Friday, May 25, 2012

I love Venice.

We started the day with a vaporetto ride just a short way down the canal. The boats are very crowded and not everyone can get on at a stop. It took three boats before our whole group made it to our meeting spot. We spent all morning with a guide who walked us through several of the back streets that I love so well. And, of course, there were stories all the way along.

We saw the house where the first woman in the world to graduate from university was born. Everywhere you look you see something wonderful, and watching the traffic on the canal is such fun. And while I’m having all this fun watching, folks are working Every building on the canal has both a water and land entrance, but the supplies for the shops, restaurants and hotels come by boat. The garbage is picked up every morning in hand carts which are then taken to the edge of the canal where they are dumped into a boat and transported … somewhere. And all those carts have to go up and down the bridge crossings! We saw people being wheeled in carts along the narrow streets to waiting ambulance boats.

The shops that line the tiny streets are filled with all sorts of wonderful things.

And almost any time you look up you see the most amazing balcony gardens.

We toured the famous Piazza San Marco and its church which holds the bones of St. Mark. He died in Alexandria and his bones were brought back to Venice where they were placed in the church. When the church was being restored after a fire the bones were moved to a secret location known only by the Doge. He died without revealing the location. During some reconstruction a hundred years later the bones were found inside a pillar and now rest under the altar.

We also toured the Doge’s Palace. Even ancient Venetians had a democracy and the Doge was elected. The views from the upper stories were wonderful (100 steps above ground) but there were few opportunities for photos. I’m getting used to that though!

Before the day ended our group took a gondola ride. It was quite an experience to be that low on the water with all the boat traffic around. We saw motor boats of all sizes, even on the small narrow canals, and we even saw a couple of brave kayakers!

After our official day ended Pat and I found a nice little park just past St. Mark’s Square. We took the vaporetto back to the hotel for dinner and a quiet evening.

This post finally catches you up on our travels. Did I mention I love Venice?

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