Day
6, August 24, 2015 …
We lingered a little too long having breakfast and saying good bye to dear
friends, though it will be good to visit with Jeanette and Philippe again after
our cruise and after everything has settled down for them too! After missing a couple turns to the airport
in Toulouse and then rushing through baggage check-in and security at the
Toulouse airport, we made it just in time to board the plane to Venezia
(Venice, for us Americans!). At the Venice
airport we were met by our transfer guide who took us to our hotel first via
van, then via boat taxi, then a short walk through the narrow streets of the
City. We are staying at the Kette Hotel,
which is very lovely and is very centrally located. Our room is small but charming … though I have
to once again register my complaint that, as is often the case overseas, they
discriminate against us women who need to “do” our hair by not having the
necessary plug-ins in the bathroom!!! But this is a different country,
different language and different customs and traditions and another great adventure!
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| St. Mark's Square |
This evening
we treated ourselves to a serenaded gondola ride. There were about half a
dozen gondolas, each
with 4 to 6 people plus the gondolier.
We were fortunate enough to have the accordion player and vocalist on
our gondola; so for half an hour, we were serenaded through the canals of
Venezia to the sound of Italian love songs.
This was really, really delightful!!! Because it was such a beautiful
evening, we again strolled down the city’s alleys, across the bridge to Plaza San Marco’s, which was not as crowded as this afternoon but had three
different music groups playing very enjoyable music (what’s not to like with
pianos, accordions, flutes or clarinets and a little base?!). It’s been exciting to be back here again. Alas, we are finally able to get to bed at a
decent time … until tomorrow …
Day 7, August 25, 2015 …
The Old City of Venice
We had a walking tour of Venice this morning.
The city is located in the marshy Venetian
Lagoon which stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the
Po and the Piave Rivers. Venice is renowned for the
beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artwork. The entire city and the lagoon is
listed as a World Heritage Site. It consists of 148 islands surrounded by many
canals, has 409 bridges crossing those canals and has about 60,000 people
living in the original city area. Only licensed commercial boats are allowed to
travel on the main canal. Even back in the 4th or 5th
century, building in this marshy area consisted of first placing 30 foot wood
pilings into the water with buildings constructed on top of the pilings. Most of these pilings are still intact after centuries
of submersion. Submerged by water in oxygen-poor conditions, wood does not decay as rapidly as on the surface. It
was fascinating to listen to the history of the City, see the supposed home of
Marco Polo, walk the narrow alleyways and hear about the mindset of the
Venetians both in the past and in the present.
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| The Clock Tower St. Mark's Plaza |
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| Typical City walkway! |
The Doge’s Palace
The next portion of the tour
was going through The Doge’s (pronounced Doe-jae) Palace. It is
a palace built in Venetian Gothic style and is one of the main landmarks of the
city. It was the residence of the Doge of Venice,
the supreme authority of the
former Republic of Venice from the 6th to the 18th
century. The palace has been a museum since 1923. The Venetians are proud of
the system of justice in this time period, as statesmen were rotated anywhere
from every week to every three months to prevent graft, persons who had an
interest in the case were not allowed to sit in judgment and those imprisoned
were expected to be released at some point, never intending there to be life
sentences.
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| The Golden Stairway The Doge's Palace |
Inside the palace are hundreds of both large
wall-sized and small paintings plus ornate framing covering both the walls and
ceilings. The golden stairway that the
Doge climbed everyday is laden with gold leaf artwork … amazing! The gathering
room, built in the 14th century is one of the largest ever
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| The typical ceiling decor The Doge's Palace |
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| Artwork, The Doge's Palace |
constructed in that time period without pillars and housed over 2,000 people at the weekly gatherings of official business. The palace also contained the prison, and there were many interesting stories about how and why people were interrogated, the dread of walking across the Bridge of Sighs, the life as prisoners and even escapees, such as the escape of the famous Giovanni Giacomo “Casanova”!
San Marco’s Cathedral and
Basilica
Saint Mark's Basilica is the cathedral
church of the Archdiocese of Venice and is one of the most famous of the city’s
many churches. The original section, built in the 800s, was inside the complex
of the Doge’s Palace to house the relics of St. Mark the Evangelist His body is in the altar today. After a fire, the church was rebuilt in the
11th century and was considered the Doge’s private chapel until 1807
when it was declared a cathedral. It is considered one of the best examples of
Byzantine architecture and is known for its extravagant designs and gilded
interior mosaics.
Outside you see various
mosaic scenes and many, many statues and ornate carvings. As you walk inside,
your eyes are drawn to the many gilded mosaics depicting Biblical events around
the wide arches, along many of the walls and in the ceiling … simply
awe-inspiring to see the sparkling gold artwork! The building is laid out in the form of a
Greek cross, the marble floors are arranged in a geometric style with animals
scattered about reminding the people of some little moral virtue, Between the
altar and the sanctuary is a very large iconostasis with Jesus, Mary, the twelve
apostles and Saint Mark. Behind the alter is the famous Pala d’Oro, Golden
Pall, a large Altar panel made up of about 60 smaller gold panels displaying
forms of Jesus, his crucifixion, the apostles, Mary and the evangelists. The entire panel of gold is embedded with
gems … simply amazing!
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| St. Mark's Basilica (restoration being done on the right side!) |
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| The mosaic above the main entrance St. Mark's Basilica |
Glass Blowing at Morano Island
Venice is also famous for
its glass ware. We took a 20-minute boat
ride to the island of Morano to watch the art of glass blowing. This skill is
only passed down from father to son, and this particular factory operates 24/7
except during the holiday month of August.
It was interesting watching the short demonstration, but more amazing
was some of the beautiful glass works
depicting animals or vases, bowls, stemmed glassware, ornate chandeliers, etc.
etc. etc. … most priced considerably more than I can afford … but it was fun to
browse! After coming back, we walked
along the canal, browsing through some of the many vendors along the street and
stopping to quench our thirst from the hot sun with a “birra”.
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| View of Old Venice from the Venetian Lagoon |
We found a cute little
place for dinner and enjoyed some very good Italian sea bass with a dill sauce
(me) and veal, also with a delicious sauce (Bob). It’s been a long day of
walking, but it has been great fun exploring the city, walking along the
stone-paved narrow alleys, dodging the crowds and watching the gondolas on
which others were being serenaded this evening!
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