Friday morning, we awoke on the train around 7:30am which was really 6:30 prior to the time change. Nevertheless, not a bad night. Certainly and adventure to travel in a sleeper car, but something I need not repeat. I can say I’ve done that.
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| Passing miles of vinyards. Some of us missed the vinyeards |
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We slept well and had a nice continental breakfast in the dining car before returning to our compartment to await our arrival to the city.
We also bathed in this tiny “bathroom” closet in our compartment. Hot and cold water operated by foot pedal.
Although it was heavily overcast, we had an outstanding view of Lake Como with the Alps surrounding the lake on the other side. Breathtaking! Sorry, photo opportunities were terrible due to rain on the windows.
Venice was frankly miserable weather wise; cold, rainy, and dark. We were happy to get to our lovely apartment, turn up the heat and stay put for a while.
I even stuck my head out the window for a bit of air and this view:
But the rain finally ended and we got out for a while in the evening. The way to travel here is on the water bus, the Vaparetto. There really are no cars or trucks here. It’s not like there’s a road in the back of buildings. Water transportation, that’s it. Police, ambulance, taxi, bus, it’s all on the water. It was funny to see a tractor trailer truck on a barge having produce off loaded at the grocery store dock. And food deliveries to restaurants are by hand cart. Fascinating place. Don’t know how they could have conceived and built it.
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| Rialto Bridge |
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| S. Maria della Salute under the moon |
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| Quiet night in Venice belying what a sunny Saturday would bring. |
Saturday was sunny and mild and the crowds at St Marks were huge! I thought it would be quieter at this time of year, but Venice is certainly a popular destination at any time. Morning was dominated by Aqua Alta; the seasonal high water. We had seen what we thought were risers for music performances the previous evening only to discover that they place the “risers” around as paths and this is how tourists are accommodated during high water.
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| Inside St Mark’s |
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| Piazza San Marco |
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The good news is that the tide was on the way out and things were soon dry. Here are some other photos from our day touring about Venice.
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| Approaching St Mark’s |
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| The infamous Bridge of Sighs |
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| Inside St Mark’s. That whole ceiling is mosiac! |
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| Outside St Mark’s |
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| Venitian homes |
Not sure why this is considered a good idea, but lot’s of people like to get photographed with the friendly pigeons on them.
The bakery had some interesting cookies. Really beautiful.
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| Canal scene |
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| Bye for now. I’ll try to keep the travelogue going but tomorrow we board our cruise ship and I’ll be publishing intermittently. Ciao! |
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