Woke up refreshed and ready for another beautiful day in
Venice. We wander downstairs and decide
to eat breakfast outside in the garden.
What a great way to start the day! Bill's "hair" again has people doing a double take! So funny!!
After breakfast it is off to the vaporetto stop to head over
to St. Marks Square as we have tickets for 10:45 am for the Secret Itineraries
Tour at Doges Palace. What luck!! We are almost the first ones on the vaporetto
and get two seats right in the front…the perfect picture taking spot!!!
I thought we would be disappointed in the Grand Canal in the
light of day…but how wrong I was. It is
breathtaking! Again…it is so easy to
imagine yourself hundreds of years ago, traveling this same canal. Time moves very slowly here.
We got off at the Piazza San Marco and are again
overwhelmed. You’ve seen it in pictures
and maybe even thought you were there in Las Vegas if you ever went to the
Venetian, but this is the real thing…people milling about, pigeons strolling
the square as if they owned it, a band playing for the people sharing a
cappuccino. We are in awe! And then, as if by magic, the bells in the
campanile sound the hour and we are entranced…and thankful that we decided not
to climb the tower!
The Doges Palace tour was excellent. It took us behind the scenes of what occurred
when the Doge was in charge back in the 1500’s.
We even saw the cell where Casanova was held and escaped from and we crossed the Bridge of Sighs! That's the view below from the Bridge of Sighs. It is said that when prisoners were moved from the courtroom to the prison they crossed this bridge over the canal and sighed at their last view of beautiful Venice.
We decided that it was a beautiful day for walking and began
to head back to our hotel. As we wandered
the narrow streets and alleyways, we discovered we were hungry and found a nice
little pizzeria. Oh…the joys of pizza,
wine, beer and people watching in Venice….Life is good! And then add in a little shopping and Life
is grand!! Bought some nice jewelry, a
beautiful Venetian mask and some Xmas gifts!!
As we crossed over one of many bridges, a gondolier stopped us
and asked if we want a ride. We looked at
each other and said, “Are you ready for this?
Yes!” and off we went. OK…it’s a cliché, some people say why spend
the money…it’s too expensive. But for us…was
it worth it?…most definitely! Our
gondolier was wonderful…he took us through some of the smaller canals, out to
the Grand Canal for about 5 minutes and then back through the smaller canals
again..a total of 40 minutes for 80 euros. We truly enjoyed the smaller
canals…the beauty of the neighborhoods, the quietness, the sense of peace that
settles over you as you glide through the water. This was truly an experience to remember!
We ended the night with another wonderful meal at a great little place and then a small gelato as we walked around magical Venice.
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