By Clare Higgins

As the train from Florence slowed crossing the causeway connecting Venice to the mainland, I was transported to a magical city. Behind me was the world of cars, buses, and scooters. Ahead, a world of gondolas and motorized police and ambulance boats. A city rising from the sea.

Leaving the train station was like stepping into a surrealist painting where everything is normal accept the asphalt of the streets has been transformed to water. Upon arriving, my companion and I bought three-day tickets for the Vaporetti, a system of boats that comprise the city's public transportation system.

The #82 boat took us from the train station all the way down the Grand Canal where we passed the city's famed palaces - over 200 - that rise up from the water. Even with our packs weighing us down and the crowds on the boat pressing against us., I lustfully eyed the palaces and wondered what it would have been like to live in them when the city was in its prime. Today Venice is primarily a beautiful tourist attraction, a living museum, with its palaces in varying states of repair. But until the 18th century and the opening of ocean trade routes, the city overflowed with money from the trade coming from the East across the Mediterranean. The opulence created by the money and the influence of the East is evident in the hundreds of beautiful palazzo that line the canals. The architecture of the city is quite different from that in the rest of Italy.

After checking into a small hotel about a five-minute walk from the Piazza San Marco. We wandered through the streets and bought pizza from a vendor near the Piazza San Marco. It was actually some of the worst pizza I had in Italy, but we were hungry.

Piazza San Marco

The Basilica di San Marco dates back to the 9th century and reflects the Byzantine architecture of Constantinople. The inside of the Basilica is covered with beautiful golden mosaics that words can't adequately describe. The building itself is slowly sinking as evidenced by the buckling of the mosaic floor.

From the balcony above the entrance there is a beautiful view of the piazza which is known for its pigeons. Vendors sell pigeon food and brave children feed the hundreds of pigeons in the courtyard. Parents look on and snap pictures of the birds sitting on their shoulders and eating out of their hands.

From the Cathedral the Campanile is the next building to explore. Once serving as a watchtower and lighthouse protecting the city, it now provides a beautiful view of the city and the surrounding water. Unlike the domes and towers that I climbed in Rome and Florence, this tower has been modernized with an elevator. Weary tourists appreciate this luxury.

The Palazzo Ducale, or Doge's Palace, is adjacent to the Basilica and overlooks both the water and the Piazza. It was built in the Venetian Gothic style in the 14th century after a fire destroyed the original . It is the largest and most famous palace in Venice. Walking through the rooms I was transported back to a time of elegance and majesty. All Venetians were invited to banquets held in the enormous Hall of the Great Council provided that they wore masks. After imagining myself as a bemasked Venetian, a trip across the enclosed "bridge of sighs" to the dungeons quickly reminded me that not everyone in Venice was living the life of leisure and comfort.

The City

Unfortunately most visitors explore the Piazza San Marco and then leave without wandering through the streets of Venice. From Piazza San Marco, signs point the way to the beautiful stone Rialto Bridge. Shops line the bridge and vendors selling postcards, masks, jester hats, glass, paper, and so much more line the roads leading from the bridge.

In a shop just across from the bridge I purchased a few glass fish and other sea creatures for a few dollars. While I saw many beautiful glass items, I waited until my visit to the island of Murano to even consider making any major purchases.

Murano

Just off of Venice is the island of Murano, which has been known since the Renaissance for its glassmaking. People have been making glass objects for millennia but the Venetians achieved new artistic heights The glass made by the island's highly skilled craftsmen is still world-renowned.

On our second day, we took the Vaparetti to the island. Murano is simpler than Venice. Instead of palaces, small pastel homes and shops line the canals. The Glass Museum traces the history of glassmaking on the island. Unfortunately in the morning we went straight to the museum instead of watching the master glassblowers at work. By the time our schedule allowed us time to see them at work they were all at siesta.

The prices of souvenirs vary from a few cents for glass candy (do not eat!) to thousands of dollars for large handblown pieces by masters. I indulged only in a few glass Christmas ornaments, flowers and floating fish.

Back in Venice

After visiting Murano I was ready to explore some of the other islands, especially Burano, which was pictured on the cover of my edition of Let's Go Italy. But my companion was coming down with a fever that lasted several days so we cut the afternoon short and headed back to Venice leaving the others islands for another trip.

On the way back to our hotel we picked up some pizza and olive bread from a small shop and tirimisu from a bakery and had a feast in our room.

The next morning we went to the train station and purchased tickets for an overnight train back to Rome where we would be flying home. As we tried to get back to Piazza San Marco we inadvertently got on the wrong boat twice. The first time after it turned off the Grand Canal we hopped off at the next stop and ran back to the train station. But the second time we remembered a friend's advice that you should get lost in Venice and pulled out our map and figured out where we had to get off before the boat left Venice for the other islands.

When we got off the boat we needed to make our way across Venice, we meandered through streets rarely visited by tourists. Locals purchased goods in non-touristy shops and children ran and played in the piazzas. In one piazza young boys kicked soccer balls against an old church.

We passed a hospital with an ambulance boat idling in the canal while a patient was unloaded.

My companion was feverish but eager to see as much of the city as possible, so we spent the day slowly wandering through the city. We kept our hotel room through the day so that he could rest before that night's train ride.

That evening while he slept, I explored the city on my own. On the small pedestrian streets I peered in windows of stores selling tesseri for mosaics, masks, candy, paper and more. However after night fully fell it was difficult to see the signs painted inconspicuously on the corners of buildings. The 15-minute walk back from the Rialto Bridge took over an hour as the street after street ended in canals. At one point I almost walked over the Grand Canal on the Academy Bridge narrowly escaping hours of fruitless effort to find my way home.

Although lost, I still enjoyed the mystery of the city. Adrenaline pulsed through my veins as I wandered aimlessly through the maze-like streets. Finally I caught sight of familiar territory and raced back to the Piazza San Marco and my hotel beyond.

About 10:30 we hoisted our backpacks on and took one last look at the Basilica di San Marco before catching the Vaporetti to the train station. The moonlight glistened off the water as we watched the Venetian Palaces glide by. A gondolier accompanied by a karaoke machine sang to his passengers.

Settling down in my bunk bed in the sleeper car we had reserved for our trip back to Rome, I fell asleep dreaming of my return to Venice.

This article is the third in a series on Italy by travel writer Clare Higgins. Clare lives and works in Washington D.C.

Photo Credits: Mike Morton and Clare Higgins