Day #254 - Venice, Italy

My sister Kay and I

St. Mark's Square - flooded

Walking over tables in front of St. Mark's Basilica

Awesome sites of Venice

My sister Kay - first view of the Grand Canal in Venice

Tuesday, November 23rd

Great day in Venice! My sister and I are doing a grand tour of Italy over the next 12 days. As I've been to the northern cities earlier on my trip, I'm excited to be somewhat of a tour guide for the first few days. Wherever she wants to go - I'm all in. We decided that we got the feel of Milan by walking the streets; therefore, we were off to Venice early on Tuesday.

We arrived via train around 11am. We hadn't booked a hotel yet - so we decided to walk around and see what we could find. The great thing about touring this time of year -- you pretty much have your pick of hotels. I would doubt if any are fully booked. We walked over to the area I stayed on my first visit. The goal was to stay in the same hotel that my aunt & uncle had stayed. It worked out that we found a great spot along the way -- a couple hundred yards from the central train station - right on the Grand Canal. Nice - for 55 euro (about $70).

I like Venice. Why? Because of it's uniqueness. My sister and I were just discussing this. It might not be the fanciest place around, are the most elegant city in the world; however, it has it's own style. We first took a leisurely walk down to St. Mark's Square. Great - the streets were not busy at all. We had free reign to see the shops and interesting squares along the way.

We arrived into St. Mark's Square --- to find it UNDER WATER. Wow! This is one of the most surprising things I've seen on the whole trip to date. The take-home symbol of Venice - St. Mark's Square - filled with several inches of water. We had to take a side canal to enter. They had tables set up where we could walk across the water. See pictures. We went inside St. Mark's Basilica - there was water on the floor of the Basilica as you walked in. Can't even believe it!

We discussed with folks and were told that this time of year generally brings rain and flooding. This is not uncommon in Venice. Many people were walking around in these large boots to keep out of the water. When we arrived via train, the levels in the Grand Canal were almost overflowing. By the end of the day, these levels had dropped some 4 foot. Unreal.

The sun came out as the day progressed. We took the water bus back to our hotel from the Basilica. Awesome. Just like I had remembered it. Not as many boats today. The ride took us only about 25 minutes or so. I remember it taking nearly 45 minutes in early July (many more people boarding, etc).

We walked around the side canals taking photographs along the way. A cool day today - but nice walking weather. We slipped in an afternoon siesta and then had a great dinner. We contemplated the same restaurant my aunt, uncle, and I had eaten at early this year -- but opted for variety. Nice!

We're here at our hotel drinking some hot tea and recapping the day's events. Tomorrow, we head south - to Tuscany area. We might stop off and have some Bologna first. See you soon.