Day One in Venice:
Since we had most of the day free before meeting up with the the Rick Steves Tour Group in the late afternoon, we went sightseeing through the wonderfully gorgeous city of Venice.
In the morning, we walked over to St. Mark's Square and went into St. Mark's Basilica. The inside of the Basilica was a beautiful example of Byzantine architecture, art and history.
**As a fun side note: if you don't mind climbing steep stairs, walk up to the upper level of the Basilica.There is a nice little gallery on the second floor that includes some pretty art, the ORIGINAL Horse Sculptures that used to be on the roof of the basilica. It is also possible to walk out onto the roof of the Basilica from the second floor. It was a great, birds eye view of the plaza from the roof (if you do not mind slight heights)! The view from the roof was well worth the trip up the stairs!**
We also wondered over to check out the small, San Zaccaria Church and across the Canal over to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum (yes, those Guggenheims!).
The Guggenheim Museum houses a collection of modern art right off the waterfront (which is cool if you are interested in modern art).
In the middle of the afternoon, we walked back to the hotel to take our Covid tests and meet up with the rest of the Group. During the informational meeting we were introduced to our Guide, Dmitri.
In the meeting we were all given a Group Buddy which was a wonderfully interesting way to meet other people in the overall group. It was nice to be able to have someone to say "Hello!" to in the morning and keep and eye out for the first couple of days as we were getting to know the group as a whole.
After the informational meeting, the Group started out on a walking tour of the neighborhood of Venice we were staying in (a great way to get an idea for the directions to and from the hotel for free time). The Group wound our way over to a Gondola launch area where we were split into small little groups of four or five people and taken a superb evening ride through a few of the smaller canals and through the massive Grand Canal (Absolutely AMAZING Experience that i would recommend to anyone!!!).
After the enchanting Gondola ride, the Group walked a few blocks to the Welcome Dinner to finish the first full day in Venice.
Since we had most of the day free before meeting up with the the Rick Steves Tour Group in the late afternoon, we went sightseeing through the wonderfully gorgeous city of Venice.
In the morning, we walked over to St. Mark's Square and went into St. Mark's Basilica. The inside of the Basilica was a beautiful example of Byzantine architecture, art and history.
**As a fun side note: if you don't mind climbing steep stairs, walk up to the upper level of the Basilica.There is a nice little gallery on the second floor that includes some pretty art, the ORIGINAL Horse Sculptures that used to be on the roof of the basilica. It is also possible to walk out onto the roof of the Basilica from the second floor. It was a great, birds eye view of the plaza from the roof (if you do not mind slight heights)! The view from the roof was well worth the trip up the stairs!**
We also wondered over to check out the small, San Zaccaria Church and across the Canal over to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum (yes, those Guggenheims!).
The Guggenheim Museum houses a collection of modern art right off the waterfront (which is cool if you are interested in modern art).
In the middle of the afternoon, we walked back to the hotel to take our Covid tests and meet up with the rest of the Group. During the informational meeting we were introduced to our Guide, Dmitri.
In the meeting we were all given a Group Buddy which was a wonderfully interesting way to meet other people in the overall group. It was nice to be able to have someone to say "Hello!" to in the morning and keep and eye out for the first couple of days as we were getting to know the group as a whole.
After the informational meeting, the Group started out on a walking tour of the neighborhood of Venice we were staying in (a great way to get an idea for the directions to and from the hotel for free time). The Group wound our way over to a Gondola launch area where we were split into small little groups of four or five people and taken a superb evening ride through a few of the smaller canals and through the massive Grand Canal (Absolutely AMAZING Experience that i would recommend to anyone!!!).
After the enchanting Gondola ride, the Group walked a few blocks to the Welcome Dinner to finish the first full day in Venice.
Day Two in Venice:
In the morning, the Group met with one of the local guides outside the hotel for a walk through the winding walkways of Venice in the morning. It was wonderful to be lead around by a local guide who was clearly informative regarding history and culture.
In the afternoon, we and one of our Group Buddies, Rhonda walked over to the Biennalle Art Exhibit. The Biennalle is a Biannual Art Exhibit in Venice that shows off modern art from countries all around the world that happens every two years. The exhibit will often choose a theme for the art that is selected for each country. The 2022 Biennalle Theme was "The Milk of Dreams."
After checking out the buildings housing the art contributions for several countries for the Biennalle Art Exhibit, we walked back towards St. Mark's Square and went into the Dodges Palace. The Dodge's Palace was an interesting walk through Venetian art and modern art. It was interesting to see framed paintings on all the walls and all over the ceilings. Included in the ticket to the Dodge's Palace was a walk over the Bridge of Sighs (*sigh...*) over to the attached building that houses the prison of Venice. It was fascinating to see how small the prison cells were and the doors into those cells! Even as a slightly shorter person (a little over five feet in height, I would have had to stoop down to enter a cell if it was possible).
*The Rick Steves itinerary lists the Dodge's Palace as a Suggested place to go. There were several people in our group that went to the Dodge's Palace in the few days that we were in Venice who all loved the Palace!*
***Pro Tips***:
-For getting around the various cities on your free time, I would suggest making sure the apps Google Maps, or Citymapper on your phone. You would just need to enter your destination and the apps will give you directions on how to get there.