Venice

We took a very fast train from Bologna to Venice on Monday, May 30, 2011.  Dan was the only one in our group who had been to Venice before, and the rest of us were unprepared to be completely blown away by the beauty of the city.

When we arrived in Venice, we took the water bus down the Grand Canale to Piazza San Marco.

San Marco

This city of masks was like Chinatown on steroids, with lots of water, and nicer stuff.  Morgan made it her mission to buy the perfect mask souvenir, and we checked out many before she ultimately made her decision.

The San Marco plaza was packed with tourists and we slowly began walking through Venice, moving farther and farther away from the crowds.  We felt we found the “real Venice” after walking for some time.  Halfway to the train station, we realized that we could just keep walking through the small streets and alleys and return all the way to the train station on foot.  No small challenge, looking for water crossings in our labyrinth.  

Zillions of beautiful glass shops

E mails a postcard to her class

Cute shoes, but she didn't buy them

There was gelato procured along the way, and a stop in a beautiful (but smallish) museum.