Trains took us across Italy from Cinque Terre to Venice on May 18. We switched trains in Genoa and Milan.
The train stops in Venice close to where the cruise ships dock. We took a water bus down the Grand Canal to a dock close to our hotel.
Ponte di Rialto crosses the Grand Canal.
The gondolas edge out into the Grand Canal.
When we got off the destination dock we were approached by a group of men offering to help get us to our hotel. They said our GPS wouldn't work and when we turned them down they got a bit angry. Our cell phone reception wasn't great but we made it to the boutique Hotel Le Isole without a problem.
Our hotel was quite nice. Pricey compared to some of our stays but it's in Venice and in a nice location. Coffee and snacks were available all day long. It was nice to come back in the evening and have a cup and a bite.
Breakfast.
The hotel from our gondola ride.
Our hotel was along a small canal not far from St. Marks Square (Piazza S. Marco.
Mechanical bell ringers inugurated in 1499.
On our first night in Venice we walked into St. Marks Square about 9PM and we noticed water bubbling up through the drains. High water, Aqua Alta, was coming and we immediatly headed back to our hotel. We had to make a couple of detours to get there and our shoes got wet but we got back before it was too deep. Luckily we were close to the hotel.
We did a Gondola ride which turned out to be quite fun. It took about 35 minutes.
The Bridge of Sighs. It connected the Hall of Magistrates to the New Prison.
Views of canals
A small art exhibit we passed by. We had crossed over the Rialto bridge, walked through the town and crossed back over the Grand Canal on the Accademia bridge.
There is no planet B.
We wanted to go to see Murano and its glass industry. We asked our hotel clerk how to get there and he said the hotel had and arrangement for a VIP tour including a private water taxi. We were met by Lorenzo who showed us around. The "common" people watching the glass blowing demonstration were on risers farther back from where we got to stand. After a while Lorenzo probably figured that is where we should have been but he was always discreet and courteous. He gave us a personal tour through their show rooms which had some really nice pieces. He stood back just far enough that if we had a question he could hear and stepped up to give an answer.
From Murano we took a ferry to Burano, another of the islands in the lagoon. It had a lot of colorful buildings.
Where we had lunch on Burano.
We took a water taxi to the airport and flew home on May 21 2019.