The next morning we were off again. We had to stop in Verona to return our car and catch a train to Venice. We thought we left enough time to check-out a couple things in Verona, but returning the car was more difficult than we thought. The instructions given to return the car took us to a place in town with nowhere to leave the car. So, I called and was told that the return instructions were on a QR code outside their office door. Couldn’t they have sent those in the email? So, I walked to the office to get the instructions and we found the parking lot. We had been instructed not to take a ticket. The gate would not go up. So, I pushed the help button and tried to explain the problem. They eventually just raised the gate at the lot. Then we walked back to the office to return the keys. Another adventure for us.
It was a smooth ride to Venice on the train.
Got in line to get tickets from the kiosk for the Vaporette (water bus). The kiosk did not like U.S. credit cards. So, there is conveniently an ATM right there as well. Got additional Euros and used cash at the kiosk. More than one way to skin a cat.
Made our way to our accommodation. Took us a little bit, but didn’t have toon much trouble finding the place.
We were fairly close to St. Marks Square. So, we took a walk over there and found a place for dinner.
We had tickets for the Doge palace the next morning. We had a little trouble finding the right place and ended up doing the Museum Correr first. Grabbed lunch and then found the palace entrance. Good thing they weren’t too concerned with the timed entry but rather if you had a valid ticket for that day or not. The Doge Palace is where the system of government for Venice sat until 1797. It’s been a museum since 1923.
We had to hang out a little bit for our entry into the Basilica. Good thing we had tickets as they were sold out for the day.
We spent the remainder of the day just chilling out from all the touring.
It was another beautiful day and we made our way to the water bus to head over to the islands of Murano and Burano.
Murano is famous for its glass making. We toured the glass museum and learned about the history of glass making.
Walked over to a glass factory for a glass making demonstration. It’s really fascinating how they can take a blob of glass, heat it and turn it into something totally different. We of course exited through the gift shop.
Had a really nice lunch on one of the piazzas there. Made our way back to the Vaporetto and on to Burano.
Burano is an island known for its lace making and colorful houses. So, we strolled down a couple of the streets and checked out some shops. Then it was time to head back to Venice.
We had to get back for our gondola ride with Franco. We had made arrangements with him earlier in the day and his station was literally around the corner from where we were staying. Franco is a 3rd generation gondolier. Both his grandfather and father were gondoliers. His grandfather retired but passed his boat down to Franco. It was a very nice relaxing tour.
The next morning we were off again to our next stop. Goodbye Venice, until next time.
