#BeaumontTravels: Germany + Italy, Summer 2018: Day 6

Greetings from Venice.

Another early day with breakfast at 7:00 and then we departed for Venice at 7:30.

You can only travel to Venice by boat or by train and our boat ride was scheduled for 8:30. So that means we had to get everyone on the coach, drive to the bus parking lot, and walk to the boat in one hour. No big deal if you are traveling with a small group, but we are a group of 47 so moving that many people amongst a lot of other people takes time. Don’t worry we made it and enjoyed a lovely ferry ride to the island.

At 9:00 we met our local guide who walked us around Venice telling us about the history and culture of this very unique place. The city of Venice as it exists today, was founded in 421AD when Attila the Hun invaded Northern Italy. To avoid being conquered, some of the local people, known as the Veneti, fled to the islands in a swampy area, where the barbarians couldn’t follow, and built a village. And the rest is history.

Built on 118 small islands that are separated by canals, the city of Venice is known as the “City of Bridges” because there are 400 of them linking the islands together. We walked the city’s narrow streets and crossed several bridges stopping at the Piazza San Marco where we saw the Cathedral of San Marco, the Doge’s Palace, and the Bell Tower. We then walked to the Rialto Bridge and then worked our way around to a glass blowing demonstration at the Palazza Rota, a Murano Glass museum. Venetian Glass has been known world wide for centuries but that really refers to the glass traditionally made on the island of Murano. That was what we saw being made - amazing.

After the glass blowing demonstration, with its glass shop at the end, we walked back to San Marco Square where we were given free time so we took a picture of our girls with the Beaumont flag (see picture #1) and walked to the Doge’s Palace. Our plan was to go through the palace together and then go to lunch. Well the lines were so long we changed our minds giving the girls free time for lunch and a little exploring on their own. We all had pizza for lunch.

At 4:00 we all met up on the Piazza San Marco where we walked to the place where we lined up for our gondola ride. You can’t go to Venice without going for a ride in a gondola. Six people to a boat, we relaxed as our driver took us on a peaceful 40 minuet ride through the canals of Venice. After walking through the crowded streets on a 78 degree humid day, the gondola ride was just what we all needed.

The a hike back to the port where we took the ferry back to the mainland, found our coach, and drove to dinner. Tonight’s dinner was in a restaurant located in the same village as our hotel. Dinner was interesting, vegetarian lasagna with broccoli and lemon sorbet for dessert. Then back on the coach and then to the hotel ending what might be our favorite day so far.

Talk to you soon,
Bob