Al Palazzo Lion Morosini 2 Venice

... Ages through the Renaissance, and connects the works on canvas to the sculptural works that preceded them. We were glad that we visited here last , because it tied together everything that had come before. (The Rick Steeves audio guides helped tremendously!)

Tomorrow, we set out for our road trip through Tuscany and, hopefully, a couple of days at a less hectic pace, visiting the hill towns on our way back to Rome.

Can't believe we only have two days left!

... of you who are not Reddingites, Calatrava designed the world famous Sundial Bridge in Redding, CA. Michele had read about the Venice bridge and found that it was just as plagued by delays and cost over-runs as the Redding project. Michele describes herself as the only resident of Redding who hates the bridge, more for its cost than its beauty.
You will see some pictures on the blog, but two ...

Blog Day 5 (Venice 2), Wednesday, December 9
We rose well-rested and after enjoying the hotel’s breakfast buffet, set off for St. Mark’s Square, where we spent most of our day. With the national holiday crowds dispersed, it finally paid off to be here in the off season! There were no lines for the Basillica or any of the “extra” (“for a small fee”) attractions on the square. It is no longer allowed to feed the pigeons, with the positive result ...

... gave up on the sun ever coming up around seven and took off. The days here are extremely short: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. tops.
Our hotel here is amazing: they were happy to check us in at 7:30 a.m. and could not have been more accommodating. We slept a couple of hours and hit the streets - no, canals - around eleven. Our hotel recommended a restaurant where we had by far the best meal we have had in Italy before starting our sightseeing day’ ...

... pillows and as many makeshift covers (aka jackets and sweatshirts) to another compartment and sprawled out on the seats. When we got to Venice, it was very early in the morning, so we had to find our way to our hostel in the dark. But we made it there, only to find out that it was closed for another two hours (that's what happens during low season). So we wandered around, found a market to get a few ...

... I w*ke his ass up and he stumbled inside. W*rd *f the night: "peizdietz."
That day, I t*ld him that in light *f the fact that I had t* clean up the entire ******n r**m and that if it w**en't f*r me he w*uld likely be dead, he *wed me dinn**. He did n*t disagree t* the arrangement. He high-fived me. He als* did n*t technically agree t* the arrangement. When it came time t* c*llect aft** dinn**, he left me *ut t* dry. M*th********. F*r ab*ut ten minutes I was ...

... all you can expect in Venice, after settling in we armed ourselves with a map and wanted to go to the rialto bridge what should take no more than 10 min took over 45 min and I use to be proud of my sense of directions . Had dinner at the rialto bridge... very average...very over priced... very big rookie mistake it won't happen again

And the Rain, Rain, Rain Came Down, Down, Down in Crashing Rushing Rivulets....... Our fourth day in Venice was definitely the wettest, but we bundled up and headed out anyway. The previous couple of days had seen very high water, a combination of the tides and the amount of rain that had fallen. In one of the piazzas we walked through each day there is a set of stairs to the water and the day before the water was up to the second top step, but today, the water was ...

... walked for hours and got lost, we happened to see a lot of nice architecture and alley/bridges as you can see in the pics. WE did however sit and have early dinner by the Grand Canal and find that they overcharged us!!! Even though we polished off a bottle of white wine, we were keen enough to spot that they double charged us for some of the things ...

... is a church, over." To which Clay replied, "Don't tell them that you're Jewish, over." Followed 45 seconds later by Clay radioing, "Repent! Repent!". At the time, Mike was walking up a set of stairs, and the people near him were a bit nervous by the sinner in their midst. Homeless in Cinque Terra Late night iPod karaoake I'll try to write them up and start posting pictures soon.