Venezia: The Bride of the Sea

Hans told us that Venice is basically ours to do what we want to in. So with that we all made our own plans as to what to do. After a lackluster breakfast at the hotel we were off. The first stop on our must see list was the Island of Murano which is world renowned for its glass. We took a water taxi over and followed a lot of people to see a glass making demonstration. It was a really cool experience to watch them shape the glass from a molten state. They were really impressive. From there we visited the Museo di Vetro which is the museum of glass. The glass collection on display was very intricate and colorful and all around beautiful. Next we did some sketching and stuck our heads in the Basilica di Santi Maria e Donato. Finally we bought some gifts and headed back to the main island.

Glass factory and demonstration

We were in some desperate need of food at this point so once we got off at San Marco we found a Rossopomodoro and had pizza for lunch. This restaurant never disappoints. We decided to check out St. Mark’s Basilica following lunch. It has an intricate exterior and the interior is also very busy. On the outside, one corner is leaning outwards and not straight up. While on the inside the floor looks like it is sinking downs towards the water. It looks unstable in some spots. It was a beautiful church although weird in places. We did some shopping before meeting up with a couple other people and experiencing the favorite pastime of Venezia.

St. Mark's Basilica

So we got 5 people to fit on a gondola and went for a spin around the canals of Venice for half an hour. It was such a surreal experience. You see it all the time in movies and television shows based in Venice but you never actually think you’d get the chance to do it yourself. Our gondolier didn’t sing or even give us a history lesson which was a bit disappointing but my excitement for a gondola ride was not.

Gondola ride

Once that was over it was time to start heading to the restaurant we would have our group dinner in. We did some shopping on the way as well and I got a nice leather wallet. Dinner itself was pleasant but I didn’t enjoy it much. I went back to the hotel once we finished and called it a night. It was a busy day and we only have one left.

Piazza San Marco