Venice
Trip Start
Jan 03, 2008
1
39
47
Trip End
Apr 27, 2008
Venice,
Italy
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Our first day in Venice was cold and sometimes rainy. But, we had a shuttle boat available to us from the ship to an area that was fairly close to St. Mark's Square. We got in a nice long stroll through the city, wandering around St. Mark's and then wandering in and out of shops on our way to the Rialto Bridge. At the bridge, we walked along the Grand Canal for a bit and then headed back into the maze of streets (narrow walkways, really) and canals to try to find Teatro Fenice-the Fenice Opera House that had been destroyed in a fire and rebuilt. We had all read City of Falling Angels (John Berendt's book, which told the story of the fire-and something of Venice itself-and the commitment to rebuild the Opera House) and wanted to see the site. The new Opera House is impressive-though impossible to see from a distance if you approach it, as we did, through alleyways and tiny piazzas!
We braved a gondola ride in the evening in a light rain. Winding our way silently through very narrow canals and under low bridges, we were happiest when we passed under a window or near a piazza where music was playing. We really wanted Puccini or Vivaldi, but any score sounds beautiful over the water.
In the Grand Canal, where we ended our ride, the water was choppy and the narrow boats tilt precariously with the slightest movement, so getting out of the gondola was a bit of a challenge. There were only a couple of mishaps with some of the less agile guests getting a dunking as they tried to negotiate the edge of the boat and get onto the dock. Luckily, we were only wet from the rain!
April 7, Monday
Today Venice was perfect! It is spring and there is a strong breeze off the sea, but today was sunny and clear, and much warmer than yesterday-another perfect day for a walk through the city. We visited the Basilica of St. Mark-it's a beautiful church, of course, with exquisite mosaics, marble inlay, and gilded domes. The last time we were here, in June, 2002, it was summer and much darker inside. (It rained, then, too, as I recall.) Today, the Basilica was filled with sunshine and the gold sparkled in the light.
The sail way was another spectacular event as we sailed out from a city bathed in the afternoon sun. The sight was impressive. I was sorry we had only two days here.
