Venice, Italy

After a successful and pleasant train ride from Rome on an express train, we arrived in Venice.  What was supposed to be a 15 walk from the train station to the apartment we rented in the Cannaregio neighborhood took longer because of all the suitcases and stairs on the many bridges.  Our apartment was large with 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, and had a lovely canal view, but it was on the 4th floor and was 92 steps up, with no elevator.  By the end of our time in Venice, everyone was tired of the steps, but on the plus side, we gave our calves a workout with the climbing :-)  It would have been nice to have Nate there to carry the big suitcase(s).  Nate flew in that day and met us in the evening.  

Venice was gorgeous!  To me, all the streets were charming and the canals picturesque.  I really enjoyed just walking and looking around.  Although there were many tourists, it never felt overwhelming and it was always possible to duck into a small alley and feel we had the place to ourselves.  We spent the afternoon wandering from Rialto Bridge to Frari Church on a Rick Steves walk.  Rialto Bridge is one of the few bridges that span the Grand Canal.  The bridge with its market stalls and walking sections was impressive and the current bridge was built in the 1500s (original one was from the 1100s).  I loved the view of the Grand Canal and seeing the mansions along it from the time of the Venetian Empire.  

In the next picture, notice how high the water level is by the walkway.  When Nate and I walked by this spot later that night during higher tide, the walkway was underwater.  

There were canals after every block, lots of picturesque bridges to cross, no safety rails except for on bridges, and it was all very fairytale-esque.

Nate flew in that evening and he took a ferry from the airport to a spot a few minutes from our apartment.  That evening the kids stayed in with my parents, and Nate and I repeated the multi-hour walk we had done earlier in the day because I had enjoyed it so much and didn't want Nate to have missed out, but we walked faster.  By around 10pm the rain was pouring down heavily.  The map and directions back to our apartment were on my phone, which I didn't want to take out because of the downpour, so we got lost a couple times.  Honestly it was pretty fun to wander around in the torrential downpour.  Many of the streets we walked through were flooded in 2-3 inches of water as the rain coincided with high tide.  

The next morning we had reservations at Doge's Palace.  The Doge was the ruler of the Republic of Venice and I had no idea how powerful the empire was or the power the Doge had.  When we were on our cruise at the various ports, we repeatedly learned what bullies the Venetians were and how important they were to the region for hundreds of years.  

The inside of Doge's Palace was gaudy and ornate, with wealth displayed everywhere to impress on citizens and visitors alike just how powerful the Venetian Empire was.  

One thing that stuck with us as we toured the palace was the absolute power of the Doge and his counselors.  In their secret justice room, political opponents could be sentenced to prison and torture with no trial by the Council of Ten (Venice's secretive state security officers).  There were carvings in the walls with the Roman numeral X for the Council of Ten in the Hall of the Council of Ten.  There were little cubbies throughout the palace where people could report the wrongdoings of others and those people might be sentenced with no chance to defend themselves and a low burden of proof.  The torture chamber connected directly to the room where leaders met, and connected to the prison.  The prison was extended multiple times because of the many political prisoners stuck there.  It was pretty gross to see. 

Lydia walking by a prison cell:

To get to the newer section of the prison, the prisoners walked across the Bridge of Sighs, called that because the prisoners got one last look outside at the beautiful city and canals through the stone holes, never to see it again, and would 'sigh'.  

Below, the kids are facing the Bridge of Sighs that connects the Doge's Palace to one section of the prison.

Next up was St. Mark's Basilica next to Doge's Palace.  It was built in the 1000s with heavy Byzantine influences.  

We were in awe of the architecture, gold mosaics, and artwork.  

The winged lion is the symbol of St. Mark, the patron saint of Venice.  We saw winged lions everywhere like this one high up on a pedestal at the entrance to St. Mark's Square where the Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica are located.

 

 

St. Mark's Square served as the welcoming mat for visiting dignitaries and was designed to impress.  They were setting up a concert in St. Mark's Square for an Italian pop singer who would be performing there that night - you can see a little of the stage lighting scaffolding in this picture.  It was an interesting place for a concert, by the Campanile Bell Tower.

 That day, we also toured Museo Correr (an art and history museum), went on another Rick Steves walk, and saw more old, impressive churches.  

When we walked back to our apartment, this water fountain that would not turn off became a landmark for us, letting us know we were almost home.  There were small fountains like this throughout the city providing water.  It was refreshing to splash some water on our neck, hair, and face in an effort to cool off.

Another staple for us was lots and lots of gelato.  The kids were rewarded with gelato for being good walkers and to stave off the heat.  

I found a grocery store on Google that was a couple minutes walk from our apartment.  The first time we went, I was glad I had my phone directing me because I was looking for a big 'Prix' sign and glass doors announcing a grocery store. I missed it at first and with the GPS eventually figured out that we had to walk through this 4 foot wide alley to get to the grocery store.  The end of this dead end alley has the entrance to the store.  Inside, it was a completely normal European sized grocery store, but it was a place you wouldn't know about, unless you know about it...  

More picturesque streets and canals we were continuously walking by:

Rialto Bridge again:

Many of the streets we walked on were very narrow, and some were like tunnels underneath buildings.  

Lydia and Derek loved feeding the pigeons.  Here Lydia is outside the Jewish Ghetto, where Jews were confined to a small island surrounded by canals.  

Lydia's goal was to get the pigeons to trust her so much that they walked between her feet. 

She succeeded.

We took a day trip ferry ride around the Venetian lagoon to the nearby islands of Murano and Burano.  Murano is famous for glass making, and Burano was lace making and there were plenty of shops selling those products, opportunities to watch artisans blowing glass, etc.   

Burano is also known for the colorful houses.  Legend has it that the homes were painted such bright colors so sailors could see the island on foggy days.  Apparently, every few years the owners of the homes are required to paint the exteriors of their houses.  Rather than choosing the color themselves, they are notified the specific shade to use based on where their home is located.  While it may be irritating for the individual landowners, it does create a visually appealing effect. 

The islands were quaint, and actually had locals living on them (locals have been priced out of Venice).  We enjoyed seeing the old trades of Venice, and the charming islands. 

Burano is also known for a leaning bell tower - just as Pisa's tower is tilted, Burano has a leaning tower as well.  The tower built in the 17th century is 53 meters tall and tilts 1.83 meters from its axis.  The lagoon is naturally marshy so settling is a regular issue, but a local legend holds that in an effort to make the tower taller and therefore boost the island's prominence, the municipal government added a large iron cross to the top of the tower.  According to the legend, the architects and engineers failed to properly account for the extra weight of the cross, thereby causing the tilt.

Here are the kids with the tower and some of the bright colored houses in the background.

Back in Venice, we decided our trip wouldn't be complete without a gondola ride.  They are ridiculously expensive and popular, and after figuring out a good waiting spot, we finally managed to get on two gondolas.  It was quite the experience being shepherded around on these little boats through the grand canal and then through small canals.  

In this particularly narrow canal, our gondolier had to kick on the walls to turn.

The gondola ride was very memorable, but probably not worth the price tag.  If we ever go back to Venice, I won't go on a gondola again.  I did really love Venice as a whole though, and would enjoy a second visit.  I wouldn't mind seeing more of Rome too!

The next morning we took a train to Trieste to begin our 9 day cruise.