Venice was Amazing

It was a long journey to get to our starting destination but it proved to be well worth it as the family and I were amazed to see the splendor of this city and all of its history. It took a lot to get here as our flight from the United States was slightly delayed due to a thunderstorm which made our layover in Madrid only 45 minutes. After an eight hour flight in coach, having to run through the airport to get to the opposite terminal, thru customs and back through security (with a train ride in between) was not very fun. We arrived 5 minutes late to the gate but luckily it seems that things work somewhat different here as the airline knew they had about 10 passengers arriving late for this connection and ended waiting for us. Too bad they did not tell us and we were stressed out about arriving late.

Fortunately, I was able to get an affordable upgrade for the two hour flight to Venice. However, we were just getting started. Arriving in Venice was all good until we got to baggage claim only to watch everyone get their luggage except us. We ended up at the line for baggage services and found out that we made it to the flight but the luggage did not. We were assured that the badge would arrive later that night which was great but gave me some perspective as we purposely planned to arrive a day before to rest before getting on the cruise; if not, it would have been interesting to see how they would have gotten our luggage to us on time. However, we had no clothing for the day after traveling for almost a full day.

The hotel provided a shuttle but it took another hour to figure out where the meeting point was as it was a person with a sign but we finally found it to get to the hotel. Not surprisingly, our room was not ready when we arrived so we went for lunch and to go shopping for clothes to change into while we awaited our luggage. I had thought the hotel was near the main city but travel arrangements were made to be convenient for the cruise so it was in the outskirts of the city. However, the train station was only across the street and for nine Euros, we all went for a 30 minute ride for a couple of stops to the center of Venice.

The city was amazing as we journeyed through the waterways to see the beautiful city until we arrived at St Mark’s Square where we had booked a number of museum visits and other things to see. We started with the Doge’s Palace which I had really no expectations from reading the description when buying but it was an amazing experience. To think how organized the population was almost 800 years ago and how the structures and architecture have remained was very satisfying. We then walked around the square for some food and visiting some shops which were very boutique and artisanal.

We then went to the Tower overseeing the Square for some amazing views and pictures which made us realize how truly big the city was. We had only planned to be here two days thinking we can get through it all but we quickly found out how wrong we were! We met with some friends for dinner and on the way to the infamous bridges and Gondolas of Venice we saw how much shopping could be done there but most were already closed as it was already getting dark. The family was disappointed because it was also getting late to get a gondola ride done as we needed to get back to the train station before the last train. Given the waterway system, it takes a while to get from one place to another so we left after eating.

We arrived at the train station in time to get the second to last train which was a close call. We still do not know how we had the strength to get that much done but was still disappointed we had so much to do in the city. We had to play games on the ride in order to stay awake as we could end up far away if we missed out stop! We got back to the hotel at midnight as was at least grateful to see that our luggage had arrived! We immediately took a well needed shower and went to bed.

Given how far the hotel was, we decided to sleep in late to catch up on the jet lag. We were ready to get to the Cruise ship early to spend some time exploring it and activities before our departure. However, when we checked in we found out that the itinerary had changed which made our ship leave 3 hours later than we expected. While it also changed the order and times of the ports of call (more on that tomorrow), it also provided us an opportunity to get out and back to the city. Since the Cruise terminal was only a couple of stops from where we wanted to shop again, we left our bags and got back out to the city. Not only was I able to get the family on a traditional gondola ride, but they got to get some great shopping done as well (now I have to figure out how to get the VAT back at the airport)!

This post is longer than I thought but I am without connectivity at sea and our shore excursion does not start until late afternoon so we have another night to sleep late and catch up for the 11 days ahead of us. We are excited about this trip although it has been somewhat exhausting so far; the tourist life is a hectic one! Venice did not disappoint as the family believes we should come back and spend some more time here as they is much more to see and experience!

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