Day 1 in Venice

 Venice

Day 1 in Venice

Traveling from our accommodation on the mainland to the island of Venice was going to require us to use lots of buses, so we decided to fork out for a 3-day Venice transport pass: this gave us 72 hours of unlimited access to all buses and water buses (vaporettos) in the city. At a fairly hefty 28 euros apiece, we initially wondered if they were worth the money, but since every ride on a vaporetto is 8 euros, we thought they would pay off fairly quickly. Buying the passes online did create one small problem since we spent the first half an hour of our morning pacing back and forth through the train station trying to find the machine which would print our tickets (electronic vouchers have to be converted into physical cards), but once we had retrieved the tickets we jumped on the next bus into Venice and validated them.

The Square

Views from the Vaporetto

We immediately got to benefit from the passes when we jumped on a water bus to reach St Mark's Square. Although the bus was fairly busy, it was still a really fun way to see the city, as the views from the canal provided perspectives of buildings which can't be viewed from land. Before long, the vaporetto had reached the square, and we walked straight into the beautiful piazza. The regal facades of the beautiful buildings in this area, including the Doge's Palace and St Mark's Basilica, were a sight to behold.

Another sight to behold (although a much less pleasing one) was the massive queue snaking its way around the square. We realised with a groan that this was the queue for the basilica itself, which we had been intending to visit. We did a lap of the piazza and then grudgingly joined the queue, but the wait was made much more enjoyable by a trusty Rick Steves podcast. In the half-hour it took to reach the basilica doors, we discovered the history of the surrounding square, learning that during Venice's infamous floods this is the first place to show puddles and that the different coloured marble columns of the basilica were taken from different regions of its vast trading network. By the time we reached the front of the queue we were bored of waiting around but felt that our time had been put to good use.

Not a bad place to queue... 

The views from the queue

As we stepped into the central foyer, we were met with disappointment: although tourist websites insisted entry to the basilica was free, here was a ticket office charging 3 euros per person. It wasn't a huge dent in the wallet, but we still felt a bit grumpy, especially as many of the basilica's interior spectacles were roped off to those without more expensive tickets. Nonetheless, St Mark's was still worth a visit. The walls were ornately decorated with golden mosaics displaying biblical stories, a design intended to explain the principles of Catholicism to Venice's illiterate masses. The basilica isn't huge, though, so it didn't take long for us to walk the whole circumference and head back out into the main square. 

 

After this, we tried to escape the crowds and headed into the back streets of the city. We had a few things on our sightseeing list including churches and piazzas, but in general, we found that there was no single thing of outstanding beauty here - the whole city is stunning, so our usual method of ticking off lists of major attractions has been mostly sacrificed in favour of getting lost in the winding streets. 

Beautiful Streets

To say that the day went completely smoothly would be a lie. In the early afternoon we sat down with two yummy calzones and I received an email from the COVID test clinic which would provide our fit-to-fly tests for returning to the UK. They had canceled our scheduled appointment on Friday and moved it to Thursday. This would have been fine, as 4pm on Thursday was within the 72 hour test period, but the certificates we would receive would not have the time of the swab on them, potentially causing us problems at the gate. This was easily solvable as I had booked tests at another clinic on Friday just in case this would happen. Our problems weren't over yet, though: I emailed to check that they still had our booking and that our tests would be suitable for the flight. The first question was an affirmative but the second received an unsure reply. I will admit to overreacting and overthinking the dilemma for the next couple of hours, but luckily we received information about the test specificity and learned that the airport would accept it. All of these extra COVID requirements are proving to be a real pain, and the process of returning to the UK is becoming a bit of a headache. 

More sights in Venice

With everything cleared up by the afternoon, we headed into Venice for dinner with much less anxiety hanging over our heads. When we arrived at our Fork booking, however, it wasn't quite what we had expected... this was a very fancy place. Before we could be scared off by the prices on the menus we were ushered to a table and handed two glasses of Prosecco and a breadbasket. Surrounded by wealthy, loud Americans, hoping that the prosecco was included in the cover charge, and trying to figure out the least expensive choice on the menu, I was not in my element. A smile returned to my face when the dishes were brought out, both of which were absolutely delicious and a good portion size, but as I was finishing my meal a shower hit Venice. Max was under a cover but I wasn't, and with the restaurant being so crammed, I was stuck in the rain. The overall experience was enjoyable, but there were some not-so-pleasant moments!

Yummy Food

Nonetheless, the choice to venture to Venice for dinner was rewarded when we crossed over the bridge back towards the bus station. The views were beautiful, with twinkling lights being reflected by the water and the buzz of restaurants and street musicians being carried with the breeze. 

A lovely night in Venice