The hotel actually came through with the wake-up call this morning. Alas, the day was still 
cloudy, though by mid-morning the sun was peaking through the roof tops and glinting off the water through a weak fog.
I was supposed to be going on another walking tour early this morning through some dark castle dungeon, and I was up and happening, but it was cold outside and I felt sluggish with a bit of a scratchy throat so I didn’t go.
In fact I had a nap for a short time and by noon, I felt better and able to go on my gondola ride. The sun was still a little shaky, but I dressed warm, a long sleeved shirt and two sweaters.
I’m glad I didn’t go on the morning tour as there was such a long stretch of time between it and my gondola trip and was a little too far to walk back and forth and I don’t know what I would have done for four or five hours in between otherwise.
S
trange but one can’t catch cabs here…well I guess you could, but you’d have to walk over to a street where traffic is and they are REALLY expensive…It would cost me 90 Euros to go from here to the airport, which is about $135 Cdn. This means when I leave I’ll have to walk with all my ‘heavy’ luggage to catch the public water bus a few blocks away, then walk back to the airport from the docks.
I’m not sleeping very well here for some reason either, though I can’t put my finger on why….I have trouble falling asleep, then only sleep for a few hours. You’d think with all the water lapping at the sides of the buildings it would lull one to sleep, but it’s not working for me.
I have to say that rainy weather or not, I don’t like Venice and would probably never come back here again. It’s certainly one of my least favourite places for a variety of reasons, including extremely high cost of food, the dreariness, the grubbiness and the depressing atmosphere. The smell of the filthy water isn’t great either! Maybe that’s why there doesn’t seem to be too many happy people here. There is some fabulous architecture throughout the city, but the buildings are all a little on the dingy side. In some ways tomorrow can’t get here soon enough so that I can leave.
The only flowers blossoming that I saw wer
e in a few flower pots along balconies and one flower shop near my hotel.
cloudy, though by mid-morning the sun was peaking through the roof tops and glinting off the water through a weak fog.I was supposed to be going on another walking tour early this morning through some dark castle dungeon, and I was up and happening, but it was cold outside and I felt sluggish with a bit of a scratchy throat so I didn’t go.
In fact I had a nap for a short time and by noon, I felt better and able to go on my gondola ride. The sun was still a little shaky, but I dressed warm, a long sleeved shirt and two sweaters.
I’m glad I didn’t go on the morning tour as there was such a long stretch of time between it and my gondola trip and was a little too far to walk back and forth and I don’t know what I would have done for four or five hours in between otherwise.
S
trange but one can’t catch cabs here…well I guess you could, but you’d have to walk over to a street where traffic is and they are REALLY expensive…It would cost me 90 Euros to go from here to the airport, which is about $135 Cdn. This means when I leave I’ll have to walk with all my ‘heavy’ luggage to catch the public water bus a few blocks away, then walk back to the airport from the docks.I’m not sleeping very well here for some reason either, though I can’t put my finger on why….I have trouble falling asleep, then only sleep for a few hours. You’d think with all the water lapping at the sides of the buildings it would lull one to sleep, but it’s not working for me.
I have to say that rainy weather or not, I don’t like Venice and would probably never come back here again. It’s certainly one of my least favourite places for a variety of reasons, including extremely high cost of food, the dreariness, the grubbiness and the depressing atmosphere. The smell of the filthy water isn’t great either! Maybe that’s why there doesn’t seem to be too many happy people here. There is some fabulous architecture throughout the city, but the buildings are all a little on the dingy side. In some ways tomorrow can’t get here soon enough so that I can leave.
The only flowers blossoming that I saw wer
e in a few flower pots along balconies and one flower shop near my hotel.
It’s quite difficult to get around here too with all the bridges, and labyrinth-like streets. Sometimes there are signs on the buildings that you can follow if you know what pier you are
heading towards, or what bridge….though they disappear every once in awhile and it’s hard to pick it up again. I found my way back, mostly through remembering shops I’d take photographs of and following a sign that wasn’t where I was going, but headed in the general direction. (Yes, I had a map, but the printing was so tiny I couldn’t read it, and some streets weren’t marked and there were many dead ends.) (see this URL to understand my frustration...too bad I didn't find this Web site, before I went out: http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice_street_maps.htm)
Many shops and sidewalk kiosks are preparing for the big Venetian Carnival. The masks and gorgeous costumes were something to see. And in some of the shops there were people hand-painting th
e masks. It must be quite wonderful to see all the finery and festivities during 
carnival time. "The oldest document pertaining to the use of masks in Venice dates back to 2nd May 1268." This year "There will be fun, masks and entertainment everywhere to liven up the week of the Carnival of Venice from January 25th to February 5, 2008.
Fat Thursday and Mardi Gras are the special days of the Carnival of Venice 2008 but the height of shows, parties and merrymaking is during the weekend, on the 2nd and 3rd of February. " (http://www.venicecarnival.com/)
Fat Thursday and Mardi Gras are the special days of the Carnival of Venice 2008 but the height of shows, parties and merrymaking is during the weekend, on the 2nd and 3rd of February. " (http://www.venicecarnival.com/)
February.http://www.carnivalofvenice.com/argomento.asp?cat=2 and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_of_Venice
Not surprisingly, one can buy so many different kinds of 
pasta, including multi-coloured bows. Ther
e are many clothing, and jewellery shops as well as a multitude of restaurants, which all close by mid-afternoon.
I finally made it to Piazzo San Marco (San Marco Square, often known in English as St Mark's Square) and was 
stunned by the buildings that formed the square. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mark) The Piazza originated in the 9th century as a small area in 
front of the original St Mark's 
Basilica. It was enlarged to its 
present size and shape in 1177. Today the bottom 
level is full of museums, shops and restaurants (which charge a fortune…I had half a tuna sandwich and a glass of water and it cost me 5.50 Euros. )L
uckily I have been getting smarter about eating and at yesterday’s not very good breakfast buffet at the hotel; I took my yogurt and a small bun up with a little ham in it to my room and stored it on the narrow window ledge. It’s rather cramped to get at behind a chair and with two sets of shutters to work around with drapes that kept getting in the way. I mention this because I also stored my large bottle of water there, and with all the rain yesterday, the ledge was a little slick. As I set my bottle back on the ledge it slipped and disappeared. Some long moments later I heard it splat on the stone courtyard five stories below. I darted my head out long enough to see that it hadn’t hit anyone, then dove back into my room and slid the drapes over the windows, dissolving into a fit of giggles.
In the centre of the San Marco Square, there were hundreds of pigeons with tourists letting
them land on them and screaming when they did. Vendors sell grain so that the tourists can entice the birds. Everyone was taking photos, but one had to be quick to get the shot, because most people freaked out when the birds got into their hair and on their backs, etc.
There were plenty of kiosks scattered about with tourist junk to buy, though I did get myself a nice warm hat at one of the stalls. I couldn’t find a cheap pair of gloves or scarf, so I made do, as I leave Venice tomorrow.
The place where I was supposed to go for my gondola ride was so obscure that I had to ask several times where it was. People kept saying go along here, turn there, look for the number, but there was no number on the building and no name that matched where I was to go…I definitely will not pre-plan anything again. 
It would have been much less hassle-free had I waited and discovered everything locally.
It would have been much less hassle-free had I waited and discovered everything locally. At any rate, I finally had my gondola ride and took a few pictures along the way…which are in the next section.
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