Day 26- Venice

Day 26- 10 September 2008 Today we caught the train to Venice. Upon arriving there we found a boat heading the right direction and got our ticket and jumped on board the packed boat. We were now heading down the grand canal. Backpacks on, with the boat so tightly packed with people that at times i thought we would hit a wave and fall off, it made no difference as we were in Venice and the grand canal was impressive. Boats were zipping past, gondolas were slowly lapping by and police and ambulance boats were all lights and sirens blazing shooting past. After about a 45 minute trip we arrived at San Marco San Zaccaria stop and after following the hotels directions (over 3 bridges and down a small alley way) we arrived at our hotel. Up 3 flights of stairs we reached reception and checked in. After a short while we headed for a look see around the back streets of Venice over little bridges which were hundreds of years old that went over winding small canals. We ended up at Saint Marcs Square. St Mark is the patron saint of Venice. The square was not as impressive as one may think. It is massive, but very shabby and the white walls are very discoloured and not as pretty as you may imagine. We strolled along the arcades which surround St Marcs square and ended up finding a nice shading bench to have a relax in a small garden behind st marcs which it seemed only the locals knew about. After returning to our hotel and freshing up we got some pizza from a little pizza shop next door and went to the grand canal and ate pizza on the edge of the water watching the sunset. Ahh Venice, crowded in the touristy spots, quiet and delightful outside tourist hours and in the small hidden gems of canals and side streets that Venice has to offer.