VENICE

Rick Steves' Best of Europe in 14 Days

Sept. 13-14, 2008

Across the Dolomites and into Italy, the land of pizza! Our lunch stop in a courtyard of a little Italian restaurant featured four kinds of pizza—all equally delectable!

The weather turned a bit nasty, but with this bunch of upbeat travelers, even getting to Venice in a downpour was simply another grand adventure. Here's our group in the bowels of the water ferry heading to Venice. Periscope, anyone? Our arrival was greeted by gondolas bobbing forlornly in the rain.

But Venice after a rain is a living watercolor, all pastel and soft around the edges. And when the sun comes out—you'll fall in love with this city. I did!

Venice became my favorite city on the tour. It's so unique; no cars are allowed in the city, so it's geared for water travel and foot power. I logged 26,029 steps on our first full day here (almost twelve miles)—not because I had to, but because I wanted to see what was around the next campo or over the next little bridge.

The Piazza San Marco is a huge public square adjacent to St. Mark's Basilica. Restaurants and shops ring the perimeter of the square. The church itself dates back to 11th century and was built to house the relics of St. Mark.

Vibrant Venetian glass balloons, vases, jewelry, and masks of every shape and color are elegantly displayed in shops all around the square.

We toured the Doge's Palace, the elegant home to the doges, or elected rulers, who brought wealth and power to Venice for 400 years. In stark contrast to the glitz and posh décor of the palace, we descended to the dungeon-like prison below the palace for an eerie glimpse into the cells of those who opposed the doge. Complaints could be dropped into the slot in this wall statue, and the victim, guilty or innocent, could be hauled away to prison. It made me appreciate living in a time and place with an imperfect but much fairer justice system!

On our free afternoon in Venice, Dave told us to "just get lost." Well, my husband is not a "get lost" kind of guy. See that little compass pinned to Ol' Blue's pocket? This is a man who needs to know where he is!

So Gene decided to reward himself with a gelato each time he reached a "campo," or town square, that he could locate on his map. This resulted in four gelatos in one day—one pistachio and the rest rich chocolate!

Me? I wandered up and down the canals and sidewalks in search of Venetian glass beads. Wandering is the optimal word, because it's just not humanly possible to go more than 20 feet without stopping to take a photo. Venice is the ultimate photo-op, and Gene and I made the most of it!

The Rialto Bridge spans the Grand Canal and is bellissimo from any angle in any kind of light.

Dave arranged for our group to go on a romantic, evening gondola ride through the canals of Venice—the full moon was strictly coincidental! Our four gondolas stayed close enough together so we could all enjoy the singer and accordion-player. Those rich notes echoing off the buildings in the narrow canals—a perfect end to two incredible days!

Ciao, Venezia! We'll never forget you.

Overall impressions of Venice:

so romantic!

so picturesque!

so captivating!

so refreshing that there are no cars here! You never have to dodge through traffic in Venice.

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