Day 198 Venice, Italy

Today we arrive into Venice around 10:00, two hours early. My tour wasn’t until 1:00 so I decided to blow it off and go out on my own. I took a water taxi to the Cornoldi pontoon which was a short walk and about 4 bridges from Piazza San Marco. I just began a walking tour, random at times to see the sights and sounds of Venice. First up was the Piazza San Marco with the Basilica, Doge’s Palace & the Bell Tower. I really enjoyed seeing the Bridge of Sighs, the elevated, covered bridge that goes from the Doge’s Palace to the prison….. After strolling through the side streets and crossing numerous canal bridges I decided it was time for a gondola ride. What a trip!!!!! I really enjoyed the gondola ride. It gives the place a whole different look from inside a gondola. After the gondola trip it was time to continue exploring Venice. I decided to take the winding streets and head toward the Rialto Bridge which crosses the Grand Canal. Built in 1588 it was the first stone bridge built over the canals. The walk and sights were just amazing…. I headed back toward Piazza San Marco, stopped for lunch and then it was back to the ship before I got too cold….. Great day!!!!! Tomorrow I go on a ship's tour to Verona. Here is the description: Verona City of Romeo & Juliet

Follow the highway from Venice to Verona, then set out with your local guide on a walking tour. Admire the arena built in 30 BC, which once rivaled the Colosseum and is the third largest arena in the Roman world. In Piazza delle Erbe, discover a square that has been the center of Veronese life since the days of the Romans. A Venetian lion stands atop a column to the north of the Piazza, signifying Verona’s absorption by the Venetian Republic in 1405. The Maffei Palace, built in 1668, today houses luxury apartments and elegant boutiques. Don’t miss Piazza dei Signori, where a 19th-century statue of the poet Dante graces the Square, gazing out upon the 14thcentury Palazzo della Ragione— the Veronese law court. Behind Dante’s statue lies the Renaissance Loggia del Consiglio (1493), whose council chamber boasts a fresco that includes the figures of Catullus and Pliny. Continue to Juliet’s balcony where Romeo is said to have scaled the wall at Casa di Giulietta at 27 Via Cappello. Pose for a photo in the small courtyard and check out the names inscribed on the wall by visitors seeking eternal love. You will have free time at leisure before boarding the coach for the drive back to Venice and its port.