Venice is a city of small islands, enhanced during the Middle Ages by the dredging of soils to raise the marshy ground above the tides. The resulting canals encouraged the flourishing of a nautical culture which proved central to the economy of the city. Today those canals still provide the means for transport of goods and people within the city.
Here we are at Venezia Tronchetto, an artificial island built to provide parking space for large vehicles like tour buses, etc. It also has a passenger terminal where tourists can take waterbuses (boat) to the city. For those with motion sickness, don't forget to pop that pill before leaving. Water was a bit rough that morning and I was silently praying to not feel any headache or so that can ruin my day tour of Venice. One way trip takes about 15-20 minutes. As to how much it costs? I have no idea, it was already paid for by the travel agency.
Upon arrival we met up with our local guide.
When in Venice, expect tons of alleys. There's a possibility to get lost too! Hehe. Keep right to prevent human traffic.
Our first stop is San Giorgio dei Greci, the church of the Greek community in Venice. The exterior was designed by Lombardo, Chiona and Longhena from 1539 to 1548.
The church has a wonderful collection of Orthodox icons. Here's the Iconostasis, an altar screen decorated with 46 icons painted on an amazing golden background. Photo grabbed from In-Venice.com.
Going back to the tour. Check out this group of Chinese tourists enjoying the gondola ride around Venice. I'm not exactly sure how much it costs per pax but it's between €30-100.
That's our group at the grounds of Campo Santa Maria Formosa.
Wanted to have my photo taken with one of the gondolier. Para twinsies! LOL.
O, ha! Sinadya ko talaga mag stripes that day. Hehehe.
Say hello to our tour cooridinator from Rakso Travel, Honey Angeles.
Venice is one big maze of canals and bridges, I am telling you now that it's easy to get lost if you don't have map or a tour guide with you.
Rialto Bridge is one of the famous and oldest (built in 1588) bridges built along Venice's Grand Canal.
St. Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco in Italian) is the most famous of the many churches of Venice and one of the finest examples of Byzantine architecture in the world.
Across the Basilica is Piazza San Marco, generally known as "the Piazza". Personally, I think this could very well be the most beautiful square in the world where people can relax, listen to music, drink coffee or enjoy their gelato.
Here we are at Venezia Tronchetto, an artificial island built to provide parking space for large vehicles like tour buses, etc. It also has a passenger terminal where tourists can take waterbuses (boat) to the city. For those with motion sickness, don't forget to pop that pill before leaving. Water was a bit rough that morning and I was silently praying to not feel any headache or so that can ruin my day tour of Venice. One way trip takes about 15-20 minutes. As to how much it costs? I have no idea, it was already paid for by the travel agency.
Upon arrival we met up with our local guide.
When in Venice, expect tons of alleys. There's a possibility to get lost too! Hehe. Keep right to prevent human traffic.
Our first stop is San Giorgio dei Greci, the church of the Greek community in Venice. The exterior was designed by Lombardo, Chiona and Longhena from 1539 to 1548.
The church has a wonderful collection of Orthodox icons. Here's the Iconostasis, an altar screen decorated with 46 icons painted on an amazing golden background. Photo grabbed from In-Venice.com.
Going back to the tour. Check out this group of Chinese tourists enjoying the gondola ride around Venice. I'm not exactly sure how much it costs per pax but it's between €30-100.
That's our group at the grounds of Campo Santa Maria Formosa.
Wanted to have my photo taken with one of the gondolier. Para twinsies! LOL.
O, ha! Sinadya ko talaga mag stripes that day. Hehehe.
Say hello to our tour cooridinator from Rakso Travel, Honey Angeles.
Venice is one big maze of canals and bridges, I am telling you now that it's easy to get lost if you don't have map or a tour guide with you.
Rialto Bridge is one of the famous and oldest (built in 1588) bridges built along Venice's Grand Canal.
St. Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco in Italian) is the most famous of the many churches of Venice and one of the finest examples of Byzantine architecture in the world.
Across the Basilica is Piazza San Marco, generally known as "the Piazza". Personally, I think this could very well be the most beautiful square in the world where people can relax, listen to music, drink coffee or enjoy their gelato.
Overall, I love Venice. ;) It was nice to see the canals and piazza in person and not inside casinos in Las Vegas or Macau. Haha. I wish we could have stayed longer but then we needed to continue our European tour going to Austria. Io aomo, Venezia!
