Bergamo to Venice: Our Guide and Day in Venice

Venice… ah Venice… the city of love, canals, and funny smells.
Venice was nice.
It is definitely a place everyone should see.
We’re glad we went, and we enjoyed the time there. But to be honest, it felt a bit hyped and overrated at times.
We’re here during a relatively low time of the year for tourism. However, the city is still overrun with people taking pictures of things.
One of the things they’re taking pictures of is all the pigeons.
What are the pigeons doing?
Eating the crumbs of items which were dropped by tourists, who are eating stuff (and throwing stuff to the birds) which was made for tourists.
But we did have a great Venice guide in our friend Mara (who has been to Venice more than once before).

Admittedly, there are many things here in Venice we didn’t see. There are some great museums we didn’t see, and there are probably things we didn’t cover at all, being in Venice for just a day.
And don’t get us wrong, because the city is extremely pretty for walking around, and amazing that such a powerful civilization was founded in such an unlikely place (on water).
It’s important to know though that the city (of today) is based around tourism, so if you like a touristy experience, then great. You’re likely not to notice that they city is set up to give you a specific tourist experience.
But if you’re going to Italy to experience Italy and current Italian culture (outside of tourism), Venice may not be somewhere you want to visit for very long.
It’s definitely on the list for cities you want to visit, but for us, one day was good.
That’s not to say that this city isn’t photogenic either, because it really is.
Here are some of our favorite pictures we took in Venice:

Carrie and Mara didn’t come with me, but I walked through the fish market. I had fun!

Saint Mark’s Square (from the roof of Saint Mark’s Cathedral.) When you go to Venice, definitely pay the fee to go to the roof of St. Mark’s. It’s totally worth it.

Looking at St. Mark’s from across the square… (this is where the pigeons weren’t as aggressive or as numerous – I could only get Carrie to come with me through the pigeon-infested square for purposes of this picture.)

Gondolas lined up with the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore (Saint George) in the background

The Grand Canal

This is a tower that is part of a Greek Orthodox church. It’s REALLY leaning, though it doesn’t appear to be too off in this picture.

Carrie and our excellent tour guide/driver/hostess/comedienne Mara in a Venetian city park.

Clotheslines in Venice

The Sunset over the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore
And a quick compilation video from the day