After a tasty continental breakfast with Marcello we headed to Venice. We drove the slow route so we could see the little villages after 2 hours we drove in the car park building as you cannot drive in Venice.
This is due to there being no roads there! Once we got our car to the 10th floor we got the lift down and walked into the city centre.
After a quick lunch we found the hop on hop of boat and went to the area of San Marco to look around there. There was an amazing church called St Marks and a beautiful Piazza San Marco which had beautiful buildings surrounding it.
We then went for a walk in Castello, another area of Venice. We walked beside lots of canals and over small bridges and through tight alleyways, packed with little shops and cafes with people eating and drinking. The gondolas were massive and really detailed with nice painting and decorations. They had comfortable cushions at the back to sit on. Our guide spoke really good English and he said that Vence is sinking, the water is rising and therefore most of the ground floors are not lived in as they can flood.
People who live there have boats as their cars. There are only 5 gondola factories left in Venice. The gondolas cost 30 – 80,000 Euros each and are made of 8 different types of wood. They last for 30 to 40 years! There are 118 islands that became joined with canals and bridges. There are also 120 churches and most of them are Catholic.
Some parts of Venice are 2,000 years old! It also used to be it’s own country. We then went to Murano to watch the glass blowing demonstration which was cool. The guy made a horse and a flower vase. The furnace to make the glass was 1300 degrees Celsius! To finish our long but lovely day, we went to dinner and met a Bangaldeshi waiter who knew victims of the mosque shooting in Christchurch.
I am loving your updates Max. I bet Venice is a wonderful place. I can not believe that parts of Venice are 2000 years old! We are such a young country compared to the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteWe don´t have the history or the incredible buildings.
ReplyDeleteBut we have a clean country
Hi Max, I really liked your Europe trip part thirteen because it was really interesting. I liked the part where you told us about venice I can't believe that there are building over 2000 years old! That's so old. I suggest next time you could show some more pictures of old buildings.
ReplyDeleteOne question do you know the doges palace in Venice?