After leaving Florence, we headed toward the eastern seashore but stopping in Venice for a day.

As we entered the city of Venice from the freeway, there was only one exit into Venice and the freight trucks were lined up onto the freeway to get off at this exit. We continued on and, after not finding another exit, decided to stop and find a room as close to Venice as we could without being in the city. We found out later that the reason for the backlog of trucks on this exit is because this is where the trucks have to unload their freight, which is then delivered by freight boats to businesses in Venice.

After locating a hotel and settling in, we took the train into Venice to avoid the hassle of trying to find a place to park, and also because you are advised not to drive into the city. We exited the train station and before my eyes, was the city of Venice looking exactly like I have always seen in photographs. There were boats of every size and shape running up and down the waterway dividing Venice.

We boarded a water taxi boat and took off for the stop at San Marco Plaza. The view from this boat was fantastic as you could see the water's edge next to a doorway into a residence or business that faced the waterway. The water was high and I heard that the citizens of Venice are concerned about rising water levels, and I could understand why they were concerned.

We exited at the San Marco Plaza boat ramp and walked into this amazing Plaza. Upon entering, the first thing that catches your eye are the thousands and thousands of pigeons. This Plaza is famous for its pigeons and they roam among all the tourists and visitors, eating feed from your hand or from the top of your hat. There are buildings on three sides of this large plaza and most of them are now either retail stores or restaurants. At the other end is the majestic Palace. From this area you can enter the retail section of Venice and you find yourself walking through the narrow, cobblestone streets and crossing one bridge after another. As you cross these small bridges, you can see the Gondolas travelling up and down the water with music playing and full of passengers. The Gondalas are, of course, one of the most famous means of transportation through Venice, but they do not travel the distance that the water boats cover, so if your time is limited, as was ours, you only do the Gondalas as a tourist attraction, not for transportation.

We found ourselves winding around these small streets and noticed that we were suddenly out of the main stream of walkers but in doing this, we were actually able to see the real part of Venice where the locals live. After finding our way back to the main area of San Marco, it was beginning to become dark and the restaurants were setting up outside for their nightly meals. Each of these restaurants had a full orchestra set up outside among its tables, and the music was beautiful. It is also said that Hemingway spent a lot of time in the Plaza of San Marco sitting outside drinking coffee and writing. I can certainly see how this area could inspire anyone.