Ahh... Venice!

We woke up early (had leftover pizza for breakfast) and ventured west toward the train station, passing some pleasant parks and famous landmarks along the way, including Brunelleschi's "Ospedale" or orphanage. After a bit of searching we found the Santa Maria Novella Train Station and although we thought that we had left early we arrived right on time! We stood at our meeting place (in front of a McDonalds) for awhile before we boarded the train. I'm not sure that I've ever rode a train before (maybe I have and just don't remember) unless you count the mini train at Disney World : ). It was extremely comfortable and we were grateful for it since it was a 3 hour ride to Venice. Along the way, we enjoyed the countryside, peering at the villages and contemplating the rolling mountains.

There was excitement in the cabins when we crossed over water and could see buildings emerging from the mist. We had arrived in that fabled city! After exiting the train station we walked out to the water and admired the buildings and boats, after snapping some pictures our private vaporetta had arrived to ferry us to St. Mark's Square. We battled hoards of tourists to make it to the line for entrance into St. Marks Bascillica and admired all of the architecture.









We were unable to take photos within the bascillica but once inside we were treated to a remarkable view. The church was built in the 11th century (upon the foundations of another which had burned down) and it believed to house the final resting place of St. Mark. Its other claim to fame is its 43,000 square feet of mosaic constructed of gold, precious stones and metal that blanket every square centimeter of the walls and ceiling. Once inside we were also able to see the Pomodori, an altarpiece completely designed with gold and every known precious mineral or otherwise ornamenting its surface. It was absolutely mind boggling!

We journeyed upstairs to view the church's other riches--a set of four large ancient horses that are the world's only existing example of Greek sculpture in the round. They had been pilfered by Napoleon and were returned to Italy where they were placed on top of the basilica, until acid rain proved to be a serious detriment to their existance and they were moved inside. The attention to naturalism was amazing, and I would have to say that viewing them was my favorite part of the entire trip!

We were able to walk out onto the balcony to have a view over St. Marks Square where tourists mingled with mutant pigeons. We could also view close-up copies of the horses that stand in the place where the originals once had. It was a lovely view over the square and also a closer view of the tower across the way.



We walked a far and winding distance through the city, over some canals and by some very high class fashion shops. When we were thoroughly lost our guides let us free to find some lunch. I had some sort of prosciutto and mozzarella wrap followed by another taste of gelatto! We enjoyed our treats while sitting on the steps of a church overlooking the Grand Canal. After our lunch we were supposed to decide which one of the museums we were going to attend and meet there. One of my roommates and I decided that we hadn't spent enough time in Venice (and wouldn't if we visited either of the museums) so we spent the afternoon wandering the streets and shops and taking pictures of various sites.















Some shop highlights:





Bonus: The Leaning Tower of Venice!



Toward five we headed back to meet our group at the Ponte' Accademia, but not without stopping to split a Kebab at a delicious smelling shop. As it turns out, a Kebab in Italy is not a Kebab in the American sense--it's a gyro!

We left just in time to miss the storm and rain that was rolling in--but it was extremely windy and enough to toss the waters in the Grand Canal and give us a bumpy vaporretta ride back to the train station. We boarded the train and shared stories from the trip until we pulled into Firenze. Then, exhausted from the adventures of the day, we walked home and soon fell asleep in our cozy beds.