Venice
After leaving Calgary at 8:45 pm on Monday the 25th we finally arrived at Venice's Marco Polo Airport (Aeroporto di Venezia Marco Polo,) on the 26th around 9:30 pm (a 16.75 hours travel time with an 8 hour time change). Needless to say we were pretty tired and anxious to get to our hotel only to find that our luggage didn't make the trip.
We caught the Blue Bus that takes right to Venice. By the time the bus took us across the causeway it was already late at night so we didn't get to see much during our approach.
We then took the No. 1 Vaporetti (Water Bus) that wends its way down the Grand Canal from our Bus Stop to Santa Maria del Giglio Stop just under the Gritti Palace in the sestieri (district) of San Marco (this is also where Ernest Hemingway used to hang out with the Traghetti Gondoliers).
The only gondolas still in common use by "Real" Venetians are the traghetti, foot passenger ferries crossing the Grand Canal at certain points without bridges. The classic Gondola that people are familiar with is now mostly used for tourists, weddings, funerals, or other ceremonies.
http://maps.yourgmap.com/v/e_is_Venezia.html
The hotel we booked was the Hotel Residenza San Maurizio just off of the Campo San Maurizio, of course, and fairly near the more famous and expensive Gritti.
The hotel is located on the ground floor of a 16th century palace and it doesn't look like much from the outside. The hotel information said that it was recently renovated, preserving its original Venetian atmosphere. Apparently the smells off the "canale" are included for free.
We got upgraded to a suite that included a bathroom, which was a godsend after our long flight and given that we didn't have any toiletries.
We like Venice best so far as it is a little more laid back but they wasn't as much to do.
Leaving early in the evening we got a much better view as we left venice but it was so late we missed the rest of the country side on our way to Florence.
We caught the Blue Bus that takes right to Venice. By the time the bus took us across the causeway it was already late at night so we didn't get to see much during our approach.
We then took the No. 1 Vaporetti (Water Bus) that wends its way down the Grand Canal from our Bus Stop to Santa Maria del Giglio Stop just under the Gritti Palace in the sestieri (district) of San Marco (this is also where Ernest Hemingway used to hang out with the Traghetti Gondoliers).
The only gondolas still in common use by "Real" Venetians are the traghetti, foot passenger ferries crossing the Grand Canal at certain points without bridges. The classic Gondola that people are familiar with is now mostly used for tourists, weddings, funerals, or other ceremonies.
http://maps.yourgmap.com/v/e_is_Venezia.html
The hotel we booked was the Hotel Residenza San Maurizio just off of the Campo San Maurizio, of course, and fairly near the more famous and expensive Gritti.The hotel is located on the ground floor of a 16th century palace and it doesn't look like much from the outside. The hotel information said that it was recently renovated, preserving its original Venetian atmosphere. Apparently the smells off the "canale" are included for free.
We got upgraded to a suite that included a bathroom, which was a godsend after our long flight and given that we didn't have any toiletries.
We like Venice best so far as it is a little more laid back but they wasn't as much to do.
Leaving early in the evening we got a much better view as we left venice but it was so late we missed the rest of the country side on our way to Florence.
posted by John at
4:12 PM
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