Eight is enough...

I promise that this is the LAST post on Venice (that is, unless we go back...doubtful, but who knows!). So a few last thoughts, pictures, and stories. We had a really good time...

A vaporetto...

The Rialto Bridge...

The Frari Church...one of my favorite stops...we saw a wood carving by Donatello, painting by Bellini, and large oil by Titian...it was really neat to see these great works of art in the places that they were created to be...I really enjoyed it...

Dueling gondole...

A random find while we were walking through the streets of Venice...we peeked into this church...it is up there on my favorites list...I wasn't supposed to take a picture but I couldn't help myself. The picture doesn't do it justice...notice the light blue inlaid marble damask pattern...it was absolutely everywhere, including on the columns...it was NOT wallpaper, but inlaid blue marble...absolutely exquisite!

So that was only Friday and Saturday! Sunday we woke up and left Venice kind of early...we had one more planned adventure...we would drive down the coast, visit the city of Ravenna (it apparently has a pretty cool basilica), make our way to San Marino (one of the 5 micro countries in Europe) and then get moving home. Well, all I have to say is that we have been terribly spoiled these last 2 months...tourist season is upon us! We didn't make it to any of our destinations on Sunday...the traffic for the beach was absolutely crazy...so we had to abandon our Sunday adventures :(

Aside from that...our trip was GREAT!!! Now on to other subjects...
Ciao a tutti!

Burano...

Just as Murano is famous for it's glass, Burano is famous for it's lace and colorful houses. Just a hop, skip and vaporetto ride from Venice, it is a colorful sleepy town bombarded with tourists looking to purchase their wares. Here is a pic of some of the colorful houses...

And goofy me with the umbrella I purchased for Gwen...Hey, a girl's gotta have some shade!

More of the town and yes, that is goofy me again...

More colorful houses...

So that is most of my shopping extraveganza on our weekend getaway!

Ciao a tutti!

Murano...

So, I am a little disappointed in myself...I didn't get too many pictures from the island of Murano...I was too busy SHOPPING!!! I would love to say that I brought home one of those fabulous Murano glass chandeliers...but I think I would have had to sell one of my children to afford one! So I managed to procure a vase and of course some glass beaded jewelry...it was a ton of fun, a ton of walking, a ton of sweating...it was pretty HOT there...the sun is pretty intense...but for those of you who are concerned for my red-headed whiter than white skin...I have yet to get a sun burn!

The streets were lined with little shops that sold everything you could possibly imagine in glass...christmas ornaments, jewelry, vases, lighting, small animals, cups, tea sets, key chains, roses, etc...

I will be honest...I love to shop and I haven't had too much time to do that with the 3 kids...so I REALLY enjoyed my time there!

Ciao a tutti!

Doge's Palace...

A quick history lesson...Venice was one of the most important, powerful, and wealthiest cities in Europe as a result of the East-West trade routes from the Far East to Europe. With the discovery of America and the new source of cheap goods, Venice's power ebbed but lived lavishly on it's aquired wealth during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Doge's Palace is where the Doge of Venice resided (think Duke of Venice)...It was built to show off the power and wealth of the Republic. The outside facade...

Directly inside is this great courtyard...this was the most powerful half-acre of Europe for 400 years!

Once inside, it is pretty amazing...though pretty sparse! The moulding, ceilings, doorways, stairways, and even wallpaper is terribly extravigant and beautiful. The Palace contained living quarters for the Doge and his family, rooms for the local senate to meet (the senate had 120 members), the judical branch of the government, and a prison. There were several paintings by Tintoretto, one of which is the largest oil painting in the world (this is located on the wall over the Doge's throne, of course!). We got to tour the armory, prison, and the Hall of the Grand Council...where the entire nobility met to elect senators and the Doge. Overall, it was pretty amazing...again, no pictures :(

Thankfully, we just happened to walk by when there was NO line...so we decided to go in! Go us!

Speaking of being lucky...just prior to our tour of Doge's Palace we went to St. Mark's Basilica (again, no pics)...we arrived pretty early and there was already a HUGE line! IN THE SUN!!! We were not super excited about this prospect...I remembered my handy Rick Steves book in my bag...SHORT CUT!!!! Apparently, they don't want people to wear backpacks into the Basilica...so there is a handy FREE bag check just around the corner (REALLY) and they give you the claim ticket and you BYPASS the terribly LONG line!!!! I really felt bad for the folks that waited in line with their backpacks just to be denied entrance! Thank you Rick Steves!

It kind of makes you feel like you know what you are doing! Since then, you can bet that I bring that dopey book with me everywhere!
Ciao a tutti!

The 'streets' of Venice...

As I once said to my middle child (and now regret because it has become a family saying)...I am the slowest slow thing on the slow planet! Now back to our regularly scheduled program...

The 'streets' of Venice...well think of street in a very loose way...they are basically sidewalks that can be quite large maybe 6 meters to barely enough space to walk one person. Periodically, one comes across a bridge to cross one of the MANY canals...these bridges consist of stairs going up, a slight flat spot on top and stairs going down. Just think about hand trucking 'stuff' around this joint!

And of course the many canals...

And more bridges...

And every once in a while you will stumble across a lovely piazza (square). Notice the 'thingy' in the middle...it is a capped well...apparently water was the limiting factor for how large the city of Venice could become considering they are on a salt water lagoon and fresh water had to be hauled into the city...They constructed series of rainwater collection systems that would drain though limestone grates in the piazzas into underground cisterns and could be used via said wells. Now water is pumped in from the nearby mountains and the wells are capped...great and all until high water comes around and just flows into Venices 'streets' through said grates...But one living in Venice apparently just learns to deal with Acqua Alta (high water) since it floods about 100 times a year! No wonder most of the buildings along the Grand Canal are abandoned on the first floor!

Have I said I enjoyed my weekend away? I DID!!!
Ciao a tutti!

Market...

Just outside our hotel (and we are talking 20 steps away) is this lovely fish and produce market...

Super fresh veggies...

Fish and seafood...

It was kind of fun to eat breakfast, walk out and buy some fresh fruit to go with it...

And fresh flowers...

Just to remind you, everything comes into Venice via boat, loaded on hand trucks, and walked to the destination...

I just really loved the colors and freshness of this market...just steps from the hotel!
Ciao a tutti!

Under the stars...

I have been a bad blogger this week! Sorry! I hope to pick up the pace again! So much to do and say...so little time without kids needing attention!

Venice at night is quite the magical place! We dropped off our bags, grabbed a bite to eat, and then traveled via vaporetto to St. Mark's Square (Piazza di San Marco). Here are some pics of Canale Grande...

The La Salute Church...

Piazza di San Marco at night is probably one of the most romantic spots I have ever been to! The surrounding building are lighted, giving a soft glow to everything...

The cafes that line the piazza are open and have 'dueling' orchestras...each play in succession and people are dancing, standing arm in arm, and overall...just in love! It was a great night, with my beloved...

And a not so great nightime pic of Basilica di San Marco...

I acknowledge that I am terribly spoiled and I am loving every minute of it!

Ciao a tutti!

Ah, Venice...

Ah, Venice...what a magical place! You walk off the train and you KNOW you are not in Kansas anymore. The first thing that struck me was that this was not like anywhere I had been before. Venice is one of the few truly unique cities in the world. And here I was strolling along the Grand Canal (well, at least in front of the train station)!

For those of you who don't know (and I didn't know most of this), Venice is an island that has no cars whatsoever! It has a multitude of streets (which you and I would most likely call sidewalks), canals and as a result, bridges. Everything is shipped in via boat and hand trucked to it's final destination...hint: pack light! The Grand Canal is the main thoroughfare that travels from the bus and train stations through the island and ends at St. Marks Square. It is a bustling main street with boats of all shapes and sizes. There are the water buses (vaportto), gondole, traghetto, garbage boats, police boats, ambulance boats, UPS boats, freight boats, refrigerated boats, and the inevitable joy riding boats...I have to admit it was rather strange to see people getting off boats dressed like they were walking down a runway (aren't boats for fishing?). All traveling down the same canal with their own individual routes and yet they all seem to get along. While riding along on the vaporetto through Venice and the lagoon, both Tobin and I decided it is Neil heaven...we could totally see him zooming around the lagoon and back canals on his boat of choice showing the locals how it is really done! The Grand Canal...

While most of the length of the Grand Canal has no walkways on the canal side, there are some restaurants that front the canal...

Here is the classic gondola...while we didn't make it on one, they were certainly fun to watch...

That first evening we rode the vaporetto to our hotel (which by the way was the absolute BEST! It was located just upstream of the Rialto Bridge in the middle of Venice only 50 yard from the vaporetto stop and was relatively cheap plus it had air conditioning and breakfast...it was an awesome building built in 1287...we were LOVING it) and then cruised the Canal...

That was the beginning of this whirlwind weekend...lots of sightseeing...lots of tourists...lots of heat...lots of adventure...lots of memories!

Ciao a tutti!