VENEZIA: DAY OF ARRIVAL

Our train ride was mellow and we were lucky to have met a sweet couple from Perth, Australia. They were on their third week of their Italian vacation and had already seen many of the cities were planning on visiting. It was quite amusing how both of them were shocked when we told them that we would be driving for the rest of our vacation in Italy after our stay in Venezia. It definitely made for a pleasant train ride meeting and talking with them.

Once we arrived at the St.Lucia downtown Venezia train station it was a little hectic getting through the crowds and figuring out where to buy our water taxi passes. For those of you who plan on visiting Venezia, all you need to do is to walk out towards the water out of the station and you will see two tickets booths, one to your left and one to your right. Depending on where you are staying during your visit will determine which booth you need to go to. We were staying in San Marco Square so we took the number 2 water taxi that stops right in front of San Marco Square. The number 1 water taxi goes the opposite direction towards the Rialto Bridge.

The first thing we did after arriving at our hotel and checking in, was walking up to our personal balcony and just taking it all in. Followed by a decision as to where we should enjoy our first meal in Venezia. Again we looked in our Rick Steve's guide book to see what he recommended. After our meal we strolled back casually, stopped by a pub and grabbed a drink, followed by a snack and some wine at a sit down spot nearby.

Our hotel the Best Western Albergo San Marco

These heavy wood doors were necessary as the bells from the church and clock tower wake you right up at 6am. It was something to get used to as there are churches all over Italy and we were woken up by those bells everywhere we went.

We finished off our evening watching all the people out in San Marco square, playing soccer, dancing, walking around and listening to the dueling orchestras from the restaurants that line the square . This was definitely one great way to start off our first day in Venezia.