Spring Break 09: Venice

Panama City, Mexico and Puerto are all amazing Spring Break places. However, so is ITALY!!!!!

Six of us took off for the week and hit Florence, Venice and Rome.We arrived in Venice at about 9am February 27. I knew it was a city on the water, but I don't think I realized the extent what a canal city meant. I did not see a car. Not one. We took a canal taxi to the center of the city and stepped off the boat into the Piazza San Marco.
Basilica San Marco and Piazza San Marco

We fed the pigeons with rice cakes. Seriously got attacked by the damn pigeons... I had four on me at one point. The really hilarious pictures are on facebook.

After the plaza, we went to find our hostel. Venice doesn't have roads, but mere ally ways- made for a little difficulty. Our hostel was right next to the S.S Giovanni plaza.

My first gondola ride was gorgeous, but I was a little disappointed in our gondolier. I thought they sang and talked to you... whoops. Still a fun experience.

This is the oldest building in Venice. Over a thousand years old, it was a home to Marco Polo.

The Ponte de Rialto is the oldest and most gorgeous bridge in Venice.

So Venice is obsessed with masks. We saw hundreds of entire shops, stands and cards filled with masks. Ranging in creepiness, size, color and glamour, I will forever associate Venice with masks. Later that day, we went to the market next to the Ponte de Rialto. The fish part was my favorite- they literally had caught them this morning.

The Doge Palace is right next to San Marco. The rooms inside were beyond extravagant. We bought one of those passes and got to see all four museums in the Museo Correro and then we went to the Doge.

The Ponte dei Sospiri means 'the bridge of sighs.' Ryan and I snuck in with a tour group and learned about it- it's actually not a bridge at all, but was a prison/torture chamber. It is called the bridge of sighs to commemorate the prisoners who would sigh as they saw their last look at freedom going from the courtroom to the cell.

View from inside and outside the bridge of sighs

Venice shut down at about 9pm. The nightlife was non existent (ok because were so tired from traveling). However, I thought it was strange that we were the only ones out at night most of the time.

Venice was gorgeous to walk around, but aside from the museums, palace, bridge and San Marco's, there wasn't a whole lot to do. We did learn that if you bring an empty water bottle into a wine shop, they will fill it up with whatever wine you want for an extremely good price. We got water bottles full of wine for something ridiculous like 90 cents- literally cheaper than water.