It's been a long time since I updated on my Italy trip but better late than never. :) Venice was our second stop right after Milan. It turned out to be the prettiest of the four cities that I visited in Italy, with water, sea and gondolas.
Arriving on the 1st day
The moment we got off the train, we headed straight to take the vaporetto ( a river bus) to our hotel at Rialto. What greeted us was scenic views of beautiful architecture above the Grand Canal. I have read that Venice is "sinking" and it did seem true as the water level was reaching the door steps of some buildings. Nevertheless, it was still a magnificent sight. I mean, taking a boat along the river was already quite romantic. Can you imagine doing it throughout the entire city? :)
Arriving on the 1st day
The moment we got off the train, we headed straight to take the vaporetto ( a river bus) to our hotel at Rialto. What greeted us was scenic views of beautiful architecture above the Grand Canal. I have read that Venice is "sinking" and it did seem true as the water level was reaching the door steps of some buildings. Nevertheless, it was still a magnificent sight. I mean, taking a boat along the river was already quite romantic. Can you imagine doing it throughout the entire city? :)
The water taxi - a super expensive form of transport
A romantic ride along the river...We managed to find our hotel, Lanterna di Marco Polo, pretty soon due to M's superb navigation skills. It's a small family-run hotel with a even smaller bathroom. But I quite liked it because it's clean and cosy. Believe me, it's very easy to get lost in Venice. The road signs are confusing and sometimes, you can't even see the names of the streets!
We had lunch at a small cafeteria before we started exploring around Venice, on foot. It's the best and cheapest way to get around and you get to see many sights that you would miss if you took the water taxi. I was quite excited when I saw a notice on the "Singapore Pavillion" in Venice and immediately took a picture! Isn't it cool that your fellow Singaporeans get to perform in this enchanting city?
The Singapore Pavillion
The place of performanceChiesa di Santa Maria della Salute
One of the interesting museums that we visited was Chiesa di Santa Maria della Salute. It's a pity that the dome was under renovation when we visited so that kind of spoilt its otherwise majestic outlook. This church was built in the 17th century in honour of Virgin Mary, who was believed to have delivered the city from an outbreak of plague.
One of the interesting museums that we visited was Chiesa di Santa Maria della Salute. It's a pity that the dome was under renovation when we visited so that kind of spoilt its otherwise majestic outlook. This church was built in the 17th century in honour of Virgin Mary, who was believed to have delivered the city from an outbreak of plague.
The entrance to Santa Maria ChurchDoges' Palace
We decided to complete our tour for the first day at Venice with a visit to the Palazza Ducale or Doges' Palace. This building used to house the Republic's government and prisons! Gasps! I could never imagine a Presidential Palace and prison in the same compound!
I was slightly disappointed by the interior decor of the Doges' Palace as it was not as grand as I had expected. We walked through the "Paper Door", "Giants' Staircase", "Hall of the Four Doors" etc but they did not leave a deep impression on me. One place that I remember vividly was strangely, the Ponte del Sospiri or "Bridge of Sighs". This bridge was so named because it led the way to the dungeons and prisoners would sigh as they crossed the bridge.
By the time we completed our tour, we were both exhausted and decided to have a good dinner before going back to our hotel for an early rest. We managed to find a nice restaurant "Ostaria al Garanghelo" located along San Polo (recommended by Frommers' Guide) where we indulged in a good dinner of bread, pasta, mushroom stew and salad. The prices were expensive, as expected of Venice but the food was reasonably good. That satisfyingly rounded up my first day in Venice. Burp!
Start of our 2nd Day Visit
On our second day, we got up very early to take a look at the market located along Ponte di Rialto. According to the guide books, it was a busy market where we can see stalls selling fresh vegetables, fruits and fish. Perhaps we were there too early (at 7.30am) but we only caught sight of a few stalls unpacking their produce, and not an entire stretch of stores as mentioned. It was quite disappointing as I had planned to purchase some fresh fruits like peaches and nectarines.
Basillica di San Marco
I recovered quickly from my disappointment as our next stop was the famous Basillica di San Marco. As we made our reservation earlier (http://www.alata.it/), we were spared from the "close to 2 hours" long queue! When we entered the Basillica, I was awed by the extensive extravagant interior design! The walls were literally dazzling in gold and marble, with beautiful mosaics coming to life right in front of my eyes (I later learnt that this was nothing compared to the Sistine Chapel).
On our way out of the basillica, we headed up a narrow stairway (it's really steep and small!) to the Galleria, where we saw the 4 original glided bronze horses and the Loggia del Cavalli. I couldn't believe that we had to pay another 3 euros to see the horses though entry to the Galleria did allow us to gain a closer look to the stunning interior of the church.
Campanile
The Campanile is the church's bell tower and was rebuilt in 1902 when the original tower collapsed. The view from the top is known to be spectacular but we didn't go up there as we already caught a great view when we went up the Galleria earlier.
Doges' Palace: used to be a palace is now a dark building...
A side view of the Doges' Palace - a sad place
The bronze horses in the middle of the Basillica are replicas.
The 99m tall Campanile (we didn't go up there!)Galleria dell' Accademia
We had a quick lunch at a cafe before heading to the Accademia, which was on M's "must-see" list. This place is a definite perfect for one interested in art. Though I am far from being an arty person, I was overwhelmed by the vivid drawings in each room. It did help that we rented an audio guide so we were able to understand some of the key pictures further. One minor complain was that the air-conditioning was down due to the renovation and it made my 2 hours walk a little torturous. Ok, I admit I am a spoilt brat.
We had a quick lunch at a cafe before heading to the Accademia, which was on M's "must-see" list. This place is a definite perfect for one interested in art. Though I am far from being an arty person, I was overwhelmed by the vivid drawings in each room. It did help that we rented an audio guide so we were able to understand some of the key pictures further. One minor complain was that the air-conditioning was down due to the renovation and it made my 2 hours walk a little torturous. Ok, I admit I am a spoilt brat.
The exterior - under construction
The impressive view of Galleria dell' AccademiaOur second day in Venice passed by pretty quickly as we crammed in to visit as many places as we could. In the evening, we decided to head back to Ponte di Rialto to browse through the "bridge-ful" of shops for gifts. M bought a paper weight while I bought two pretty display pieces for my family. Of course, I treated myself to non-stop supply of strawberries along the way.
Thinking Back...
Venice is really a beautiful city. It's a very a pleasant experience to walk around the city: crossing bridges, roaming narrow corners and watching gondola men singing. The gift stalls were colourful, selling a variety of t-shirts and masks! I was so tempted to buy one but decided against it as it looked very fragile. The only drawback of this place was it's really pricey, from hotel stay, transport to food. We really had to watch our budget here. I probably wouldn't go back to Venice for a long back but it brings back sweet memories every time I think about our trip there.
Thinking Back...
Venice is really a beautiful city. It's a very a pleasant experience to walk around the city: crossing bridges, roaming narrow corners and watching gondola men singing. The gift stalls were colourful, selling a variety of t-shirts and masks! I was so tempted to buy one but decided against it as it looked very fragile. The only drawback of this place was it's really pricey, from hotel stay, transport to food. We really had to watch our budget here. I probably wouldn't go back to Venice for a long back but it brings back sweet memories every time I think about our trip there.
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