HOT day in Venice, San Marco square, the basilica, Rialto Bridge and back to the campsite for a swim.

Our first nights sleep was… interesting. We fell into a deep sleep to start with, it was so good…but then, 5am a rooster decided it was time to start the day, and then not to be outdone another joined in, louder and more determined to announce the arrival of the new day to all. We tossed and turned and thought up all the interesting and yummy recipes we could use the roosters for, and then we came to learn that 7am is a very busy time for the Venice airport. How do we know this? Well, our camp site was RIGHT next to the airport and there were planes taking off every five minutes or so. It really did sound as if they were about to run over you, or land on you. It was rather off putting. So, our day began.

A bus took us into Venice where we head off towards San Marco, along the way stopping to take in the sights of all the little canals and the tourist shops that primarily sell one of two things: glass or masks. These stores are every where!

San Marco is an amazing big square which the basilica (a big catholic church in layman’s terms) is located. We waited in the sweltering heat to get into this church; it’s free so it’s worth it. While standing in this line we noticed that you were not allowed in if you were wearing shorts or a singlet, so as Chris was wearing shorts we were worried that he may not get in, but we needn’t have been, for it was me they targeted. Apparently the dress I was wearing was showing too much skin and was inappropriate. Of course. It’s the first time I’ve worn a dress in years and I’m told I’m inappropriate. They didn’t turn us away though; instead we had to pay a euro for a huge paper napkin to cover my shoulders. Very appealing. We weren’t meant to take photos in here, but we tempted fate and did so, taking some blurry pics in secret.

We then ventured into the square where we both tried a new profession as “pigeon whispering” We stood in the middle of the square with our arms outstretched and pigeons from all around the area would fly in and settle around you, and some of the more gutsy, ballsy ones would perch themselves on your arms. We had a bit of fun doing this for awhile, despite the fact that pigeons are referred to as ‘flying rats’ here in UK/Europe.

It was getting warm now but we trudged on to visit the Rialto Bridge, which gives you great views of the Grand Canal. It is LOADED with tourists here, so packed that you can’t bring yourself to stay too long, other wise you go a bit crazy with the pushing and shoving that goes on, all the tourists vying for the ‘top spot’ for a shot.

After all this we couldn’t take the heat/tourists much longer and made our way back to the camp site for a swim. The water was sooooo good, it was so refreshing to just leap into the cool water, we spent awhile just bobbing about, relaxing before leaping into the spa for a while, then hop out and read by the pool before heading to the camp site restaurant that do really nice meals. A nice way to end a very busy, full on day!

written by  Chris and Emily on June 19, 2009 from Venice, Italy
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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