Day Seven.
Venice, Italy.
Did I mention already how spectacular Venice is? Waking up to the sound of the water, the boats, and the smell of it all was such a joy. I really feel like somehow, I don't deserve this view. It's just tremendous. I wish I could take it home with me somehow.
Nonetheless, we took our official guided tour of Venice which included visiting some churches (of course, a must in this country) and learning about the history, architecture, and about how the heck they built a city like Venice on water. For those wondering, they built it on little islands which serves as the foundation of the city. Also, that little nugget of troubling information that this city is sinking is completely overblown. The city is indeed sinking, but it is roughly several centimeters over one hundred years.
We also learned about the "ways of the Venetians", their prior history, their current attitude in wanting to succeed from the Republic of Italy, their ongoing feud/dislike for Rome, and their over ambitious penchant for merchants, marketing, and sales.
To be honest, if not for the charm of the city with the waterways and how beautiful it is, Venice would be annoying to attend. There is too much commercialism and really not much to the city other than the canals and it's foundation.
We did the typical must-do in Venice by taking a gondola ride through the canals and waterways of the city. There were six of us in our boat, including my six-foot-five-inch backside, and the operator didn't miss a beat in rowing and steering us through some tight corners. Dude was good. And yes, there is serenading going on during this ride.
We also took a boat ride over to the island of Burano for lunch, which was fantastic. Burano is nice with all of the colorful houses. In my opinion that's all there is really. And the colorful houses can be seen elsewhere in the world like the Caribbean. Not hating, just my opinion.
And of course, we got gelato - again! I am going to miss that so much when we leave Italy.
Here are some photos from today. Click on each photo to enlarge.
All in all, Venice is alright. It's a stunning city from a visual from a visual perspective for sure. However, as a city, it's alright. Some would even say, annoying.
For the Italians, I'm taking a side and throwing it out there, Rome is a better city.
We're off to Assisi tomorrow as we travel back down to the Southern region of the country.
We're off to Assisi tomorrow as we travel back down to the Southern region of the country.