ITALY, A day in Venice;

I boarded a six am train to Venice for a day trip. I watched the sun rise on the train while we passed grape vineyards before arriving on the island of Venice at nine o'clock.



Even with a very good map, is is extremely easy to get lost amid the winding streets and ally ways. There are yellow sings posted high on the buildings, with arrows pointing towards the main tourist attraction. If you happen to miss one of these signs, you may end up turned around and at a dead end.



My first stop was at the Rialto bridge, which is one of only three bridges that span the Grand Canal. This bridge is host to a large market at both ends of the shore, and on the bridge itself. It is also almost always packed with tourists.



On the north side of the Rialto Bridge is a mask shop that I wanted to visit. It is the shop that belongs to a master mask maker, who's work was featured in the movie "Eye's Wide Shut". I knew that I wanted to buy an authentic Venetian mask while in Venice, and I am so happy that the mask I choose came from this artisan. I did not want to get in to to many colors or adornments, so I choose the classic theater mask of comedy and tragedy. The mask maker even singed it for me.



I made my way threw the winding streets until I came upon the San Marco Piazza. I fed the many pigeons here, and they landed in my hands and even on my head! At the head of the Piazza is the Basilica of San Marco. Inside the Basilica are the most amazing mosaics depicting many biblical stories. You can climb the stairs of the Basilica to view the Piazza from the balcony. Up stairs is also a small museum, whose main attraction is four bronze horses which date back to antiquity, and are the only chariot group to have survived from that time period.



I took a little break from the mass amount of tourists, and went for a walk along the Grand Canal. I did a little shopping, and had a gelato while taking lots of photos of the canal and the gondolas.



My next stop was the Doge's Palace that then leeds you across the Bridge of Sighs and in to the prison. While it is in itself unique, the palace was sort of like every other palace I have visited in Europe from that time period.

My last tourist stop was at Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. This is a church I discovered in my research of Venice, that houses pieces from three masters. I was able to view Titian's "Assumption of the Virgin" and the "Madonna di Ca' Pesaro", Bellini's "Madonna and Child with Saints", and a wooden sculpture of John the Baptist by Donatello. Since this church is not one of the popular attraction, I had to rely completely on my map, and the kindness of the locals to help me locate the church.



I made my way back to the train station, and boarded the train back to Milan. The trip was three hours long, and I arrived at my destination after dark. When I had returned to my hotel, I quickly got in to bed and was asleep within five minutes. It was a very long, but stimulating journey.