Everything Around Piazza San Marco

Piazza San Marco is located at the heart of Venice. After getting lost, walking the narrow alleys and crossing multiple bridges, I found the Piazza – in complete chaos. There were tours being conducted in all languages. I passed tour groups of Chinese, Japanese, French and Spaniards. 

I navigated my way to the center of the plaza to take a picture of St. Mark's Basilica or Basilica di San Marco. Well, there are these lampposts and construction sites that's kind of an eyesore to the sight.

Lamppost smack in the middle

I started to have a liking for these big churches when I took a liking for the gothic look of  Cologne's Cathedral. This time,  St. Mark's Basilica is an example of Byzantine architecture. I probably studied these Gothic and Byzantine art stuff in a Humanties subject was back in college but the lessons didn't really stick with me. Maybe I should have paid more attention in class. 

The church was open until 5pm and the entrance to the church was free. I read that the lines could be pretty long so I booked a reservation (link here) which cost me € 1 – which I didn’t really need. There was a long line but it was manageable since it moved anyway. *Flashback of MRT memories*.

When you visit St. Mark’s Basilica, make sure you wear decent clothes – not the shorts + tank tops combination. Big bags are also not allowed, you will be asked to leave them in a baggage counter. No picture taking allowed inside the church.

I took a picture of the entrance’s ceiling. Lots of people were taking pics anyway. The church visit lasted less than 20 minutes. 

Masakit sa batok ang tumingala

There is a section where churchgoers can pray in silence. I dropped a couple of coins in the donation box then silently thanked God for keeping me safe. It had been more than a week of awesome adventures and conquering lifelong dreams.  And I was in a splendid church to do all of this. Too bad no pictures allowed.

Access to the museum costs €4. Quite a sight up there. You can see the mob of people trying to get in.

The crowd of people is annoying to deal but they give character to the place.

Rest. Take a seat.

I initially thought of going to St. Mark’s Tower Bell or Campanile di San Marco but I enjoyed the pigeons hanging out in the square so I deferred plans again. That is the beauty of solo travel, you just go with the flow and decide to do what you want and you don’t have to consult with anyone.

The rest of the afternoon was spent chasing pigeons and avoiding pigeon poop at the same time. I got tanned – or my face got tanned after spending so much time under he sun.

Amidst the sea of people

I hear Filipinos talking. I asked them to take my picture.

Hey kababayan!

Another shadow pic.

With this fella in my arm. 

Pre-nup pictorials, anyone?

I was pretty exhausted after so I wandered off to a decent-looking restaurant to do some tummy refueling. I spent €21 for this whole meal. Chill first before exploring the rest of Venice.

I ate them all. Hahahaha!