We're visiting Venice for 10 days before traveling by train to Bologna, Italy. When we arrived on April 7, the weather was a bit cool and windy with temps in the high 50's. Every day since then it has been much nicer with beautiful spring weather, little wind, and high's in the 60's. Our apartment is on the island of Guidecca, across the Guidecca canal from the main city. However, it's fairly easy to get around using the free vaporetto in front of our apartment, sponsored by the Hilton Hotel next door.

Arriving in Venice, the cruise ship sailed into the lagoon and past the heart of Venice, St . Mark's Square. This is the historical center of the city, flanked by the Doge's Palace, St. Mark's Basilica, a Clocktower, and lots of arched old buildings. The two columns at the water entrance to the plaza welcome visitors and made an impression of wealth and power during the Renaissance when Venice was the wealthiest city in all of Europe. It's still an impressive sight today.

The main city of Venice is not very big, probably a couple of miles in either direction. It's criss-crossed with over 400 small bridges connecting streets and plazas. The Grand Canal runs in an S-shape through the center of the city and several bridges cross it, too. We've been able to walk nearly everywhere in the city. You might think you'd get lost at first as the paths and alleys are small and all seem to look alike. However, signs on the sides of buildings point to either Accademia, San Marco, or Rialto, the major areas of the city. So, if you know you're general direction, you can put the map away and just walk and explore, following the signs when you're ready to exit the maze of twisting streets that is Venice .

We walked around St. Mark's Square one day and toured the Doge's Palace. The Palace is quite impressive, as it was meant to show visiting dignitaries in the 16th century that Venice was all powerful and wealthy. The frescoes and 24 k gold decorations are quite extraordinary. Aside from a regal home, the palace also hosted the political and legislative portions of the government, as well as the judicial arm Since the 16th century, the palace has been linked to the prison by the Bridge of Sighs which we walked across to tour the prison. The famous Casanova was imprisoned in this building and escaped from it, too.

Another day we took a vaporetto (water bus) down the Grand Canal at sunset. Much of the Grand Canal is not accessible by foot, so the only way to see the once-grand palaces that front the canal is to travel it by boat. The most magnificent building today is the Venice Casino. Other buildings and palaces are in a state of "elegant decay" but all look better in the setting sunlight . Venice needs a great deal of maintenance and upkeep but all this is hampered by the water location and the extreme humidity and lapping saltwater at the foundations. The widespread graffiti, however, probably could be removed, but is allowed to stay, giving the city an all-around air of neglect. Seeing the cigarette butts and litter on the plazas and the dirt on all the buildings, I've come to the conclusion that Venice needs a strong power wash, everywhere. From what I've read the city is in a state of near-bankruptcy from decades of political corruption, so I doubt anything will be done to clean up this once beautiful place.

Venice is a bit like Disneyworld but without the Disney touch. Over 25 million tourists visited it last year, and only about 24,000 people actually live in Venice (on the outskirts of the city). This creates a city that is totally run by tourism and on the days the ships are in port, overrun by tourists. After you've visited the main sites, the only activity is shopping and eating in the many restaurants. I bought an Italian scarf, and we've enjoyed our meals in different trattorias. We love Italian coffee, biscotti, and gelato. The little Italian bars are great, and every evening between 6 and 8, we join the people standing in the bars and on the street outside, sipping wine and having a little snack for happy hour. However, we've been here 10 days and enjoyed our time, but we're ready to move on to Bologna and discover more of Italy.