Canals & Gondolas

This morning we took a water taxi to Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's square) and had a brief tour from a local guide. Mostly we walked around the city before the it became too crowded. I've got to say that I think Venice is the most beautiful city we have visited. The buildings are ornate and unique, and it's a marvel at how the city was actually built on swamp land. The city is made up of about 118 small islands, all connected with bridges and and surrounded by canals.

We took a gondola ride with some friends from the tour. Our gondolier, Lorenzo, was both handsome and skilled. There are many, many motor boats of all sizes in the canals, so being in a gondola is a bit like being in a mini-cooper on an interstate highway. We had a few harrowing moments reminiscent of the bus ride on the Amalfi Coast. Let's just say it's hard to imagine a gondola ride being romantic amidst all the drama.

After the gondola, we strolled the streets of Venice. It's traditional to let yourself "get lost" in Venice, which means not to worry about where you are but just to enjoy the experience. It turns out there are two major landmarks -- Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge, and all roads seem to lead to one or the other, so it's pretty hard to get lost. Piazza San Marco is very, very crowded, and the line to visit the inside of the cathedral can stretch for blocks.

We were lucky to encounter a lull and only had to stand in line for a few minutes. The inside of the catherdral is awesome -- but no photos are allowed. The floors in cathedrals tend to be impressive, and the floor in San Marco reminded Tricia of quilting patterns -- particularly "flying geese" and Baltimore album style applique. She may try to recreate part of those patterns to commemorate her trip.

So far on our trip, the people we've encountered have been friendly and helpful, but not so much in Venice. This is an expensive city, and it's difficult to find a cafe or gelato stand that offers seating. We were, however, lucky to find a small cafe where we had an afternoon pick-me-up of a funghi (mushroom) and ham roll-up and cappuccino.

Perhaps the highlight of our day was the shuttle ride back to our hotel. This was no ordinary shuttle, but a beautiful boat sent by the hotel to San Marco Square to pick up hotel guests. Catherine and I were the only passengers, and we had an exhilerating ride that bypassed the canals in favor of the more open lagoon. We got to see many islands, some of which are uninhabited, and it gave us a great view of the expansiveness of Venice. We have been so lucky with the weather throughout our trip. The humidity is quite high in Venice -- about 70% -- but with temperatures in the 70s, it's very comfortable on both land and sea.

Tonight the tour officially ends, and we had our farewell dinner. It was sad, really, to say goodbye to Bill and Noreen, our airplane friends who will head back to San Diego tomorrow morning, but we hope to be in touch to share our photos. Our tour guide, Sara, had tears in her eyes as well. She says she gets attached to her "bambinos," and she sent us away with a running journal of notes she kept on the trip.

Catherine and I have two more days in Venice, so I will probably make one more blog entry before we leave. Tomorrow we will visit the Doge's Palace and then Murano Island on Friday. Ciao and buona notte until then.