SITE SUMMARY: City Walk including Rialto Bridge and St. Mark's Square
SLEEPING: Hotel al Piave
LESSON LEARNED: We've always heard that Venice is a sewer and smells horrible. We were so pleasantly surprised how beautiful and NOT smelly it was! Maybe there was a huge problem years ago, but it wasn't a problem for us!
Hanging out near St. Mark's Square
After enjoying the countryside, it was time to voyage to a city like no other: Venice. We parked our bus and caught a vaporetto, or water taxi, from the main land to the main island. Venice is a small, fish-shaped set of islands. Our hotel was located between the two most popular destinations in Venice - the Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal and St. Mark's Square. You can't get more centrally located than where we were!
TOUR HIGHLIGHT: FANTASTIC LEAD GUIDE
Margaret was always very professional, helpful, and had great logistics planning! She's been with the company for decades and it was clear how experienced she is! Once checked in, we were treated to a city walk including the Rialto Bridge and St. Marks's Square with the Bridge of Sighs on the way. Even though we had scheduled free time, Margaret helped us with two major, unplanned activities. First, we got to see Venetian Glass artisans in action. Later, she helped us organize a group dinner for a great deal! See a photo series below to show the quick and skilled formation of a real Venetian glass vase! This demonstration might have been one of our Evan's favorite demonstrations.
After dinner, the group ended up in St. Mark's square. The square is lined with sidewalk cafes and many have live performances at night. They seem to take turns trying to outdo each other! It's free to walk in the square, but expect a fee to sit at a cafe table and very expensive menu items. The up charge is part of the entertainment.