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by June
Venice is known as the City of Romance. Set upon wood pilings on the 118 submerged islands in the Northern end of the Adriatic sea, it appears to be a magical floating city. No cars, but 400 foot bridges, and 170 boat canals connect the city.
The Grand Canal is one of the major water-traffic corridors in the city. You can travel by water bus(vaporetti), water taxis, or gondolas. We opted for the vaporetti as it was the cheapest. Gondolas are actually about $160 an hour, and we never even heard a gondolier sing! Check out the video.
To become a gondolier you must take a rigorous training, and pass an extensive exam. Only 3-4 licenses are issued a year, and 400 licensed gondolas are in Venice today.
After flying into the airport just outside Venice, we checked into our hotel rooms and proceeded to wander around the city.
The next morning, before we had to board the cruise ship, we headed to the little island of Murano, about 1.5 kilometers north of Venice, where the famous glass has been made since 1291. Check out the factory video!!
In Murano we found a nice place for the usual pizza and salad. We were told that unless we ordered 2 pizzas it wasn't worth their time. And because we were 'sitting', we would be charged a 12% restaurant fee, which was not a tip!
But the waterway sites were very entertaining. In two days there we saw a wedding party, a casket/funeral, and a fireboat!