Day 1 - Venice, St Mark's Square

The boys woke up early again today - don't think there's much hope of a lie-in this holiday.  After breakfast we caught the bus over to Venice, which was pretty convenient with the bus stop right outside the hotel.

It was glorious weather today and, once we were into Venice proper, we spent a while just wandering around the streets and over the bridges, taking in the scenery and not going anywhere in particular.  It's all narrow alleyways and small bridges, opening into the odd open square.  Lovely scenery and even more impressive than the Venice levels in Tomb Raider 2.

View from one of the many bridges

After a while we decided we'd better head somewhere in particular, so we started following the signs to Piazza San Marco (that's St Mark's Square to me and you).  On the way it was over the impressive Rialto and many more twists and turns before we go to the piazza itself.

After a brief break to rest our feet and take it all in, it was a snack lunch and into the Pallazo Ducale.  The boys had been tempted in by the promise of a torture chamber but we couldn't track that down and had to make do with a prison and an armoury to satisfy their grisly tastes.

Then it was the inevitable gondola ride, which was a nice relaxing way to see round the canals and good fun.  The gondolier pointed out the houses of Marco Polo and Casanova, although for all we knew they could've been any old houses.

A view from the gondola

Everyone in the gondola

We popped in and out of the Basilica but it was too close to closing to do any more than that really, so we started to head back out the way we came.  Managed to get a bit lost on the way out but eventually got back on track, had a pizza and caught the bus home.  All in all, a good first day.