I said goodbye to Tuscany and hello to Venice today. This morning was supposed to be a simple drop off of my rental car and an easy walk over to the train station. I left from the villa I had been staying at early because I always worry about time when I have a schedule to keep. Turns out that it’s a good thing I did. When I arrived at the drop point for my car I come to find out that they do not ope until 9 AM on holidays, of which the Monday after Easter is considered here. This meant a mad dash across Florence to get to the drop off near the airport. This added a few more wrinkles into my travel plans. To get a taxi out there you usually need to take a shuttle to the airport and then go to the taxi stand but this also means waiting for the shuttle to arrive in the first place. Standing at the rental park all I could do was watch the minutes tick away knowing that the train would not wait for me if I couldn’t get there on time. Thankfully, just as the shuttle was coming into view, two taxis rolled into the rental park looking for fares. When I managed to waive one of them down I heaved a huge sigh of relief! While it wasn’t the easy morning I had wanted I did manage to get to the train in plenty of time and I could relax the whole way into Venice.

The nice part about taking the train into Venice is that it lets you off on the islands and the water bus system picks up right out front.Grab your bags, buy a ticket and in just a few minutes you are on your way!

Venice is definitely in tourist swing at this point. Last time I came was in early March with far fewer people. Even so, it’s Venice! Tourist trap and all, it is a beautiful city and I was glad to have come back. This time the sun was shining, the streets were dry and I was pretty sure I knew where I was going! My hotel was only a short walk from the Rialto Bridge and a major water bus stop so getting to where I could drop bags off was a breeze.

The thing I love about Venice is that it is a walking city. You can walk to get wherever you want to go and almost any walk you take leads you to something interesting. The city was the trading power in the Mediterranean for centuries and the citizens showed off their wealth with many decorated homes, palaces and churches. The Square of San Marco is one of the most recognizable sights in the world but there are so many others throughout the city that it’s fun just to wander and stumble upon them.

My favorite store in Venice is a used book store with loads of cats and an odd staircase.

After an unintentional nap and some overpriced dinner I took a walk through Venice at night. Fun but easier to get lost if you are not careful.

Tomorrow should be another fun day in Venice and I hope to hit up some of the museums that I did not get to eye on my last trip.