Venezia AKA Venice: Jordan

We didn't actually stay in Venice. We got off of the train in Mestre, a mainland suburb of Venice and stayed there, which is a much cheaper option than actually trying to stay on the island. We went to the hotel, dropped off our stuff, and went to the train station to catch the next regional train to Venezia Santa Lucia. We decided that it would be great to walk Venice so we ignored the boat metro system (a whopping 6.50 euro for a one way trip.

We wandered the crazy winding seneless Venetian streets using the signs posted on street corners as markers since a map would have proved useless. We finally made it to the Piazza San Marco, Venice's only offical Piazza and home to its major basillica and Piazzale Ducale or Doge's Palace. The line for the Basilica looked painful so we decided to make an early morning of it the next day. We headed over to the Doge's Palace. You're sadly not allowed to take pictures, but the palace was incredible. The decoration of each room is so detailed and amazing it belongs in a museum. One of the rooms is so big it actually feels like an effort to walk from one end to the other. All of the walls of the Government rooms are decorated with scenes of Venetian history, or religious tales that depict the morals of the governing body that uses that room, or portraits of the members.

After Doge's Palace we tried to find our way back the Rialto, Venice's most recognizable bridge. We ended up getting lost and found ourselves at a little church off of a main road. We went inside and found out that it was one of the oldest in Venice. We went in and explored the elaborate and beautifully decorated little church. We even got the chance to do down into the crypt which thanks to venice and canals, is slightly under water.

After leaving the church we continued to make our way around Venice, stopping in a couple of other churches along the way. We took an 8:30 train out from Santa Lucia back to Mestre to enjoy the relative quiet of our suburban hotel.

The next morning we woke up early hoping to be the huge crowds headed for the basilica. We made it there before the basilica even opened and the line was still across the piazza. I went to go check our bags in and was told that we could skip the line with the baggage ticket. It sounded like a good deal so I left the bags and we skipped to the front of the line. The basilica in Venice is absolutely incredible! The mosaic work on the ceiling is stunning and makes you wonder just how much time and effort went into this building.

After that we headed back into the city to do some shopping. While we were walking we found this tiny little store called Pop Corner that sold some of the coolest collectors items. The Beatles stuff was awesome, but their whole collection was impressive. After our little shopping spree we headed over to the Jewish ghetto to try to see the synagogues.

It turns out that you can't get into the synagogues without paying, but we did get to spend some time talking to members of the Chabad House there in Venice. One of the students at the small Yeshiva told us a little about the history of the ghetto. It turns out that ghetto is actually a Venetian word meaning foundry which has something to do with metal or factories or both (I can't quite remember). Anyway, the Jews were moved into this area that used to be a foundry and thus term ghetto came into use.

After getting lost a few more times we made our way back to the train station and headed back to Mestre.

Venice is a strange city in that the minute you walk out of the train station you feel like you have stepped back a few centuries. There are boats, but other than that no other mode of transportation exists in Venice aside from walking. It makes the streets really quiet and makes you feel like the 21st century doesn't really exist anymore. That only thing that can bring you back to reality are the hordes and masses of toursits everywhere on the island.

Venice is also designed in a very peculiar way. The streets wind and twist with no real sense of purpose and the number system is useless for helping you find places. On one stree you can go from 1400's to 3000's to 2600's. There doesn't seem to be any real continuity. This made getting around Venice almost maddening, but it also added to the cities mystery and charm.

Next up: Firenze AKA Florence