Venice: Worth the Wait

Venice is a city that I've wanted to visit for, well, decades and was on the top of my list of places in Europe to visit this time around.

This city was so worth the wait.

Our visit was only a short one, but it was fun to share our first impressions of Venice together with the girls.  It would definitely warrant a second longer stay.

The flight from Nice to Venice was only 45 minutes.  I so love this about Europe.

From the airport, we took a water taxi to our hotel, a new experience for us all.  We opted for the cheaper, larger, slower taxi so it took us almost an hour and a half to reach our stop.  There were numerous faster, one client taxis that passed us on the way, so we know that the trip could be done quicker if one is willing to pay for the extra speed.

Grace captured this water ambulance in action from our water taxi.  We also saw a police boat speed past us.

Here we have just disembarked at our water taxi stop, "San Marco".

Our hotel was only a few minutes walk from our water taxi stop.  By the time we got settled into our hotel room and headed out into the city to explore, darkness had fallen.  We headed in the direction of Piazza San Marco or St. Mark's Square.  I'm glad we got to see it for the first time after dark.  It reminded me of getting my first glimpses of Paris all lit up during a nighttime cruise on the Seine. 

For me, it made long-awaited first impressions of these celebrated cities seem a tad magical.

Entering the Piazza San Marco

Basilica San Marco or St. Mark's Basilica

The one surprise of the evening was that there was still some hardy mosquitos around town.  We learned pretty quickly to close up our hotel windows!

In daylight, we ventured further out from St. Mark's Square.  

One of the many busy and sparkly store windows.

We managed to find our way to the Grand Canal where we made time for a pizza and gelato stop and then a walk across the stone Rialto Bridge (Ponte Di Rialto) which residents and visitors have been crossing since 1591.

Touring is always more fun with a gelato in hand.

View from the Ponte Di Rialto.  Hard to believe I was really there!

A painting of the Grand Canal by Vittore Carpaccio in 1494 with the wooden version of the Rialto Bridge in the background.  The bridge made of timber collapsed several times, including in 1444 when too many spectators of a boat parade crowded onto it.  

Photo of the stone version in November 2016.

We had a cruise to catch, so needed to head back to grab our baggage at the hotel and catch a water taxi to our ship.  A tad easier said than done, even with Barry in our group who is very good at navigating. Venice is larger than I had imagined, and what people say about it being easy to get lost in is so very true.  We made it back in time, but only after asking for directions and retracing our steps several times.

The first time we passed this bakery, I resisted.  After getting turned around a bit in the Venetian streets, we found ourselves passing it again.  I felt it was a sign and second time around I entered to make a tasty purchase. 

About to board our home for the next eight days.

There is so much more I would like to see and do in Venice and would definitely go back.  But, I feel so fortunate we got the first taste of this city with our daughters.

The skyline of Venice as we sail off.

Next stop:  Trieste, Italy.