A journey of discovery through the landscapes, art, food, and people of Italy
Day 5: Bolzano and Venice
Our agenda this morning was a stop in Bolzano on our way to Venice. We wound our way down the mountains on the bus and arrived at this beautiful city tucked into the base of the mountains. We had some free time to wander the city, grab lunch, and see Otzi the Iceman at the archeology museum. Learning about Otzi was fascinating! This stop was not high on my list, but we ended up loving it! There were street markets going on, so I enjoyed photographing all the flower markets, of course. We got sandwiches for lunch and people watched while we sat on benches outside the cathedral and listened to street performers in the main square. A lovely way to spend a morning!
Next stop: Venice! We got to ride the vaparetto (water taxi) into the main part of the city before walking to our hotel. I didn't know where to look first! I think Rick Steves' says Venice is in a state of "elegant decay," and boy was it a feast for this photographer! It felt so surreal to be there! We had some time to unpack and wander the alleys before meeting back up for a short tour, our gondola ride and dinner.
Donald knows all the tricks - this is the best part of being on a tour! So he managed to get us to St. Mark's square at just the moment when the sun was making the gold mosaics glow. The sight was unbelievable and gave us all goosebumps. I wish pictures could capture the beauty! He offered to arrange an optional gondola ride for us, so of course we all said yes! I honestly thought this might seem overrated, but when in Venice, right? Boy was I wrong! This was one of the highlights of our trip! It was unbelievably romantic to view the city from the water at sunset. So peaceful in a bustling city. I highly recommend going at sunset - it is actually cheaper than the later rides at this time of year, and it was perfect lighting for seeing everything. One of our tour members was celebrating her birthday, so we got musicians to accompany us, and what better way to celebrate!
Donald, like the guides on our other Rick Steves' tours, was generous with his free time and often offered to arrange an optional dinner for us on our free nights. We learned early on to take him up on this as often as possible - he always knew the best places! After our gondola ride we visited this little out of place restaurant willing to accommodate our lively group. Our waiter was the stereotypical Italian waiter that you see in Rick's videos - kind, humorous, and happy to feed us! I got a delicious lasagna and David enjoyed his carbonara. A delightful tiramisu was a great way to finish off a picture perfect day!