Monday, September 8th, 2025
This morning we left Verona for Venice, Italy. We took the train.
When we arrived at the Venice train station we gathered our luggage and found a water taxi to take us to our hotel.
Scroll through the slideshow below to see photos of the Grand Canal in Venice as we rode on the water taxi.
We checked into our hotel, the Hotel Saturnia and International. It was run by the fifth generation Serandrei family since 1908!
The hotel was a historic residence that dated back to the 14th century. It blended the history of the residence along with modern conveniences. No two rooms were identical. Our room was a suite. We had plenty of space.
After we checked in and dropped off our luggage we walked into St. Mark’s square and also found a place for some lunch!
We went back to our hotel to freshen up before our wine tasting excursion this evening. Our hotel had a solarium where we could look out at the Venetian domes and rooftops.
Our food and wine walking tour was with a local guide, named Silvia.
There were six of us with our guide. We walked to five different bacaris. Bararis were where the locals gathered to drink wine and eat cicchetti. A cicchetti (chee-KET-tee) was a small, savory, shareable plates or snacks. It was fun trying the food and tasting the wines. We had a great time.
During our tour Silvia had us stop and go in Saint Pantalon. It was a 17th century parish church.
It was known for its ceiling painting by Gian Antonio Fumiani that depicted the Martyrdom and Apotheosis of Saint Pantalon.
At the end of our tour Silvia gave us her list of other good bacaris around Venice.
Venice and its canals looked magnificent as we walked back to our hotel.
