Caroline_5

In Venice, and to start our day off we went to St Mark’s Square, defined by arcades on three sides and St Mark’s church.

It was certainly a busy and lively place, filled with people, pigeons and music. We visited the magnificent interior of St Mark’s Church and also went to the top of the bell tower, witnessing spectacular views of Venice.

We definitely had to have a turn at feeding the pigeons. We purchased packets of corn from the vendors in the square and had our photo taken with the pigeons surrounding us. We didn’t feel we had to have photos with the birds on our arms, and we were very lucky not to get pooped on.

We stopped for a drink at the historic Caffe Florian and Caffe Quadri, both of which featured open-air orchestras playing in the square. It was so lovely and really nice and traditional. A cultural experience we generally don’t get to enjoy back home. St Mark’s Square is seen as the heart of Venice because of its location on the banks of the Grand Canal, as well as because of the many beautiful, historical monuments located there.

To finish our day, we had a traditional ride in a gondola along the Grand Canal. It was so magical. You cannot imagine the experience and the price of the ride was forgotten as we focused on the majestic scenery. The gentle rocking of the gondola along the smooth water was really a relaxing experience. Watching the world go by and the busy masses of people doing their things showed us how relaxed life could be, as well as how different life is.

Communication was relatively okay, as they are tourist destinations, so they spoke fairy fluent English. Although our Italian phrase translation book was helpful once again.

To view pictures and videos of St Mark’s Square and gondola rides along the Grand Canal visit these websites: http://www.azureva.com/gb/italie/mags/st-marc.php3 http://www.vacationidea.com/venice/st_mark_square.html http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=204628&fr=