Day 6--Part 2--We LOVE Venice

Perhaps it was the sunshine. Perhaps it was the romance of the area, or perhaps the fact that the city of Venice has fascinated travelers for hundreds of years. For whatever reason, our day in Venice was fantastic. Venice has risen to place itself on my “come back” list.

Venice is a city built on low mud banks in the Adriatic Sea. It consists of 118 or so little islands located in the Venetian Lagoon two miles off the coast of northern Italy. More than 14 million visitors go to Venice each year (1 million plus Ferrell’s 33 this year). The bus took us across a causeway (Bridge of Liberty) where we boarded a waterbus to Venice proper.

Once there, we walked as a group to the Piazzo San Marco which is surrounded by the Basilica of St. Mark and the Doges Palace, which was at one time the home of the rulers of Venice and the state officers. The famous “Bridge of Sighs” connects the Doges Palace with the prison and the story is that it got its name from prisoners sighing as they were crossing it when they were led to be tried. The Basilica of St. Mark was thought to have the body of Mark buried there, but the body was lost or misplaced in a fire in 976. However, it amazingly reappeared when the new church was consecrated in 1094. That is the story…

We toured the local glass factory where the well-known Venetian Glass is created by skilled artisans. After leaving the glass factory we had several hours to sightsee on our own, and were to meet back slightly before 2:00 for a gondola ride.

Margaret, Eleanor and I started out together, but the first interesting thing I saw was the 91-meter-high belltower in the square. Unlike other structures I have climbed on this trip, this one had an elevator, so the decision to go up was an easy one for me. However, Margaret and Eleanor were not quite as enthusiastic, so they went off together, leaving me standing in the line to go to the top of the elevator. The wait was only a few minutes, and the view from the top was spectacular. From the top I could see the Adriatic, the island of Murano and the entire area on Venice.

When I got back down to ground level, I decided that I wanted to make sure I saw the Rialto Bridge, which is a solid stone bridge that spans the Grand Canal in the heart of the city. I had a “sort-of” map, which unfortunately did not have all the names of all the tiny streets listed on it. I headed off in the general direction of the Rialto and was beautifully lost for almost two hours. I saw the most magnificent things! Like my friend Lucy’s mom says, “I see the best things when I am lost!” There is a lot of truth in that statement.

I stopped several people and asked directions but found out that most of the people who spoke English were as lost as I was. I eventually found the bridge, which is beautiful, and definitely worth a look-see. I crossed the bridge and took several photos of the Grand Canal from that view. Amazing though it was, my return to our appointed meeting place went fairly smoothly and I was there is plenty of time,. I wish I had worn my pedometer. I must have walked for miles.

On to the gondola ride, which was expensive, but was worth every penny. Our group was in 4 or 5 separate gondolas, and the gondoliers knew we were a group, so they kept us together through the winding smaller canals, and finally when we reached the Grand Canal they pulled our gondolas side by side where we were entertained by a musician and a singer (love songs about Venice, of course!) while we took photos of the surroundings and of each other.

We had more time to explore on our own, and Margaret and I walked around for a while. When she decided she had rather sit than walk any more, Steve and I took an additional area to explore. I think I scared him a little when I suggested we take a very narrow little street. He asked what was down there, and when I told him I had no idea, but we might not ever get back here, he followed me, and eventually we came out in familiar territory. (More great photos along the way!)

At 6 PM the group met for dinner at one of the Italian restaurants on the island. It was dark by the time we left, and the lights of Venice were on and the water in the canals sparkled as we crossed the bridges to get back to our waterbus. After the waterbus ride and the bus ride to the hotel we were all exhausted. The older people got very quiet while the younger group got the “I’m-so-tired” giggles and laughed heartily all the way back. I guess that kept the rest of us awake so we could stagger to our rooms.

As Paul Harvey says, “now you know the rest of the story”. The length of the day yesterday is why I posted no information. I did not trust myself to speak a sentence that made sense, much less attempt to write one.

Today we are off to Florence, the “jewel of the Renaissance”. Perhaps I can get this posted before we leave.