The obligatory Venice picture

I had a great time visiting Venice. It was more enjoyable that Vienna or Budapest, mostly because it was an unending set of scenes and colors and people and stuff. I just wandered around for hours - sort of a random walk - seeing, smelling, listening, and enjoying. After a while I got hungry, so I ate. After a while I got tired, do I sat. After a while I stumbled upon an internet cafe so I got on the net and then had a large beer before continuing my wanderings. When I decided it was time to leave, I found some folks that looked like they were heading home from work and followed them. They went to the bus station, so I asked a vendor where we were and figured out how to get back to the train station.

The train station

There were lots of people wandering about with me. Some had maps. Many looked as lost as I was and some seemed actually concerned about it. Most folks spoke Italian with German seeming to come in second, then English and French as distant third and fourth. The majority of the English speaking folks (and a substantial minority of German speaking folks) were with tour groups, but most of the people were in couples and family groups.

Two Italian women - for my friend, Don Patterson

Venice is a photographers paradise with colors and textures and light creating wonderful image possibilities.

A wall with flowers and drying clothing

The shop windows:

Fruit

Glass

Gold

Pottery

Masks

And other kinds of art

And of course there are all those interesting building and gardens and doorways.

And the canals and the boats - I didn't ride on a single boat, but it was fun to see work boats and taxi boats and bus boats and play boats, and even a few gondola boats.

And bridges, so important in Venice.

And shops and stalls almost filling the street.

And even bicycle tourists coming in from the train station