A Trip to Venice Italy

This beautiful Italian city has been the world's most desired destination for tourists for ten centuries. We were there last year while on a Mediterranean cruise and it was one of the highlights of our trip. It's one of the few places in the world we have visited that exceeded our expectations and was even more fantastic in person than what we had learned from television, movies and reading travel guides.

The first sights when you come ashore in the ship's shuttle boat is the entrance to the Grand Canal. You glide along rows and rows on either side of magnificent Renaissance homes and churches, all just steps away from the water. We stepped ashore at the Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square), where tourists gather to feed the pigeons and get photos and video for folks at home. Nearby is the Basilica of San Marco and Campanile (Bell Tower).

On the side of the square nearest the canal is the Doge's (Chief Judge) Palace. We rounded the corner to climb the steps and walk along the Bridge of Sighs. We wanted to experience what prisoners felt when on their way to prison. Our tour guide told us the bridge's name comes from the sighs the prisoners would utter as they saw the city through the small windows for the last time as they were led to prison or their execution.

We visited many shops along the Piazza and throughout the center area. As art lovers, we spent time at the Venier dei Leoni Palace to view the modern art masterpieces of the Peggy Guggenheim art collection.

We couldn't leave Venice without experiencing a traditional gondola ride. There were four of us in our group from the ship, so we thought it could be a few dollars each. The cost was $100, and the gondolier didn't sing one romantic Italian song. The scenic ride lasted less than an hour, but at least we had some great photos and video for the $25 we each paid.

Later, after hours of walking through Venice, we decided to rest awhile and have lunch. We hoped to find a restaurant that offered genuine Southern Italian food at reasonable prices. The Vecio Fritolin is a little place on the Calle della Regina, near the big Rialto market. The name told us that fried food was the specialty, with emphasis on fresh seafood. It's out of the way of the usual tourist treks, so we could see most of our fellow diners were locals. That's always a good sign. We tried the scartosso de pesce, or as the English call it, fish and chips. It cost us, including wine, about $20 each, and was very good. We took leftovers back to munch on by the canal as we watched the sun set over the beautiful Venice skyline and canal.