Friday 17 June 2005
This morning we were up very early for the train to Venice. I was very proud of being able to converse enough with the taxi driver to get us to the Train Station. We boarded our train in Salzburg and headed into the mountains. Along the way we passed many chalets, clear blue mountain feed rivers and long tunnels. We had breakfast in the dining car, which was novel for us.
We changed at Villach in southern Austria and had to wait for an hour for our train to Venice to arrive. The train was a high speed train that takes less than 7 hours to go the 730km from Vienna to Salzburg, including all the stops. We headed into more mountains and more long tunnels before arriving on a plain in Italy. After a couple of hours we crossed the narrow road/rail link to Venice.
We got out of the station to a hot day (over 30 degrees) and straight out of the station to the Grand Canale. We purchased a 24hr ticket for the ferries and waited for our ferry to the Rialto bridge. The first ferry was full, so we pushed our way onto the second ferry. The Rialto bridge is the biggest in Venice with shops and stalls (and tourists) everywhere. The combination of the noise and heat made me a little grumpy so I pushed through the crowds to get to our hotel.
We went out for a walk and discovered all the narrow lanes and canals that is Venice. The only problem is the canals and lanes are packed with tourists. We walked from the Rialto bridge to San Marco Square, had a look around then caught a ferry to Lido, which is a sandbar island in the same estuary that Venice is in.
We walked accross Lido to see the Meditarrainian Sea for the first time then walked back through the centre of Lido. We bought a litre of mineral water in a supermarket, but in the heat it didn't last long. We caught the ferry back to San Marco and had dinner. After dinner we caught a ferry that goes all the way along the Grand Canale, then around the south coast of the island. The Grand Canale was packed with tourists enjoying an evening Gondola ride, complete with accordian accompanient.
It was getting late so we then caught a ferry back to Rialto before heading to bed. Tomorrow we are off to Rome!
We changed at Villach in southern Austria and had to wait for an hour for our train to Venice to arrive. The train was a high speed train that takes less than 7 hours to go the 730km from Vienna to Salzburg, including all the stops. We headed into more mountains and more long tunnels before arriving on a plain in Italy. After a couple of hours we crossed the narrow road/rail link to Venice.
We got out of the station to a hot day (over 30 degrees) and straight out of the station to the Grand Canale. We purchased a 24hr ticket for the ferries and waited for our ferry to the Rialto bridge. The first ferry was full, so we pushed our way onto the second ferry. The Rialto bridge is the biggest in Venice with shops and stalls (and tourists) everywhere. The combination of the noise and heat made me a little grumpy so I pushed through the crowds to get to our hotel.
We went out for a walk and discovered all the narrow lanes and canals that is Venice. The only problem is the canals and lanes are packed with tourists. We walked from the Rialto bridge to San Marco Square, had a look around then caught a ferry to Lido, which is a sandbar island in the same estuary that Venice is in.
We walked accross Lido to see the Meditarrainian Sea for the first time then walked back through the centre of Lido. We bought a litre of mineral water in a supermarket, but in the heat it didn't last long. We caught the ferry back to San Marco and had dinner. After dinner we caught a ferry that goes all the way along the Grand Canale, then around the south coast of the island. The Grand Canale was packed with tourists enjoying an evening Gondola ride, complete with accordian accompanient.
It was getting late so we then caught a ferry back to Rialto before heading to bed. Tomorrow we are off to Rome!
posted by Michael at
10:59 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home