Italy 2001

Awaiting a train to take me to Venice. I had just arrived from Austria and crossed and tunneled the Alps

At the station I walked down to the water bus and cruised the Grand Canal to the last of the three bridges. This is the Rialto Bridge, #2

This I did not know: History of and some Venice facts:

Venice came about when Germanic tribes and others invaded northern Italy around 400 AD, and locals fled to an nearby archipelago where they settled in relative safety. The archpelago consisted of about 118 flat islands well off the Veneto coast. However, the islands were found to be unstable, and so wooden platforms on wooden piling were constructed to support the actual houses. For this reason, under the Venice lagoon there are literally millions of wooden piles.

Something most of us probably did know. In the 1300s to 1500s the Venice Republic was the most powerful entity in the Mediterranean. When I traveled along the Dalmation Coast, along the western coast of the Balkan, every fortress and every town, was at one time owned and conquered by the Venetian power.

The decline and fall of Venice did not occur until Napoleon dominated most of Europe, incl. Italy by 1797. After the Campoformio Treaty, Venice and all of the lands on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea were ceded to the Habsburng Austrian Empire (VIenna, capital), which held them until the break-up of the Austrian Empire at the end of WW1.

Pre-WW1 Europe (Note: this is also the time of the Two Sicilies)

Which would be this one. The bus stops right next to it, which conveniently is where the little guesthouse is.

Venice is an excellent walking town, and I crossed that third bridge many times to all part of Venice on that side of the Grand Canal. View from my room.

Another view from the window. It's amazing when you are finally there, almost surreal

Day or night, this town is absolutely fascinating. On these docks, that night, I saw the largest rat I've ever seen

Regardless where you look, there a picture opportunity. This is maybe the most photogenic city on Earth - and it's slowly sinking

Approaching St Marcus Square

The Bridge of Sighs, going from courthouse to jail

Piazza San Marco also known for hundreds of flea-bitten winged rats

Accidentally putting your foot down sharply gets you this picture

You can enjoy that antics of the tourists

Lots and lots of them. Setting your foot down sharply gets the pigeons to fly, but these guys stay put

However, once stairs are involved, most of them don't want to play anymore, and you get to places like this to find some quiet time

Wandering around where no one goes nets you views like this

or this? I really wanted to be up there and see what's going on

Don't ask. Haven't got a clue what's going on here either

Going up also surprises you with views like this

But, it's all part of the whole experience, and crowds or not, this is part of why I came here

The square, naturally, is lined with shops, coffee shops with outdoor seating and restaurants

Shops, markets, indoor and out, and souvenier stands are everpresent