We loved Venice. We never tired of the surprises around each corner, but we did tire ourselves out walking all over.
Saturday evening found us back on the Riva, where we had landed the day before. A cruise ship was leaving.
We dined out doors again.
After dinner we strolled and window shopped. Murano glass↓
I bought one of these mili flori pendants.
Carnevale masks
Marzipan and other goodies.
Sunday morning we did some exploring in the other direction from our hotel and found the Church of San Zaccaria, final resting place of the father of John the Baptist, and one of the oldest still functioning churches in Venice.
Campo San Zaccaria. ↓ Apparently church plazas are called Campos.
We had decided to cross the lagoon and attend a Gregorian Mass at the church of San Giorgio Maggiore. We returned to the Riva to board a vaporetto for the five minute ride.
The water was creeping up on to the Riva. Flooding happens frequently, as the land slowly sinks and the water rises.
We explored the beautiful church before the service. We took a seat in the back. Unfortunately there were only five monks doing the chanting, and since we had no idea what was going on, we did not stay for the whole service. But it was a pleasant way to slow down.
A view back toward Venice
Back into the alleys and canals, we walked in new areas, looking for a quiet place where we could sit and have lunch. As we wandered we continued to find so much beauty.
Yes, that tower really does lean.
We found a place on a canal, near a bridge, with less traffic. Perfect!
We were getting tired, and decided to use the tickets that come with the Doges Palace and go to the Correr Museum, located in the palace buildings that surround St. Mark's Square.
This is a museum of Venetian history and art, and we saw lots of both.
And then we were done. We paid for the expensive privilege of sitting at a table in St. Marks Square and enjoying a fancy ice cream dessert.
Then we went back to the hotel, picked up our already packed bags, and boarded a vapporeto that took us to our cruise ship.
That evening we stood on the top deck as we sailed away from Venice.
On October 16th we began our journey. We would fly to Amsterdam, there to connect with our flight to Venice. It was 6:00 PM Seattle time when we departed, and 6:00 PM Venice time the next day when we finally arrived.
In Venice, when you arrive at the airport, you don't catch a train or bus or a taxi to take you to your hotel. You catch a boat. The sun was setting as we approached Venice across the lagoon, with our Alilaguna making stops on the outer islands along the way.
What a scene greeted us as we pulled up to the San Zaccaria stop on the Riva. It was Friday night and the tourists were out for the evening.
We found our little hotel down an alley and along our own little canal, full of gondolas.
We checked in and got directions to a piazza where we would find several restaurants. And that is when we began to discover the magic of this enchanting city. Walk through a narrow alley, cross a bridge over a canal, connect to another alley (Venetian street), and suddenly space opens up and you find yourself in a plaza surrounded by cafes, shops, and always an ancient well head.
After dining al fresco that first evening, we strolled a bit, making sure we kept our bearings. Near our hotel, crossing a canal, we looked up and there was the Bridge of Sighs. We ended up at Piazza San Marco.
Real touring began Saturday morning. We planned to start at the Basilica San Marco ( St Marks) but discovered it was closed until 12:30, so we went to the Doge's Palace instead.
Doges were the governors of this city state, and they lived richly.
Venetian glass, of course.
A Doge.
It was suggested by Rick Steves, who's guide book we were using, that we get lost in Venice, so that's what we did, with the ultimate goal of finding the Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal.
Across the canal, there were several churches we wanted to find. We used a map to navigate from one Piazza or Campo to another.
And finally, late in the afternoon, we were back at Basilica San Marco.
The gold alter screen celebrates the apostles and marks the tomb of St. Mark.
This Byzantine style church is decorated in mosaics, much of it gold.
In the museum, the bronze horses that used to be on the exterior have been retired and replaced with copies.
Scaffolding prevented us from really seeing the replacements as we went out on a balcony to overlook the square.
We were not done yet for the day, or with Venice.
To be continued.
We returned from our European trip late last night. It was just about twenty-four hours from the time we left our hotel in Rome until we walked in our house here in Seattle.
Of course we are tired, since sleep patterns are all messed up, and we are jet lagged. But we figure the best way to deal with this is to keep going. We are all unpacked, most of the laundry is done, groceries have been restocked, bills paid, mail and email dealt with, and our kitty hugged and petted and stroked.
We spent several hours traveling to and watching our granddaughter Irene's soccer game this afternoon, and even did over an hour of yard clean up this afternoon.
We missed most of the autumn color this year, but there is still a bit left to appreciate, and then there will be several weeks of clean up before Thanksgiving, and then we'll be giving thanks that it is done.
Here are a few photos I took in the yard this afternoon.
Speaking of photos, I downloaded 2782 of them onto our desk top computer this morning. Now I will need to cull and edit and organize the photos into location files. I hope to start posting my trip report soon. I promise not to post them all!
We had a great trip, learned much, and saw some wonderful and historical places. Now, it's very good to be back home.
