After our quick trip to Angers, Zach and I took the train back to Paris and met up with Stacy, Jason and Jason's parents, who had just arrived from Louisiana that day. We took taxis to another train station.
At the train station, we grabbed delicious French bread sandwiches and waited for our train to leave at 8:30 p.m.. This was a special train-- it had beds. We would be sleeping as we crossed from Paris all the way to Venice, and we would arrive at 9:30 am, ready to go.
The idea was great, but 6 grown adults in tiny tiny beds was... an adventure, I must say. The beds stacked 3 on a side! Here we are before we pulled the beds down.
The other half of our crew.
We had a blast, and the wine we brought made everything even better. I'm really glad we all sort of knew each other, because it would be really uncomfortable sharing that space with total strangers. If you are looking for an overnight train ride that's romantic and private--this is not the one for you! :-)
We arrived at 9:30 in Venice and took a vaporetto(water bus) from the train station to the Saint Mark's Square stop--giving us a great tour of Venice along the way. Here are some of the sights.
Coming up on Saint Mark's Square--yay!
Our hotel, the Dona Palace Hotel was located just around the back of Saint Mark's Basilica. It was a great location. We got a suite at a really good price, and it was the largest room I've ever stayed in ever, much less in Europe! Check it out.
Outside the window, you can see the Bridge of Sighs.
The bathroom was sparkling clean, and it had a jacuzzi.
After we dropped our bags, we met up for lunch at a nearby restaurant called All' Angelo in a sister hotel to ours. Stacy and I got pretty drinks.
I got a spritz--according to my guidebook, it's like the official drink of Venice. It was pretty good. Yay for alcohol for lunch though!
I had a pasta with seafood, of course. It was very good. Yeah that's a crawfish, along with calamari, mussels, shrimp, clams, etc. :-)
Last time Zach and I went to Venice, it was summer, and the crowds were unreal. It was also very hot. We didn't get to go in to Saint Mark's Basilica because of the lines. This time, it was winter, the off season. The crowd's were thin and the weather was chilly--but just fine if you bundled up. Here's a view of Saint Mark's Square from the basilica. We checked out the inside(no photos allowed) and then surveyed the square from a balcony.
Here is the Doges Palace--my favorite building in Venice. I'm so in love with the architecture. We got to tour inside the next day.
View of the water from the square.
The bell tower.
Check out our wedding rings together! They match :-)
Love this pic from the balcony
The Bridge of Sighs--the one you can see from our room!
Pigeons--they're everywhere!
Yay for Venice!!
I think I'll stop here. Next post we visited Murano and saw more of Venice. :-)
I love these photos! My fiance are researching going to Italy on our honeymoon. I have a ton of family in Florence. Venice is definitely on the agenda if we go.
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