Our day trip to Venice started in Florence when we left Plus Florence around 8:15 AM. It was a three hour bus ride to the train station.
The train ride into Venice was about 25 minutes. The views were beautiful. I did not realize that the only way to get into Venice was by boat or train.
We sped walk to the center of Venice so that we had time for lunch before our adventure truly began. A few of us stopped at a pizzeria to split a margarita pizza. This pizza was cheesy and delicious – the best kind!
After lunch, we had a tour of Venice. I learned that there are over 402 bridges in the 2.5 mile city. The tour guide also instructed us that there is a speed limit boats must abide by because the wakes from the boats cause damage to the foundation of the city.
Venice floods hundreds of times throughout the year. However, St. Mark’s Square floods 150 times on average every year. Citizens of Venice are still expected to go to work when it floods. Everyone has high rain boots in preparation.
In about 85-90 years, there is a chance for significant flood problems for Venice. To prepare, the city is building dams.
After the tour, we said goodbye to our walking tour guide and hopped on gondolas for a relaxing ride around the city. I loved seeing the city from a different perspective. It was absolutely gorgeous!
When we got off the gondola, we had about 50 minutes of free time to grab a snack, check our shops, and enjoy the view. Laura and I had waffles topped with ice cream. We ate them while sitting along the water. The pigeons were viscous and wanted our ice cream!
We had to sprint back to the train station to catch our train. We made it just in time.
Dinner was so much fun tonight! We had a blast laughing and reminiscing on the day. Not looking forward to the 6 AM wake up call tomorrow.