Conquering jet-lag

Our first day in Venice was a resounding success in which we soundly defeated jet-lag and had a productive day with only a few minor changes to our originally planned itinerary. Our flight landed at approximately 09:00 local time (six hours ahead of Eastern time) and we briskly went through customs, rode the bus to Venice, walked to our B&B, and arrived at approximately 10:15. After an extremely helpful briefing from Stacy, the B&B owner, and quick showers, we were on our way by noon. From wheels down to sightseeing in three hours after an international redeye is what I call a success.


Our first stop was for a quick bite to eat. There is a small cafe outside the B&B which we stopped at, and it was totally uneventful. The food was edible, but that's about all that I can say about it.

Next was our "Venice Orientation". We hopped on the vaporetto (essentially a water bus) and popped on our headphones for Rick Steves' "Grand Canal Cruise" audio tour. Rick Steves is a name you will hear frequently throughout our blogging, as a significant part of our trip planning was based on his guidebooks. The audio tour was a narration of the 45 minute ride from one end of the Grand Canal to the other. It introduced most of the major sights that line the canal and allowed us to get a strong sense of direction for the city (all while getting to rest and relax on a boat). To the right is a view of the Rialto Bridge from the vaporetto.

We departed the vaporetto near St. Mark's Square and wandered about until we ended up at La Salute Church, a beautiful domed church with a number of altars inside and gorgeous architecture. In the picture to the left, you can see the church in focus behind us. From there we visited the Gallerie dell'Accademia, which housed an incredible collection of Catholic paintings depicting mostly Saint Peter and Mary. For some reason, the fire alarm went off during the last half of our time there. It was quite bothersome.

At this point, we were both running out of steam and looking for dinner. Our only criteria was that it had to be nearby. We needed some fuel before more walking. Luckily, a restaurant listed in the RS guidebook happened to be right outside the Accademia. It also happened to be right along the Grand Canal, which made for nice views (seen to the right). The food was better than lunch, but we still hadn't found any culinary masterpieces... until after dinner.

With our batteries recharged enough for a bit more exploring, the new goal became gelato. RS recommended a place called Grom, which was not too far from the Accademia. We got there and hemmed and hawed over the flavors which were only listed in Italian. Once we sucked it up and just picked something, we tasted success. This gelato was pitch perfect, and a sorely needed treat to wind down our day. We had intended to take a gondola ride after the gelato (around 20:00), but jet-lag finally got to us. We hopped back on the vaporetto and headed back to the B&B. We will need to charge our batteries well, because a gondola ride has just been added to the already packed itinerary for tomorrow.