Justin's Journey

I guess I was a bit tired after the hike in the Alps, and couldn’t adjust quickly in Italy. Now I feel I am ready for a new country/city!

After breakfast at the B&B, I headed out and took the water bus. I just wanted to enjoy the view from the Grand Canal. I ended up at an different island called Lido. It is where the Venice film festival is held. It’s not the festival time, fortunately (you can tell I am a bit afraid if the crowd. 🙂 I took a walk on the beautiful beach in Lido. It was nice and quiet at the beach. I even got my feet wet!

Taking the water bus gave me an idea of where I wanted to visit. Piazza San Marco was where I went after Lido. The St. Mark’s Basilica is very impressive. The paintings throughout the inside of the building are amazing. I also found the floor patterns are very interesting, too. The bell tower (campanile) next to the basilica is standing tall and proud. The entrance and parts of the piazza were cover in water. I wonder how it impacts the flooring of the basilica. In the same piazza, I went to the Palazzo Ducale, the Doge’s Palace. Besides the paintings, the wood carved ceilings, and the architecture, the prison connecting to the palace is also interesting to look at. The ticket to the palace also includes the entrance to the Correr museum, the Archeological museum, and the monumental halls of Marciana national museum. After two scopes of gelato for lunch, I also went to these museums. Some good exhibits about the history of Venice, sculptures, drawing, armories, etc.

There are a lot to see. I was getting tired. So I took the water bus again and went to the Dorsoduro area for dinner. The streets and canals were just so complicate that I couldn’t figure out where I am. I ran into a Japanese/Chinese tea room. I got some help from the couple, who owns the tea room and also operates a B&B. One is Chinese and the other is Italian. There were extremely helpful. Not only they gave me a good idea of the area, they also recommended a seafood place for my dinner (4 Peri, just near their tea room). The dinner won’t be served until 7:30pm. I took a walk following their recommendation. I didn’t expect it but noticed a shop making mask. It is one of few still exist, that produce the mask by hand. The shop was featured in National Geography magazine. I saw one that I like and decided to bring one home. I hope I can bring it back in one piece. The dinner was fantastic. I just followed whatever the waitress’s recommendation. I got a mixed seafood appetizer, and a pasta dish with the mixed of pesto and tomato sauce. That brought the energy back to me. 🙂 I realized that I had time to catch another concert by the same group last night. So I did! In addition to Vivaldi, they also played Mozart, Bach, and Schumann tonight, with their own arrangements. This group is very energetic, but not over the top. It’s very entertaining to listen to them. To end the night, two more scopes of gelato for me. I am ready for bed! The plan fir tomorrow is to explore the Venice in the morning, and catch the the train to Florence. I am pretty sure that I have a seat reserved this time!