VENEZIA

Thursday, 22 May

Train from Florence to Venice. Pretty countryside, and lots of tunnels. Several stops included Padua and Bologna. Arrived in Venice around 12:30 p.m. Pretty watery here.

Our hotel is only a short walk away from the train station, and there are lots of shops and restaurants around us. We walked around the narrow streets and by the Grand Canal and other canals. Had a great pizza for a late lunch and yummy tiramisu! 

There are eight food groups in Italy: bread, olive oil, aceto balsamico (balsamic vinegar) pizza, pasta, gelato, tiramisu and wine. We are eating very balanced meals!

Our hotel is a little vintage; well, everything in Venice is a little or a lot vintage. Murano glass is everywhere here - we have a chandelier over the bed. The hotel is not as ritzy as the one in Rome, kind of a faded elegance like Venice herself. There is a wonderful coffee/cappucino/latte, etc. machine in the breakfast room, and we are indulging. Guess that is the 9th food group.

 At this hotel you return your key to the front desk when you leave. It is attached to a heavy brass tassel, so you are not likely to forget and leave it in your pocket. I learned to say our room number in Italian: 247 is due cento quaranta sette.

Today we did the San Marco Square and Basilica tour with a guide - a charming Italian who spoke English. Sort of. We understood about 1/4 of what he said. We visited the Doge’s Palace also. The Doge was the ruler of Venice, elected for life by the aristocracy.  The palace is filled with an amazing number of Tintorettos, Titians, etc. The floors are intricate mosaics and terrazzo. No photos inside the palace, but we could take them in the courtyard.

The patron saint of Venice is St. Mark, and his emblem, the winged lion, is seen everywhere. St. Mark’s remains were stolen from Alexandria, Egypt in 828 and brought to Venice. Saint Mark’s Basilica was built in the 11th century as a chapel for the doge, and became a cathedral in 1807. The interior is filled with mosaics made of glass tiles that compose art that looks like painted frescoes. The walls and floors contain over 60 varieties of marble. No photos here, either. Although most people ignored this rule, we didn’t. We only took photos outside.

SAINT MARK SYMBOL

SAINT MARK BELL

SAINT MARK

SAINT MARK

DOGE PALACE EXTERIOR HALL CEILING

DOGE PALACE CLOCK

DOGE PALACE COURTYARD

DOGE PALACE ENTRY: MERCURY & NEPTUNE

SAINT MARK EXTERIOR MOSAIC

Our tour ended at a Murano Glass Museum, where we viewed a glass-blowing demonstration. The artist was amazingly fast, and in a couple of minutes created a vase and a horse. Of course we were encouraged to buy later - vases, statues, wine sets, chandeliers, etc. for upwards of two to three thousand euros. We passed.

Walked around San Marco area for a while and meandered back to the hotel. Lots of photo ops here in Venice, which is composed of 118 islands connected by bridges.

SEAGULL DIVING FOR THE OUTDOOR FISH MARKET

VENICE VERSION OF A BENSON BUBBLER

Friday, 23 May and Saturday, 24 May

Santa Lucia is buried here! At a church near the hotel - San Geremia. Here body is under the altar. The train station here is named Santa Lucia. Funny I haven't seen any Saint Lucy memorabilia in the shops.

ALTAR ABOVE ST LUCY CRYPT

DINING IN FRONT OF ST LUCY CHURCH

More walking around; no tours, but did walk through the Jewish Ghetto where the Jews were once forced to live, and many still do. It was very quiet because it was the Sabbath for them. Kosher restaurants, shops selling Jewish wares, etc. were closed.

Made sure we had our reservations for train,  hotel, etc. for our last few days here in a week or so when we return to Venice to fly home.

Tomorrow it is on to Verona. Not sure how the wifi is there.

Venice makes you crazy, I think. Last night in a thunderstorm we sat out by the Grand Canal, at a metal table with metal chairs and metal umbrella. Somehow, we are still here to blog about it.

OUR HOTEL

TIRAMISU