Our cruise ship took out of, and came back to, Venice, and the when we boarded the ship we had absolutely no time to explore Venice, so we set aside the day we got back to enjoy the city of love. We spent the whole day Saturday touring around Venice, and really got to know the city. Unfortunately, I felt a lot of motion sickness for some of the day, but luckily it let up in the early afternoon, and it didn't end up affecting too much of our day.
We started the day early, checked in to our hotel, and headed to the island of Murano to watch a glass-blowing demonstration. This was so cool! Definitely one of my favorite parts of Venice. After the demonstration, we walked around that island for a little bit (much quieter, and more deserted than actual Venice).
Views from the water shuttle that we took over to Murano
The glass-blowing demonstration
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| The finished product! |
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| A glass chandelier |
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| Trying to figure out the {water} public transportation |
After the island, we headed on the water shuttle over to St. Mark's Square (more views).
Next stop in Venice: Doge's Palace
{this is where I felt a lot of motion sickness}
This place was incredible...everything was really beautiful!
On the "Bridge of Sighs"
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| the outside of the palace |
There was a ton of gold trimming!
Heading down to the prison
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| They could look through the holes to see the "Bridge of Sighs," which is where they would see their family for the last time before going to prison. |
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| I was too tall for many of the doorways {big surprise!} |
Next stop: St Mark's Cathedral/Basilica
Surprisingly, this was free! To go inside the treasury though, cost 3 euros (they always get you some way!). Luckily we went later in the day, and the line really wasn't bad at all.
The Treasury {below}...this wasn't as cool as we were hoping (not very big at all)...
Outside the cathedral/basilica
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| one of the lions outside |
Next stop: Walking around & catching a gondola ride
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| pigeons EVERYWHERE |
Our "gondolier" was hysterical...definitely made the whole ride worth it
After the gondola ride, we got dinner, and walked back to the water shuttle (it took a while for us to get back to the hotel).
We left early the next morning!
