Day 1 - Venice

Day 1 - Arrived in Venice after a very long journey. Cleveland to Atlanta to Venice. Total time in the air, about 11.5 hours. The majority of the flight was through the night which is great for those who can sleep on the plane - of course, that is not me! Thankfully my 3 year old niece can sleep on a plane & actually even slept during takeoff! The biggest bummer was that the inflight entertainment was not working. They almost made us switch planes but then thought it was fixed and they were wrong. Because the flight was overnight, it was not that big of a deal but honestly since sleeping in a plane is not something I can really do, I could have used a movie or 2 to watch. Oh well, as with all things in life, if it was not meant to be, it was not meant to be!

At first, the image of Venice is less than the romantic vision we all have from photos & the movies. I suppose when truly thinking about it, any trip from an airport to the heart of a city is not all that appealing so one has to keep that in mind initially. I was in Italy and even if I did not yet see the canals, I knew I would eventually and that was enough to keep me excited.

Once checked in on the ship and with a bit of rest & food, we set off on our first excursion to see the city of Venice and the canals via a gondola ride. It is a truly beautiful city, very much the one I had envisioned based on history and any and all movies that have location shots there. Waterways instead of streets, all along the water and technically spanning 118 islands with 400 bridges. Yes, there are some streets and walkways, it is not all water but so much that the building of the city in this way is impressive to imagine. It is one of if not the largest car-free city in Europe. Unfortunately, as rumored, there is a not-so-nice scent that one notices almost immediately. I would like to think it is not a year-round aroma and that it is obvious because we are there in the middle of summer, however, I am not sure that is the case. Regardless, Venice is on the list of places to visit again. One note on the gondola ride, ours was one of many carrying tourists and while impressive, I think the best would be something much more personal and individual. I can definitely see why the city is viewed as so romantic!

The center of the city is St Mark's square, or Piazza San Marco. The piazza is the lowest point in Venice and is, therefore, the first to flood in heavy rains. A drainage system is setup so that the floodwaters drain into the Grand Canal. The square is full of tourists seemingly at all times and is a center for most of the city's festivals.