The next day (11 March), we got up early and I took him to the Sunday market which is just down the street from our apartment. They close down one of the streets and vendors set up for they day. Some say it's almost a mile long! Kyle decided that there were too many people there for him, so left shortly and went to pack our bags for Venice! On our way to the train station we stopped for pizza again-this time at Scope's Pizza (again, another name that the guys gave it...). After that, we headed to Termini to catch our speed train!
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After a four hour train ride, we finally arrived in Venice!!
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| First view of Venice! |
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| Speed train |
We stopped at the information stand to grab a map and make our way to our hotel!
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| On the Ponte degli Scalzi |
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| Kyle on the Ponte degli Scalzi |
Our walk there was really beautiful, definitely a great first view of the city!
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| Small Canal |
Once we dropped off our bags, we walked around the city before going to dinner.
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| San Giorgio Maggiore |
We went to dinner at a small little restaurant that our concierge recommended-really good seafood!
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| Moscato that Kyle ordered-really, really sweet |
The next morning (12 March), we got up early so that we could go up the Campanile. It opened later than we thought, so we walked around St. Mark's square.
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| Basilica di San Marco |
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| Doge's Palace right beside St. Mark's |
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| View down the Grand Canal from Doge's Palace |
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| St. Mark's Campanile |
When it was closer to opening time, we got in line to wait to go up the Campanile. We were lucky that we hopped in line when we did because a large tour group got in line right after us. There was only one couple in front of us and we were able to get on the first elevator.
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| St. Mark's Campanile |
The elevator took us all the way to the stop so there were no stairs for us to climb yet! The views from the top were absolutely magnificent.
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| Bells in the Campanile |
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| View of the city from the top |
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| View of St. Mark's Cathedral |
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| View of San Giorgio Maggiore |
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| View of St. Mark's Square |
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| View of Santa Maria della Salute |
It was definitely worth the trip up!
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| At the top! |
Next, we went inside the cathedral where weren't exactly allowed to take pictures however...I did manage to sneak a few in!
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| Altar |
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| Marble, tile mosaic floor |
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| Side aisle |
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| Kyle outside of St. Mark's |
We had a little bit of time before we had to be back for our glass blowing tour that the hotel set up for us so we walked around and saw some of the shops nearby...like the Louis Vuitton store...
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| Louis Vuitton display with colored arrows! |
...and the Ferrari Store!
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| Ferrari Store designed by Iosa Ghini who spoke at our Rome Studio! |
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| Kyle in front of a Ferrari! |
Then, we headed back to our hotel where we left for our tour of a hand blown glass factory! There were about eight of us on the tour and we made our way down to one of the boats that would take us to the island of Murano.
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| Boat ride to Murano |
Once we arrived, we went to the Marco Polo glass factory where we watched the masters make the traditional Venetian chandeliers.
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| Head master heating the glass |
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| Adding ornaments to the cups that hold the lights |
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| Twisting the glass into one of the arms |
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| Some of the finished products |
Once we left the factory, we took a water bus back to Venice where we explored the city some more.
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| Ospedale (Hospital) |
We took a water bus down the grand canal just so I could get pictures of some of the buildings that I wanted to see! There aren't really sidewalks along the grand canal so the only way to see the front of these buildings is from the water!
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| Santa Maria della Salute |
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| Palazzo Dario being renovated so we couldn't even see it :( |
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| Another building along the Canal |
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| Four wooden taxi boats all in a row |
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| Tug boat that I couldn't believe was still floating! |
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| Rialto Bridge |
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| Ca' d'Oro |
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| Ca' Pesaro |
Once we were done going down the grand canal, we went to a museum which housed some of Leonardo da Vinci's machines that he's invented.
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| First attempt at flying machine-don't think it's going to work... |
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| Centrifugal force tester |
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| Scuba diving suit! |
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| Portable piano-don't think this one would work too well either... |
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| Ball bearings |
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| Eight-man tank |
After, we visited a few more museums and then went back and changed so that we could take a gondola ride to the opera!
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| Gondola ride!! |
We went to the Teatro La Fenice to watch a piano performance! He played twenty-four preludes and fugues written by J.S. Bach, so of course I loved it!
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| In the opera house! |
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| Interior seating of the opera house |
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| Stage |
We had a wonderful time in Venice and we have definite plans to go back!
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