2004 Europe

Grand Canal, Venice



May 30 – Today we are in Venice. First it was a short bus ride from Florence to Venice. Michel had to drop us off at the entrance to the city. We took a short walk to the Grand Canal (above) where a private launch picked us up to take us to St. Mark’s Plaza. Our big luggage will be taken to the hotel on a barge but our hand luggage will stay on the bus and we won’t have access to it until tomorrow night. This means my computer will be unavailable and I’m going to fall further and further behind on my log.



While we were waiting for the launch, we watched a succession of oar-powered boats of all types pass on the canal. There was a race around Venice today and boats from kayaks to large canoes participated. What we saw were the boats heading back to their piers.



Venice is almost beyond words. It’s beautiful, interesting, unique and a little mysterious. St. Mark’s square is full of pigeons (rats with wings). We walked from there to a cafeteria-style restaurant for lunch. It was nice because you could get what you wanted and didn’t have to take 2 hours to eat it. The food was very good; as good as you would get in a plaza side café but at about half the cost and 30% of the time. I guess if you’re a local and have a 4-hour siesta break in the middle of the day, two hours to eat lunch is no big thing. But if you’re a traveler, with things to see and do, that’s just too long.



After lunch we walked back to St Mark’s Plaza to meet our local guide. He filled us in on the Plaza and then we toured St Marks (below). It’s a Gothic style building, very ornate. Inside everything is gilded, paintings, mosaics, wooden carvings are all gold in some part. No video or pictures so we had to buy a guidebook. It was first built in 832 but that structure was destroyed when the people set fire to the Doge’s Palace during an uprising. It was dedicated to St. Mark because two Venetian sailors stole the remains of St. Mark from a monastery in Alexandria, Egypt and brought them to Venice to be placed in this church. This structure is largely from 1063 to 1071, so it’s almost a 1,000 years old.



After spending some time in the church we toured the Doge’s Palace (below). The Doge was the head of the government of the Republic of Venice. Remember Italy did not become a country until after 1840. The palace is decorated with oil paintings and sculptures but again no pics allowed. It dates from 820 almost a thousand years before Italy was united. The Doge lived there and his offices and the offices of the government were all in the same building. In fact, the Bridge of Sighs (below) connects the Doge’s Palace with the prison holding area in the next building. It’s gets its name from the fact that prisoners on their way to and from judgment crossed it and could catch a glimpse of Venice through its windows. The jail cells had no outside windows at all. After touring the palace we crossed the Bridge of Sighs and toured the prison. Not a very hospitable place for sure.



At the end of the tour we were dropped off at a Murano glass factory to get a glass blowing demonstration and see the shops. The glass is very pretty but much too ornate for my taste. After that we were turned loose for 2 hours and regrouped for a gondola ride around the city. We formed up in groups of 4 to 6 and got in a flotilla of 5 gondolas for a ride down the Grand Canal (below) and the through several smaller canals. A singer and accordion player were in one of the gondolas and they serenaded us with opera and popular Italian music during the ride. It was a lot of fun.



After that we took a ride on the waterbus to our hotel on the Island of St Elena. In fact our hotel was the St. Elena Hotel. That evening they had a gigantic fireworks display over St. Mark’s square. We walked a few blocks to a small outdoor restaurant for dinner. Surprise, no pasta. Veggies, a veal cutlet and a salad. All very good.



Since I had to carry everything we needed for the day in my pack I was tired and very glad to see our luggage at the hotel. We have an early start for Stressa in the Italian Lake District tomorrow so I have to get my beauty sleep.

(c) 2004 Rod Longenberger