Venezia

It might have made sense for us to drop the rental car off in Venice.  But someone told us that the car rental location is very hard to find in Venice and if we drop it off in the wrong place we get charged for parking in the garage.  So we decided to take a 2-hour train ride from Florence to Venice.  However, we are not staying in Venice proper but just outside it.  The train stopped at the Venice Maestre station, which is just 1 stop before the main Venice St. Lucia station.   From the Maestre station it was a 5-minute walk to the a&o Hostel/Hotel.

I've just read about this hostel in the New York Times and it sounds like a perfect fit for us.  This is a big hostel/hotel, comprising of 2 buildings.  Yes, there are rooms where they are shared by many travelers but they also have private rooms.  We booked a private ensuite room for two, which means we have our own bathroom and shower.  It was not fancy but it was clean and comfortable.  It costs us about €145 for two nights. cheaper than a hotel in Venice.  Many of the travelers staying here are on a budget.  So many of them choose to cook their own food in a central kitchen.  We decided to take a 5-minute walk to a nearby supermarket and bought some groceries and cook our own dinner.  We shared our dinner with another American from Boise, Idaho, who is on a motorcycle trip around Europe.

A nice clean room with two beds.

a&o Hostel/Hotel in Venice Maestre

In the morning we took a 15-minute bus ride to the main bus station in Venice.  It's right off to the side of the Grand Canal, near the Ponte della Constituzione or Constitution Bridge.   We had bought unlimited bus and boat ride tickets for the day for €20 each so we just hopped on one of those water taxis plying the canal and took it to San Marco Square or St. Mark's Square.

Grand Canal with Ponte della Costituzione

St. Mark's Square is the center of attraction in Venice.  Almost all tourists congregate there or pass through there.  Lots of pigeons also love the place.  Surrounding the square are a few restaurants and cafes but expect too pay a hefty price if you decide to eat or drink there.  There's the beautiful and famous St. Mark's Basilica but in my many visits to Venice I have never gone inside the church.  There is always a long line waiting outside.

St. Mark's Basilica

Tourists hanging out at St. Mark's Square

More Tourists

There is not much to see in Venice except wandering the narrow streets and watching the gondolas go through the narrow canals.  Riding a gondola is expensive, about €80 for about an hour.  You can get one that can take more passengers and share the ride with other tourists.  If this is your first time it might be worth the money.

Another popular spot is the Rialto Bridge where there is a market and many souvenir stands.  Again there are many tourists hanging around the area.  From the bridge you can get a nice view of the Grand Canal.

View of the Rialto Bridge

Rialto Bridge from a different angle

We wandered through the narrow streets.  There are many shops and restaurants catering mainly to the tourists.  There are residences here too but from the looks of it, the locals must be hiding from the tourists.  We also took the water taxi to Murano, one of the islands.  Another popular island is Burano but we did not have time to go there.  Murano is not as crowded.  It gives a different perspective of another part of Venice.

An UPS delivery boat in Murano

Gondolas on the Grand Canal

A popular thing to do - riding on a gondola

Gondolas going through a narrow canal

Gondola waiting for passengers

One of the narrow streets and residences

The canal through Murano

Buildings along the Grand Canal

The Grand Canal is like a major highway

One of the churches along the Grand Canal

If you come here with a tour company they will likely take you to a glass factory.  Glass blowing is very popular here and has a long history.  The glass pieces sell for a lot of money.

A few sad notes about Venice.  The city is sinking and they have been trying to figure out how to prevent it from doing so.  But the worst thing is it gets flooded frequently.  About a month after we were there, there was a big flood for many days.  Many of the shops have to close and tourists were floating their suitcases through St. Mark's Square.  One of the major complaints by the locals are the cruise ships that come to Venice.  They are gigantic and seeing them anchor next to the city is quite a scene of contrasts.  They dumped a few thousand tourists into the city for the day.  They don't stay at the local hotels and not many of them eat at the local restaurants either because they get fed when they go back to the ships.

This is another place that I hope I don't have to come back again.  There are many more beautiful places in Italy that are starving for tourists.