Venice Days 1 & 2

Landed in Venice about 1pm on the mainland on Monday and took a taxi from there across the causeway to Piazzale Roma, the only place where cars have access to the island. From there it was a short walk to the landing stage for the Vaporeto (ferries), another 15 min to the stop closest to our hotel, and a 10min walk from there. We were in the hotel just over an hour after landing. We dumped the bags and hit the streets as the weather was perfect and Wed-Fri. looks bad. Grabbed a bite to eat (luckily avoiding the McD's that we were amazed to find right at the boat landing). The attached pic is looking up the Grand Canal from the top of the Rialto Bridge.

Made our way from there across to Piazza San Marco. Spent an hour in San Marco Basilica. Over 400,000 square feet of mosaic covering everything top to bottom. Floor mosaics that would make incredible quilt patterns and gold tiling the ceilings/domes. With late afternoon sun shining through the windows onto the gold, the otherwise dark Byzantine nave was spectacular.

Walked around the Doge's Palace so Lacey could see the Bridge of Sighs (disappointingly covered in scaffolding that was in turn covered in fashion advertising). Then up to the top of the bell tower to finish things off at sunset.

The comment of the day - if not the decade - was from Lacey. We were walking by a clock tower just as it gonged 2 o'clock. She asked "what was that for". I said it was chiming 2 o'clock. She gave me a very confused look then hit me with "but I thought Venice was timeless!"

Tuesday I had to meet with a shipowner for the morning, so Kim and the girls visited the Rialto Market and saw all manner of fish and produce fresh off the boats. We all spent the afternoon across the lagoon on Murano, famous for its glass works. Watched a team of 4 workers in a coordinated blur of shaping glass for a chandelier. Then proceeded to buy enough glass that my knuckles we scrapping pavement by the time we lugged it back to the hotel. Happy to report that the glass museum that Roger Moore and foe destroyed in "Moonraker" is still in one piece.

Finished off the day with too much food again. Shock of the day was Lacey deciding she likes calamari and scampi.

TWG
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Via Blackberry

Originally sent October 20, 2009