04-01-02
Venice is really something to behold. We arrived Monday on the train, which took about 3 hours from Milano and provided us with an insight as to how Europeans so easily get around to see other countries. It was really easy to get the ticket and get to a new city, once we figured out the automated touchscreen in the train station. Of course, we could have also bought our tickets at the newsstand in the train station, but we wanted to really get a sense of how easy it would be if we lived here.
Then on the morning of departure, you simply show up at the station, validate your ticket in a little yellow box that date stamps it, and wait for the massive boards to show you which binario, or platform, your train will pull up to. We managed to pick a non-smoking car (divided from the smoking section by a piece of glass) that screened out most of the cigarette smell, and settled in for the ride.
The countryside was mostly green, covered with fields in some places and a few vineyards (most of those are a bit further south, I think). There were lots of little towns, right up against the railroad tracks. Most of these looked to have about 30 buildings or so, and might center around one industrial place to work. There were also a few big towns we passed through, with their characteristic church steeples and 4 to 6 story apartment buildings throughout. (Glenn mentions which towns in his journal - he is detail guy for this trip.)
Arrival in Venice was crowded, confusing in the station, and a bit of a shocker when we heard how much hotels were running. You really need a reservation, too, since a lot of places would normally have been completely booked. The man who eventually convinced us to go to his hotel told us that the unsettled state of the world since September has put tourism in a bit of a downslide, so there are actually rooms available, an unusual occurence for Easter week. It was a good thing for us, though, as we were able to show up and find a place right away.
We took a water taxi (or ferry, public transport around the canals) through the Grand Canal for our first view of Venice. It is stunning! I was in heaven, standing out on the deck of the boat, seeing these grand 3 and 4 story palazzos, palaces, with their immense windows, huge glass chandeliers visible in their 15 foot hallways, ornate carvings and statues adorning the walls, and quaint waterways separating them, spanned by arching bridges. The gondolas were everywhere, of course, and I felt for a while like I was on a movie set, like this couldn't be real. But it was much better than the Venetian in Las Vegas, I can tell you!
We arrived at our hotel, which we were less than impressed with but found to be adequate for our purposes of sleeping at night and storing our backpacks during the day. We got back outside and walked down some wandering alleyways, seeing great shops full of wonderful glassworks, ornate masks, and a some hot fashions. Milan is better known for its fashion, but Venice has its share of high class shopping!
We found dinner near the Rialto, by which time I was exhausted. We had great food though, which helped revive me for the search for the way back to the hotel! Still, it was wonderfully romantic just to wander through the streets, over bridges, and browse the shops. We didn't see much in the way of nightlife, but we admittedly weren't looking at that point. After a long day of traveling and being overwhelmed with new sights, I was ready for bed.
