final goodbyes at breakfast and leave our wonderful tower and new friends for the Santa Maria Novella train station. We quickly found the Italo lounge and waited for our train to Venice. Before long we're zipping through the lush green countryside enjoying the calm, quiet, high speed travel. Time to relax, recharge, and regroup. After our experiences over the past few days we're confident and eager to take on Venice. Other than our hotel reservations, we made no other plans and decided to just wing it and see how it goes.
Venice & the Grand Canal
Venice was another "Wow" moment. The entire city with its busy canals, bustling merchants, mega tourists, and friendly residents was almost overwhelming. We didn't know where to look. At every turn, another palace, or bridge, or charming canal, or church, or cafe, or gondola, on and on. We opted to take a water taxi to our hotel rather than being wedged into the much much cheaper vaporetto. An indulgence for sure, but so much fun. We actually shared the ride with another American couple and split the fare. Our hotel, The Hotel Colombina, was one block behind St. Marks and very centrally located. It was like a little jewelry box, with great décor, beautiful rooms, and wonderful service. After checking in we had pizza at an Italian chain restaurant Rosso Pommodoro (very good) then walked over to St. Mark's Square and took a tour of this most unusual and remarkable church.
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Hotel Colombina |
St. Mark's
"To build a city where it is impossible to build is madness in itself, but to build there, one of the most elegant and grandest of cities is the madness of genius."---Alexander Herzen
Blast from the past
Venice.....1972 or 2014??? You guess
In Hindsight: I wish we had taken a gondola ride. It is such a Venetian thing to do and for our wedding anniversary it would have been very romantic. We just ran out of time. I guess it's always good to leave something for the next time.