I am exhausted! We went to Venice today and walked till we dropped. Actually, in Venice it’s a mix between walking and stair climbing! My legs are SHOT! I needed this exercise.
A note about the train: Fast trains are more expensive than slow trains, and depending on how much time you have, it’s worth the extra cost… but never assume! from Verona to Venice the fast train was 22€ and took 1:10. The slow train was 8€ and took 1:27!!! it pays to double check!
I love Venice; this was our 4th visit and it has not lost ANY of it’s charm. Even the fact that you could liken it to one huge Shopping Mecca doesn’t phase me, I can’t get enough of it! Even I who hates shopping finds it ridiculously difficult to resist all the shiny and sparkly colourful bobbles; I want them all!
Earrings and Picture Frames and Glassware and Christmas Ornaments and Paperweights and more and more and more. It’s like crack!
I succeeded in holding back, but there was a lot of groaning and whimpering! (ok, I bought a pair of earrings)
Instead of trinkets, I spent my money on my favourite Venice activity: Drinks in San Marc’s Square. The cafes are fancy, there is a live 4 person orchestra playing beautiful classical music, the tables are perfectly perched in the square with views of the Basilica… and the price of a drink comes with smelling salts to pick you up off the floor. 2 cover charges, 1 champagne cocktail and 1 cappuccino came out to a whopping 47€!! But we knew that going in. (Factor in the money we saved taking the “slow” train and it’s not so bad)
The Basilica was unfortunately covered with a lot of scaffolding. I feel bad for first time (only time) tourists who will only ever remember it like this, such a shame.
Like I said before, we just walked all day. I love the way Venice is all lanes and alleys and dead ends and stairs and bridges… I could easily spend another few days there! Getting lost in the streets is the best way to explore the city. We stayed for lunch and diner instead of out usual day trip routine of heading back to our home base city by 3-4 PM. This time we headed back around 7:30 – a possible record!
And here is one for my colleague: me still not touching cats!
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