Venice - Day Four

After a rather restless night because of mosquitoes, we had a leisurely breakfast on the hotel balcony on the Grand Canal. If we can, we'll do it again as it was so much fun!

We then trekked over to the Basilica San Marco and joined the cast of thousands waiting to get in.  The wait was better than it could have been and St. Mark's Basilica lived up to its reputation.  The best Byzantine mosaics this side of Istanbul!  The best part was the museum up on the second floor as we were very close to those mosaics and it was fabulous. That, and the commanding view over the Piazza San Marco.

From there we bought tickets for the vapporetto, the Venice boat bus, and cruised the Grand Canal in leisurley fashion, if not style.  After disembarking at the piazalle de Roma, we walked a bit, had lunch and the got back on the vapporetto to go to San Giorgio Maggiore. Not knowing the routes, we couldn't figure out how to get there so we took the one to the stop closest to our hotel and took naps.

Knowing that time was short, as we leave in the morning, we did the obligatory gondola ride.  A little bit of the Grand Canal and then weaving our way through the quieter back canals.  This was the best for us as it took us into the real Venice.  Then dinner at a great place on a small canal and then bed.

No, we never did get to Padua. We'll save that for another trip!

From our breakfast balcony

Hard work

Four Horses of the Basilica

Inside the Basilica

From the vapporetto

On our gondola

Paolo the Gondolier

A couple of nut cases

Buono Note

Venice - Day Three

The best laid plans of mice and men.....

We woke up this morning to one of Venice's famously thick fogs and exhaustion from our hectic activities so we decided to forgo Padua until tomorrow and to take it easy today.

So, did we? Of course not! We walked our feet off once more, traipsing down to the Rialto fish and fruit markets, which close at noon.  From there we went down to the train station to check on the frequency and price of trains to Padua (or Padova as it is known locally).  Taking a new direction, we found ourselves in the Jewish Ghetto, but not really caring for kosher pizza, we left and found a very tranquil place along a canal used for cargoes and small families.

From there, we walked towards San Marco in order to get to the Accademia Bridge over the Grand Canal and to our hotel.  A rest was urgently in order.

A foggy day

Not much to see

Typical Venetian scene

Fish Market Offerings

Nice Planter

Roar?

Beware of Gondolas

Evening Sky

Journal Writer

Venice - Day Two

After a very wet last night, today dawned bright and clear.  After a dawn out by the Salute point, we trekked over to San Marco and boarded our tour boat for the islands of  Murano, Burano, and Torcello.

It was a beautiful day and we felt it money we'll spent.  I cannot say we learned much as the tour guide's talk was hampered by a bad sound system and engine noise.  However, the islands were great to visit, especially Torcello whose pace of life was much more like ours at home.

Once back in Venice, we had lunch and now fortified, we strolled the lanes and alleys and enjoyed the sights.  Finding ourselves in Piazza San Marco, we decidedon a whim to go through the Doge's Palace.  It is like a cross between Versailles and the Vatican, with a touch of the a Tower of London's prison thrown in.  As photos are mostly forbidden, you either have to visit or find some book on it to see what I mean.

If that was't enough, we saw that the line to the Campanile (Bell Tower) wasn't very long so we took the elevator up and enjoyed the view.  Windy and cold and full of obnoxious German teenagers.  It was not as good as I hoped, but still fun.

Tomorrow we find our was to the train station for a trip to the nearby university town of Padua.

Before the Dawn

Sunrise over San Giorgio Maggiore

Salute and the Grand Canal

Murano Maestro

Burano Colors

Torcello Monestary

The Doge's Palace Courtyard

San Giorgio through a window on the Bridge of Sighs

Chinese Newlyweds in the Piazza San Marco

On a Troccetta with our hotel in the background

Sunset looking towards the Campanile

Venice - Day One

Words do not describe the essence of Venice.  Even my photos cannot capture it.  Venice is a place you have to experience.  It is that simple.  For someone who dislikes crowds, even the throngs of tourists do not diminish the magic of this place.  Nor do the countless shops selling garish and ugly Carnivale masks and cheap Chinese glass masquerading as Murano glass or the hundreds do African men hawking knockoff bags and purses right outside Louis Vitton shops.

As this is day one for us in Venice, we have not yet been inside any museums or art galleries, but I already know what makes this city special for me.  Venice is like a masterpiece painting or sculpture that is alive.  It truly is like being inside a work of art.  It is both alive and static, it is creation, existence, and decay at the same time.  Everywhere you look there is beauty.

As a piece of art, I can view the cruise ships and crowds as if they were people looking at Venice like a sculpture, oohing and aahing and then leaving to look at something else.  We who get to stay here experience the city in a very different way.

San Giorgoio Maggiore from San Marco

Rialto Bridge

Just down the "street"

Out of our hotel window

A Sleepy Canal

Santa Maria Della Salute

Campanile from Salute

Gondola Detail

Is this Spring?

I know it said it was spring, but this is ridiculous!