Many questions can arise when one asks about the pass for Venice. In this comparison of the Venice Pass, we will evoke the Venezia Unica, but also, and especially the Venice City Pass, which is for me the best tourist pass in Venice.
I would tell you why the Venice City Pass is considered the pass to buy for a first stay in Venice. I will also tell you where to buy this pass from the city of Venice at the best price (buy online here).
Now, she picked one of the flowers and inhaled the bloom’s perfume, then touched the purple center. “Please, Arianrhod,” she whispered. “Lady of the moon, who guides the silver wheel of the heavens, tell me what to do.” She sat there, waiting for an answer. After a time, she realized she must go back. Culhwch and Einion would worry if she stayed away too long. She started back to the cart, and had gone a little distance when she heard men shouting. At first she thought it was Culhwch and Einion calling for her.
Then she realized the language was unfamiliar. She took a few more steps, and suddenly knew that Culhwch and Einion were in trouble. As she moved toward the voices. the sounds grew quieter. When she reached the edge of the trees, she understood why. Culhwch and Einion’s bodies lay on the ground by the cart. They had been no match for the warriors milling around the area. The enemy men were dressed very strangely, in short crys that bared their legs. They also wore metal helmets. Observing their foreign attire, Sirona decided they must be Romans. Bryn had been right. They had come this far west. She counted ten, twenty. Several explored the cart, digging among the supplies meant to equip Sirona’s household when she arrived in the north. Finding a waterskin, one man put it to his lips and drank. He made a face and dumped it back in the cart. She wondered what he expected it to contain. As the man continued to paw through the supplies, she worried he would find the jewelry in the bottom of the cart. Then she realized it didn’t matter.
They were going to take the whole vehicle. As she watched, one of the men used a stick to prod the oxen forward. The other enemy warriors followed behind. Sirona closed her eyes. She had the faint hope that what she was seeing was a vision, a glimpse of something which might take place but had not yet actually happened. But when she opened her eyes, the sight of her tribesmen’s bodies told the horrifying truth. This was real. She was wracked by tremors, and her stomach threatened to heave itself up. For a time, she was afraid to move. The dread that the men might come back paralyzed her. She waited in the trees until almost twilight, then cautiously approached the place where the cart had been. Culhwch had a huge gash in his chest. The blood from the wound had soaked his crys like a dark lake spreading out over the fabric. He appeared so young. Sirona tried to remember how many years it had been since he’d had his man-making. Not more than five, she thought.
A few paces away Einion lay face down. She thought of turning him over, but decided she couldn’t bear to. Einion had a wife and two small boys back at Mordarach. If she looked upon his face, knowing his family would never see him again, she would start weeping. And she must not weep. Must not mourn these men who would never have been in this place except for her. She had a task to complete before she gave in to her grief. She surveyed the area and began to gather up rocks, the largest she could carry. She piled them on top of the two dead men, hoping to protect their bodies from wild animals. A poor burial, but the best she could manage. She worked steadily, moving farther and farther away to gather the rocks. Her legs trembled with fatigue. Her back ached. But she kept at her task. When the moon appeared over the horizon, she knew it was Arianrhod offering her blessing. She guessed that near half the night was over when she finally decided the two mounds of stones were large enough.
A determined animal could still dig its way in, but this time of year, with plenty of game around, perhaps the scavengers would find easier pickings elsewhere. She straightened, one hand on her aching back. “Culhwch and Einion, brave warriors both, I ask Arianrhod, lady of the moon, to carry your spirits on her fine pure light and set them gently down in the Otherworld. There may you live in happiness and plenty, fighting battles where no man is injured or suffers, and there is feasting and celebration for eternity.” Tears slipped down her cheek as she said the words. Then she gestured as she’d seen Fiach do and stepped back, away from the two rock cairns, waiting for the dead men’s spirits to be released and float free. Her task over, she staggered back to the forest and burrowed into a pile of leaves under a great oak tree. She fell into a dreamless sleep. When she woke it was twilight. She decided she must have slept the rest of the night and the day following. Although nothing had bothered her as she lay among the leaves, now that she was awake, she realized how vulnerable she was. This was exactly how her mother had died, alone in the forest, attacked by predators.
The thought made her get to her feet and start walking. She left the woods and moved out into the open, finding the ruts made by the cart and following them back the way they had come. Her heart thudded with dread. Each breath she took seemed to catch in her throat. She had gone only a short distance when she realized her worst fear had come to pass. Glancing back at the moonlight-bleached landscape, she caught a glimpse of movement. Something was stalking her. She moved more rapidly, her panic building. Now she could hear the beast’s footfalls as it pursued her. She kept her gaze straight ahead and quickened her pace, although she didn’t run, fearing that as soon as she did so, the animal would pounce. Then gradually her mind began to function again. She reminded herself that she’d been trained for years not to fear death. And if she must die, she wanted it to be a good death, not this —being brought down like helpless, hunted prey.
Determination filled her, and she made up her mind to stop and confront the predator. She slowed her pace and fumbled in her pack for her eating knife. A puny defense, but after all, Cruthin had killed a wolf with just such a weapon. As soon as she found the knife, she whirled and faced her pursuer. Twenty paces away was a huge wolf. In the moonlight, its fur seemed tipped with liquid silver. Sirona waited, breathless with tension. Then her fear ebbed away as the beast sat down on its haunches. She could feel the animal watching her, not with the fierce, feral yellow gaze of a predator, but with eyes that were dark, solemn and somehow wise. She was stunned. Death had seemed so close, and yet it had passed her by again. The gods surely must have a hand in this. She slipped the knife back in her pack and began to walk away. The wolf followed, moving closer. It circled around to block her pathway. “Not this way,” it seemed to be saying. Its dark eyes probed her, reaching out, as if trying to make her understand. All at once, she realized what the animal wanted. The wolf was trying to get her to follow it.
“Did Arianrhod send you?” she whispered. The wolf watched her with its patient gaze. When she started toward it, it got up and loped off. She followed, wondering if she had gone mad. Chapter 9 Bryn drew his oiled leather cape more tightly around himself and glanced up at the sky. His face was immediately pelted with cold raindrops. He grimaced in frustration. In this weather, it was impossible to tell what time of day it was, let alone what direction he was headed. He must follow his instincts and hope he didn’t end up walking in circles. The only other alternative was to find a place to wait out the rain. But a rain like this could last for several days, and he had to keep moving. His father would certainly send someone after him. Tarbelinus would assume he was following Sirona, but that didn’t mean he was safe from pursuit. Sirona and her escort would also have headed east for the first few days of their journey.
At least he had a day’s head start. That had been a stroke of luck. Another Ordovice tribe had come visiting, seeking news about the gathering on the sacred isle. Tarbelinus had taken their guests hunting, and while all the warriors were gone from Mordarach, Bryn had set out. Of course, that meant he hadn’t been able take his favorite hound, Cadarn, since the dog was with the hunters. But that might be better anyway. Having the dog with him would make him easier to track. He tried to decide who his father would send after him and whether those men were be sympathetic to his plight. Some of the warriors had told Bryn they thought Tarbelinus was a fool for insisting he train to be a Learned One. If those men were the ones sent in pursuit, Bryn didn’t think they would follow too aggressively. As he walked along, trying to travel in a straight pathway, he felt excited and pleased with himself, although occasional thoughts of Sirona dampened his mood. Almost a sennight had passed since she’d left Mordarach. By now, she should have reached the territory of the northern peoples. He hoped they would appreciate her and care for her. Perhaps she could even locate Dysri’s tribe.
The Drui woman seemed to have a fondness for Sirona. But it wasn’t enough to know she was safe. He wanted to be with her. With effort, he struggled to suppress the yearning. It wasn’t time for them to be together. Before he made Sirona his wife, he must prove himself as a man and a warrior. A twinge of anxiety prodded his stomach. It wasn’t going to be easy to walk into the fortress of another tribe and gain acceptance. He might be tall and strong, but he was also young and inexperienced. He’d never fought a man in real combat. Never wielded a spear except against hunting prey. Other young men his age were so much farther ahead in their training. At the thought, he cursed. So much time wasted. And what had he learned? The names of the gods and how to honor them. The way the sky changed over the seasons. Lists of ancestors. Laws and legends. Useless things. He cursed again. It galled him to be so far behind. Irritation made him quicken his pace. The sooner he came upon another tribe, the sooner he could begin to make up for all the years he’d lost, learning endless nonsense in the grove. * * * Bryn felt a rush of excitement as he heard the bellow of hunting horns in the distance. If he could meet up with members of another tribe soon after they’d made a kill, they would be in fine moods and more likely to welcome him to their dun.
He listened until he heard the baying of hounds, then took off. He circled around the area where he thought the prey must be, stopping every little while to gauge the location of the dogs by the sound of their frenzied bellowing. Although he was breathless and sweating from sprinting with his heavy pack, he relished the exertion. It was almost like he was one of the hunters, experiencing the excitement of the chase, the expectation of the kill. This why he had left Mordarach, so he could be one of the men who tested their endurance and cunning against the beasts of the forest...or against other men.
Hearing the sound of something moving through the woods, he pushed his way through the thick underbrush. He reached a game path and a few seconds later, jerked to a halt as he saw a man coming towards him. Their eyes met for a heartbeat. Then Bryn whirled and ran as fast as he could. Even as his legs pumped and his lungs frantically sucked in air, his mind registered what had sent him on this desperate flight. One look at the man’s dark, cropped hair and his strange garments told Bryn he was face-to-face with a Roman... a Roman carrying a wicked looking hunting spear.
Venice Pass: The Different City Pass for Venice
In Venice, as in many of the great cities of Europe, there are several tourist passes. Before visiting the city, when planning your stay, it is never easy to know what to choose. Several questions arise then ... Should I buy a pass for Venice? Is it financially interesting? What are the tours included in the Venice Pass?
To discover Venice, a question arises: if you buy the Venice City Pass or Venezia Unica. Then, I'll tell you why I think the Venice City Pass is the best pass for Venice (by far!).
Here is a summary, what to remember about the pass to visit Venice:
The Venice City Pass, the best pass that links monuments, churches and access to transport, including the vaporetto (book online at the best price here)
pass ACTV Venice, which is a simple transport pass with access to buses and vaporetto but does not include any visit (reservation here)
The Venezia Unica, happens quite complete also but less financially
the Chorus Pass, a pass to access the churches of Venice (make your reservation here, please note that it is included in the Venice City Pass ...)
The Venice Museum Pass, a less interesting pass than the Venice City Pass, as it is more restrictive and less profitable (to buy here online)
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