(Italy Flag)


(Italy Map)

TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2013:

Today we docked in Venice, Italy at 1:30PM for an overnight stay.

All of the images below are thumbnails and can be clicked on for a larger image.



It was a spectacular sailing into Venice on the Royal Princess.


The weather and the views from the ship were perfect.


After the ship docked I took the ship's water shuttle into town.
I took a nice long walk all around the city.


I walked through st. Mark's Square and over to the Rialto Bridge.
I negotiated the winding streets over to the Accademia Bridge.
From there it was over to San Giorgio Maggiore where I admired the view from the point of the island.


As the sun began to set I took the Vaporetto back to St. Mark's Square.


I enjoyed the evening atmosphere here for a while before heading back to the ship.


Back on board the ship I packed up for tomorrow's disembarkation.

The video below is 68 minutes long of my visit to Venice, Italy.

MY DAILY EMAIL SENT ON AUGUST 21, 2013

Hello folks, Tuesday was a day at sea as we sailed north in the Adriatic Sea toward Venice. I spent the day doing laundry and resting up for the second half of my trip. Today we arrived in Venice. There are very few perfect days when you are on vacation. You take the good with the bad. But today was absolutely perfect in every way. The Royal Princess entered the Grand Canal at about 12:30 this afternoon. Conditions were perfect. There was not a cloud in the sky. The sun was behind us. Temperature in the upper 70s. There was Italian music playing from the ship's loud speakers. And from the ship's 17th deck the view was spectacular. Below is a picture of St. Mark's Square and the Doge's Palace on the right. Below you can see us starting to round San Giorgio Maggiore, on the left. I would walk out to the point of that island later in the day. The ship docked at about 1:30. It was about 2:00 before we were able to get off the ship. Princess Cruises provided a shuttle boat to take us from the ship to St. Mark's Square. I started my self-guided walking tour of Venice at about 2:30. I walked through St. Mark's Square first. The last time I was here was in November of 2009. At that time of November there were no crowds. That was definitely not the case today. It was like being in Times Square on New Years Eve all day. I love walking around Venice. It's like being a mouse in a maze trying to find the cheese. I managed to negotiate the maze over to the Rialto Bridge. I spent quite a bit of time here. Walked up and down the bridge on both sides and explored the area all around it. Had some gelato of course. Below is a picture of the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge. Below is a picture of a gondola on the Grand Canal from the other side of the bridge. After I left Rialto I walked over to the Accademia Bridge. It was a little bit of a walk. Passed through many different picturesque squares on the way. The picture below is the Grand Canal from the Accademia Bridge. From here I walked out to San Giorgio Maggiore, the green domed church in the picture above and below. I made my way out to the point of the island. You can see the point in picture #4 above. I sat there on the point and admired the view as the sun began to set. While St. Mark's Square is really close as the crow flies, the walk to get back there is quite a bit longer. I decided to hop on a Vaporetto. I decided to go in the opposite direction of St. Mark's Square so I got an hour long cruise as the sun set. At first we were crammed in there like sardines. But the crowd thinned out after a few stops and I was able to sit down. By the time we reached St. Mark's Square the sun had completely set. Below is a picture of some gondolas in the Grand Canal from St. Mark's Square. Look at the beautiful full moon on the left. I walked around in the moonlight for a short while. Unfortunately I had to get back to the ship to set out my luggage for collection before the deadline, so I got back on the Princess shuttle and returned to the ship for my final night on board. Tomorrow I have a late morning flight to Amsterdam. It's well after midnight. I better get to bed now. Tim

Click on email photos for the large full-size photograph.

This was my second visit to Venice. I was also here in 2009.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2013:

Monday I disembarked the Royal Princess and flew to Amsterdam.


Click on the arrow above to continue to my next stop, AMSTERDAM!

TIM'S HOME PAGE SITE INDEX
Areas	Description	# of Pages
About Me	Current Picture of me and my home. Information about myself.	2
Biography	Pictorial biography of myself. Pictures range from birth to adulthood.	4
Family File	Pictures of my family and a little information about them.	11
Local Spotlight	Pictures, Links, and Information for Indianapolis, Richmond, Plainfield, and Mooresville, Indiana.	6
Tim's Travels	Pictures, videos and travelogs from my travels around the world.	300+
Vacation Videos	Over 1280 videos from my travels around the world.	1