Thursday, 3/20/14 - Venice in a Day

Today was a FUN, whirlwind day in Venice, Italy! Our overnight train from Vienna, Austria got into Venice at 8:30 am. We were luckily able to leave our luggage for the day at a hotel right by the train station, then we got on a water taxi and took a boat ride to St. Mark's Basilica. Britta did her presentation on the Medieval Relics and the impressive church we were about to see. We were able to walk through on the main level to see the massive structure, and we were also able to climb to the top and view a small museum about the basilica and go outside on the balcony around the top of the church and get a birdseye view of Venice. Something that especially impressed me about St. Mark's was the over 8,000 square meters of mosaic tiles that covered the entire ceiling and inner dome of the church - so breathtakingly beautiful! 

We then got a quick breakfast bite to eat in the St. Mark's area and then headed to the Doge's Palace and Palazzo Ducale. While at the Doge's palace, we saw many impressive rooms, heavily decorated in gold and other precious materials. We saw works of art, ancient maps, the old prisons of Venice in the palace, and more. Marisa gave her presentation on The Venetian Doges and the history of this very powerful ruler position of wealth and influence. 

During the afternoon we had some free time in small groups to explore Venice. A few of the students joined Mr. Stromberg, Mr. Johnson, and I to explore Venice by foot. Mr. Stromberg has been to Venice several times and knows quite a bit about the island, so he was a great tour guide. We also stopped for a light lunch and a cup of coffee. A few of us bought small souvenirs to bring home, and we also enjoyed a water taxi ride along the Grand Canal to meet up with the group back at St. Mark's before dinner. We all ate together at a cafeteria-style restaurant called Cafe Brek that was next door to the hotel where we kept our bags for the day - most of us ordered tasty Italian pasta - yummy!

Below are photos from our day. Unfortunately the battery on my iPad died during the day, so I was only able to take pictures in the morning. I'm sure the students will have many more you can see when we get back home next week.

This was what we saw when we came out of the train station and after storing our bags for the day - I think everyone was really happy to be in Venice!

Sophie, Marisa, Emma, and Mrs. Johnson - taking pictures while waiting for Mr. Stromberg to get the water taxi tickets. 

Water taxi ride - Britta, man on his phone, and Nicole.  :) 

Sites from Venice while on the morning water taxi ride to St. Mark's Basilica:

Britta giving her presentation on St. Mark's Basilica and Medieval Relics in the square in front of the church. 

Images from St. Mark's Basilica:

The inside of the church - check out the gold and pictures on the walls and ceiling... it is all made out of tiny mosaic tiles - so amazing and beautiful!

The original horses from the outside top of the church. They were brought inside to preserve them and replaced with exact replicas. The horses were seized from the city of Constantinople.

View from the top outside front overlook at St. Mark's Basilica.

And from another angle. Isn't it beautiful? The leaders were commenting on how the weather couldn't have been any more perfect - sunny, warm, and very comfortable to walk around and explore.

Maddy and Mrs. Johnson enjoying the view.

Those are all the pictures I was able to take in Venice before my camera battery died. The next post will detail our first day in Florence.  Ciao!