Venezia

Venice day 1
We took a train from Verona to Venezia/Venice that took one hour with beautiful views. We pulled into the Venice train station and outside the main entrance we bought public transport tickets for 48 hours 28euro each plus Venezia Tourist Cards(highly recommended) that get us into many attractions with minimum payment or no extra fee, meaning you avoid the long queues too. We caught the boat to Lido Island where our hotel was located. The boat took about 40 mins but the views were just beautiful. We learned later that you can take a boat that makes fewer stops which cuts travelling time. 
My personal travel agent at the Venice Train Station(travelling light)
The Main Canal

The sun peeks through on the way to Lido Is

Our hotel was an old beautiful building and was not far from the dock so after check in we made our way to San Marco Piazza. What a sight. It was just breathe-taking and I was so humbled to be standing there in San Marco Square that I've read about and seen in movies so many times. And to stand on the same pavements that older civilization, culture and rich history existed was just magnificent. We went straight into the Doge palace using our Venezia cards and oohed and aahed at the amazing paintings on the walls and ceiling in different rooms. This used to house the Venetian Parliament. We strolled around the piazza and just kept walking around the island. We watched the gondolas and water taxis maneuver their way around the corners in the narrow canals marveling at their skill. We found a nice eatery and had some yummy pizza. There are many places to eat and if you keep going you come across some cheaper than others. We've learned to walk away from the busy Street areas and find where the locals are, where we end up having more fun and paying cheaper prices. We walked some more and came across a piazza full of locals spilling out into the streets chatting and enjoying their drinks. We settled on a lively little joint and had a few drinks and enjoyed the atmosphere in the street before we made our way back to a dock to catch the ferry to our hotel. Beautiful day in a magical place.
The infamous Bridge of Sighs
The Doge Palace at San Marco
This happy traveler is overwhelmed

Location: Venice, Italy

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