First Views of Venice

We rode the train, a 2-hour trip, from Florence to Venice yesterday.  Much of the first half hour resembled a subway ride as the train route tunneled through mountains.  A good time to "rest the eyes".

Gondola rides start at 80 euros, according to my good pal Rick Steves, and the price goes up significantly in the evening.  Our host at the Florence B&B warned us of a recent scam where gondoliers attempted to charge gullible, perhaps desperate, tourists 300 euros.  Actually, 80 is probably enough to make me laugh and walk away. 

Doge Palace

Yesterday was a transition day, so we just walked around, got our bearings.  The landmark signage is generally good, but even with a map, it took us some time to get ourselves oriented.

Pigeons, lots of pigeons. (Dang, I thought I had rotated this photo.  Once it's published in the iPad Blogger app, it's too much trouble to undo.)

View of the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge.

View if the Grand Canal from the Scalzi Bridge

Masks and trinkets