Venice

Venice is pretty magnificent in person. I cam in knowing what to expect, but the ambience of the city is still pretty overwhelming. The omnipresence of canals does really give it a unique feel. Lots of fun to wander around aimlessly (interesting buildings literally everywhere on the island) or idle around in a vaporetti (buy the unlimited pass).

And good weather for my final stop on the Mediterranean. :)

Things seen in Venice:

• Church and island of San Giorgio Maggiore. The church kind of on an island by itself, nice views of the city. Convenient too, as I'm staying on the long island of Giudecca next door.

• Piazza San Marco and the surrounding buildings (Doge's Palace, Campanile, St Mark's Basilica, and the Correr Museum). The center of Venice containing most of the important stuff. The scale of the Doge's palace interiors are impressive (and amusing in the context of the tiny island containing it), especially the council chamber with Tintoretto's Paradise, the largest oil painting in existence.

• The Grand Canal and bridges - naturally
• The Peggy Guggenheim - not that big, but lots of impressive names; Dali, Pollock, Magritte, Picasso, Rothko...
• The Frari church and Scuola San Rocco - lots of Venetian masterworks in their original context

Now off to Vienna and a some Eastern European highlights....

Venice pictures