Italy: Venice Part 1

We had breakfast at the hotel which had all you can drink hot cocoa. Unfortunately, after one cup, that's about all the hot cocoa you can ever handle.

We drove north from Ljubljana and into Austria. We were in Austria (near Villach) for a little stretch and then dipped down into Italy on our way to Venice.

The stretch from Slovenia to Italy was absolutely gorgeous. The road weaves through the steep, tree-covered mountains and then takes you into tunnel after tunnel. After exited each tunnel, you are greeted by more mountains. It was one of the many times that I wish I was a passenger or looking out the window of a plane. Josie took some good pictures though. 

It's difficult trying to get a good shot of the amazing landscape while going 80-90 mph with a tunnel every 1/2 mile or so. We both agree some see-through cars should be invented so panoramas would be possible. The views were amazing--just as good as Germany was.

Just about to go into a tunnel. 

A short-video in between tunnels. I kept saying,"Woowww....."

After we passed the tunnels and gorgeous mountains, Josie started to fade and took a nap on the way to Venice. The GPS didn't recognize the exact address of our hotel, but guided us to just outside of Venice. We stopped at a rest-stop, got our bearings, and found out where to go. 

The GPS wasn’t working, so I was angry at it, but Jeff kept his cool and we found our hotel in no time. It was called the Villa Foscarini. It had an antique style to it, and we loved it!

I had no idea how we were going to get out to Venice. I have heard that you can drive, take a train, or even take a boat. When we got to the hotel, we asked the receptionist which option was best and she said that train was the cheapest and fastest. Luckily the train station was just a few blocks away. We got a kebab, walked to the station, bought round trip tickets, waited 15 minutes, and then were on a train to Venice. 

Here are some more pictures that will show you our story:

We walked across the island to St. Mark's square. It has St. Mark's Basilica and Campanile, the Doge Palace, the Zodiac Clock, and the Bridge of Sighs.

The streets are literally a maze, but luckily they have signs leading to the main attractions. Before I realized that there were signs, we just followed the crowds and we able to see lot.

The Bridge of Sighs

 They say that this bridge was where prisoners would get their last breath of fresh air and view of the city as they were being led away to be executed. Hence, the name.

Prison window

The Doge Palace

A wealthy family ruled Venice for awhile--the Doges. They built a pretty awesome palace right beside St. Peter's Basilica.

A gigantic cruise ship passed by on the Grand Canal. I can't get over how huge it was...and that's just a picture of the end of it.

View of the Grand Canal from the square.

St. Mark's Basilica

St. Mark's Campanile

It was pretty crowded and a little too sunny for good pictures, so we decided to walk around awhile and come back again. We went searching for the Rialto Bridge...and found it, eventually...

I wanted a mask as a souvenir. There were some pretty crazy/cool ones!

1 Gondola ride = $105 (typically)

Even if we could afford to pay that much for a ride, I think I preferred just watching others anyways. The  gondolier "driver" only rows from one side and still manages to stay straight. Pretty impressive. 

 

Jeff with a winged lion!

and a boat

It was crowded and still too sunny to get pictures, so we looked around some more and headed back to the square. Jeff got me some dulce de leche gelato to help make my feet and my knees feel better ;)

Rialto Bridge