Venice - Unique in Every way

We decided to visit Venice first in part because it is so close to Aviano. We traveled about 20 minutes from Aviano Air Base to the Pordenone train station. We purchased train tickets and waited around 45 minutes for its departure. While waiting I made a trip to the potty. Kevin had warned me about the toilets in Pordenone Train Station which are on the ground. The whole experience was not bad as I thought. The trip from Pordenone to Venice took around one hour. The picture on the left shows Pordenone Train Station

I looked forward to seeing with my own eyes the beauty and uniqueness of Venice and I was not disappointed. I believe it truly is a unique place. Venice exists since the 10th century when it was considered a Byzantine Province and it was built on low mud banks facing the Adriatic Sea.

We walked outside the Venice Train station and came out to this open plaza, the Grand Canal was an incredible sight.

We walked in awe of the beauty surrounding us. Kevin who had already been to Venice suggested we take the Vaporetto (the water bus)to get to Plaza San Marco. This gave us the chance to ride on the Grand Canal which winds through the heart of the city and see the beautiful palaces and buildings. This is much economical and faster that riding the Gondola.

The Grand Canal

There was plenty of room inside the vaporetto, the most economical water transportation

At the mouth of the Grand Canal we saw the Baroque church of Santa Maria della Salute

Beautiful ornate architecture like this was in every corner

This picture represents a very old and not as ornate building but I was fascinated and in awe that such buildings are still standing up.

Artistic door knobs like this one are seeing on home doors.

This is one of my favorite pictures and it shows a typical narrow street in Venice.

We did a lot of walking and the best treat and my favorite was the gelato (italian ice cream). We paid 1.5 euros in Venice for one scoop but in some places like Rome you could pay as much as 3 euros.

Behold the amazing Gelato

More of Venice later on so..................