I decided to go to Venice for the day since it is only a little over an hour by train from Verona to Venice. Booking tickets was very simple using the Frecciarossa website. 

I walked from my hotel to the train station about 25 minutes of easy walking. Easily found the train platform from which to catch the train. There was a women on the platform who asked me if I was going to Venice and when I said yes, she told me she was very upset because the train was 5 minutes late and she could have taken an another train that was 10 Euros cheaper and it was on time. She was very distressed by the lateness. In the end, the train made up the time and we were right on time to Venice.

When I got to Venice, I decide to wander the “streets” to get to the Piazza San Marco, the main square that everyone is familiar with from pictures. Venice is a maze so it took some navigating to make it to the square. The interesting part is that if you watch the buildings and corners, high up on the walls are directional arrows telling you which way to head to get to the square. 

As I wandered, I looked for a place to have lunch as I knew I wanted to be somewhat off the beaten track and not having lunch in the most touristy locations. I walked past a restaurant which had a table of about 6 gondoliers eating. I figured that was a local restaurant and decided I wanted to eat there. I made the mistake of not eating immediately and kept on to the Piazza San Marco.

Venice is definitely a top tourist destination as even at this time of year it was packed with people. Verona seems almost tranquil compared to Venice. There are tourists in Verona but not throngs of people and definitely not large tour groups. I had to wait for 5 minutes in a narrow alley as a tour guide shepherded his large Asian tour group into a restaurant. There must have been at least 75 people.

The Piazza San Marco was packed with people and pigeons. It is known for its pigeons. I saw a young boy holding his hands out with bird feed trying to get a pigeon to land on his head. This brought back memories as I had done the same thing and even had a pigeon land on my head. Not sure why I thought it was a good thing as a child and I certainly would not do it now.

The basilica is the square is beautiful and quite ornate. In it is the Pala d’Oro which is a jewel and gold encrusted art piece that shows the life of Christ and images of multiple saints. It dates back to the 1180s and came from Constantinople (now Istanbul) and is very Byzantine. Venice had strong ties with the Byzantine world and the basilica reflects that Byzantine influence.

After touring the Basilica and wandering around the Piazza, I headed back in search of the restaurant that I wanted to have lunch at from previous wandering. Of course, because of the meandering streets and alleys, I had a hard time finding it. Venice does not have a simple grid street system. Luckily, I did find it, Antico Calice. There were still gondoliers eating lunch so I knew I had made the right choice. The restaurant only had about 8 tables. The front table was for six and seem reserved for gondoliers.

I had a fantastic seafood lunch! For primi piatti (first course), I had Cosse and Vongole (mussels and clams) in white wine sauce. For secondo piatti (second course), I had Sarda (Sardines) Gamba (soft shelled grabs) and Scampi (Shrimp). One thing I have been forgetting to mention is that every meal in Italy comes with wonderful bread. I washed all of this down with a quarter liter of white wine. I am really glad I persevered and found the restaurant again.

At the end of the stay, I took the Vaparetto (the water bus) along the Grand Canal back to the train station. The trip on the Vaparetto is a slow progress all along the canal but it definitely gives you an appreciation for the city and its beauty especially as the sun is setting.

Two observations about Venice, it is definitely overrun with tourists even in winter. Venice is instituting a bar code reservation system in 2024 where if you want to enter the city, you have to go to a web site and make a reservation to enter Venice. There will be a limited number of entries allotted for each day. There will not be gates as in Disney World but you could be asked to show the code by the authorities as you wander the city. The reservation will cost 3 Euros and the money will be used to preserve the city. I am not sure this is such a bad idea. The other is that Venice has found a way to profit from tourists. Entry fees for the museums and other buildings are very expensive. To see the Basilica and the Pala d’Oro and the Horse Balcony costs 20 Euros. That is the same price that got me into all the places I visited in Verona.

It was a nice day but I was glad to be back in Verona at the end of it.