Venice was an easy way to start our trip. We were able to wander the streets, get lost, see St. Mark Cathedral and learn to stand and drink coffee. Anytime you sit at a table, there is a two euro per person service charge and the price of the item is higher. So your less than one euro coffee costs three euros if you sit. The first day our breakfast of two coffees and two sandwiches was 17 euros – the second day we stood and it was only nine euros.

After seeing Venice, you just wonder why would you build a city in the marshes. Well, in the 5th and 6th Centuries, the barbarian invasion drove the Roman population to the marshes. The settlers in the marsh islands formed a loose federation and by the 11th Century, Venice was a great Mediterranean merchant power which controlled most of the shipping in the Mediterranean area until the early 1500’s. The discovery of the route around the tip of Africa in 1498, started the decline of the Venetian power, but it took 200 years, the Napoleonic wars, and a couple of World Wars to turn it into a tourist destination.

Besides wandering the city, learning to read and understand some basic Italian words, we toured the Basilica of St. Mark. No inside pictures, but you can find them on the web. It is increditably huge and covered in gold. We don’t know if it is real gold or just gold paint, but it is impressive.