We started the day off with 100 Eruo and actually came home with about 20 euro left over! We also packed a picnic lunch made up of stuff for peanut butter sandwiches.
I figured we could hang out at a park and sit in the grass and eat. The girls were so excited about doing this too so why not right! Saves a ton of money on food!!!So the unknown wasn't so scary after all. Granted I turned the wrong way through the round about and we ended up having to go back the way we went but it was alright because there were two tunnels and the kids enjoyed going through them so many times! Then it was a straight shot. Never having driven on these roads before I was a little nervous, but it's really not that different then in the States. On the side of the Autostrada (Interstate) they have places to stop, gas stations, etc. We saw one that had some stuff about Venice on the sign and were going to stop but decided last minute not to. When we went by we were kicking our selves really bad. Sitting in this gas station were about 30 Farrari's!!!! All colors but the same models. Newer, not sure what year but man I would have loved to stop and see them!!! But we kept going, mainly because there is no way to turn around what-so-ever once you are on the autostrada, but it was ok. I was ready to see Venice. Now bear in mind I have been told nothing but bad stuff about Venice. How it's not kid friendly, how there are stairs everywhere, how it's a ton of walking, absolutely no railings near the waters edge and not worth it if you have little kids. So needless to say, I was ready to have a rough day but it wasn't like that at all. There is only one road into and out of Venice. This road takes you in right to the cruise ships where you can park and take a Water Taxi to many different stops on each island of Venice. Thats what we did. We paid 16 Euro each for me and Brandon, kids were free, for a 12 hour pass. You can get on and off however many times you want to at any stop you would like to go to as well.
We took our Water Taxi clear to St. Marks Square. There were several stops along the way and we got to see a ton of incredible buildings. There were also Gondola's everywhere! I couldn't believe how many of them there were. And there really is no right way or wrong way when it comes to driving a boat. They just go wherever and stay out of each others ways. They have Polizia and Ambulance boats as well. Kinda neet to see all those.
At St. Mark's Square we decided to find somewhere to go the bathroom. Now, that's expensive!!! It cost Brandon 3 Euro just go pee for 10 seconds! How crazy is that. I didn't go in because I stayed out side with the stroller and the kids. After that experiance we went to find a place to eat but we noticed that there isn't really any grass to sit in so we made our sandwiches on the sidewalk! Best place as any right. The only problem we had were the hungry pigeons!!! They are crazy. They eat food right out of your hands and land on you whenever they feel the need. I had one on my head for a little bit. Brandon couldn't get the camara up fast enough though. It was fun.
After we played with the pigeons for a while we walked some more. Bella took a lot of pictures too. Here are some of the ones she's took.
She's such a good little picture taker!
Along with all the sights to see there are a ton of little vendor places to buy anything you could ever want as a souvineer. They had a lot of shirts, hats, key chains, shot glasses, masks and everything else. There are also Gucci stores and those types of shopping places too. After all the looking around we finally decided it was time to head back to the boat. The kids were getting hot and cranky and we had seen quite a bit. On the way back we ended up getting on the wrong boat to begin with so we had to get off at the next stop and get back on when the right boat got there. I was able to ride on the opposite side then when we headed up to St. Marks so I got lots of different pictures.
All in all today was the best day yet since we have been in Italy. It took us less time to drive from our house to Venice then it took us to go from our home in California to the Mall in Victorville!!! I can't believe that we can just "go to Venice whenever we want!" it's crazy! I'm not sure what is next on our list of places to see but maybe next we will head out towards Verona or maybe farther West. For all those who are going to come visit, I WILL take you to Venice so make sure you bring a little extra money for the Water Taxi!!!!
That last picture is the bridge I was wanting to see when we come! Sounds like a really fun trip. I am glad that it is more kid friendly than you thought since we will have so many of them with us!
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