We woke early and left Hotel al Sole to explore the local Santa Croce area before we had to check out of al Sole and into a new hotel (al Sole was just a 1 night stop-gap). We set out into the maze of streets and tunnels aiming to find a ferry stop on the grand canal from which to catch the ferry to the next hotel in Castello. We got a little lost along the way but we did find the stop after a little wandering. All the streets are very narrow but generally well sign-posted.
We decided to try and make our way to the touristy Rialto bridge, so we plunged into the labyrinth once again. This time was a little easier as there were more tourists which meant we could always just follow the flow of people wearing wind cheaters and raincoats. It was still early but there were a lot of people out and about despite the drizzle. We saw a lot of little shops tucked away on the way, and we browsed as we went even though many were not open this early.
We reached the Rialto by about 10am and had a look around. Mick recalled some of his past Venetian experiences from his Contiki tour as we wandered around. We stopped in for a coffee on the east side of the bridge and heard the unmistakeable twang of an Australian accent coming from the family seated at the table next to us. Our fellow coffee drinkers were a little bogan to say the least - one guy was drinking limoncello at this early hour, and the young girl was wearing ugg boots - nuff said.
We had covered a fair distance, so decided to head back to the hotel to check out. On our way back more stores were open, which really changed the streets, making us loose our bearings slightly. We were back at the Hotel Rissole by about 11am and we checked out not long after and made our way back to the train stop to catch a traghetto (ferry) to our new hotel in Castello. After a little confusion regarding which flotilla to catch the ferry from we hopped on and made our way to Arsenale, the stop closest to our hotel.
The traghetto took about 40mins to criss cross its way down the Grand Canal to our stop - definitely not the quickest route but there was a lot to see. We got our first glimpse of St Marks Basilica and the Doge's Palace.
We got off the ferry at Arsenale (named as it is close to the old shipyards where the Venetian war fleet was built) and searched for the Hotel Nuovo Teson. After a brief bum steer we found the hotel and checked in. We were pleasantly surprised when we found out we had been upgraded to the annex rooms located in the building next to the hotel. While still part of the hotel the 'Residenza Alle Riva' consists of 6 rooms over 3 floors and the size and quality of the rooms is far superior to what we had at the Hotel RSL in Santa Croce.
We dropped our bags before heading out to explore this new area. We headed north, away from the crowded touristy corso and wandered the narrow lanes and alleys. It was very similar to the Santa Croce area but there were far more people and tourists in this part of the city as the hotel is not very far from Piazza San Marco and the Basilica.
We stumbled upon some weird shops including a lace and linens shop that Mick had visited with Contiki. We wandered around, crossing small canals and piazzas before eventually walking out into the Piazza San Marco. We quickly checked out all the glass and jewellery stores located around the perimeter before continuing on towards the the Canal. We stopped off for some lunch at a little bar and then headed back to the hotel for a rest.
We stayed close to the hotel that afternoon having a few drinks at a little bar east of the hotel close to the Biennale precinct at the Giardini park. This probably explained why there were a fair amount of arty types at the bar all drinking a fluro orange drink which we tried. It was the daily special - a potent mix of Aperol, Prosecco and soda, which was very bitter and alcoholic - and only set us back 3 euros each. Score!
We ate dinner at a little Sicilian cafe, and afterward had a drink in a hotel bar near the San Marco waterfront. We were both very tired and a little drunk so we sloped off to the hotel and thankfully had no trouble getting to sleep, as we had a big day of sightseeing planned for the next day and needed the rest.
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