We made it to Venice and it looks like the beautiful sunshine we have had this entire trip took the day off. It's okay though. It's Venice! Who needs sunshine? The really cool thing about pulling into port in the late morning is that we were all able to stand on deck as we navigated through the grand canal. How crazy is it that we drove this ship right though the middle of Venice?
Venice looked just as I had pictured it....it smelled like an overflowing outhouse. Super beautiful, super smelly.
It rained on and off all day and there was a cold breeze blowing through the city but it's kind of like Portland. The rain doesn't stop people from getting stuff done.
We started our day touring St. Mark's basilica. I wish we had pictures to show for it but they were prohibited and none of us broke the rules today.
Trust us when we say it's amazing (I feel like that word has been written by me way too many time but it's all I have people. I'm running on fumes here.) Inside we saw more jewels than I thought possible in one place at one time without a armored guard standing right next to it. These churches here in Europe at so full of gold, silver and jewels it's hard to believe there is anywhere that can rival how ornate it all is.
Our next tour was of the Doge's Palace. It's right next door to St. Mark's so that was nice. The Doge's Palace was the seat of the Venetian government and the home of it's ruling duke in Venice. It was the most powerful half acre in Europe for almost 400 years. It's purpose was to show off the power and wealth of the Italian Republic. It certainly shows off a whole lot of wealth that's for sure.
The art is astonishing. It is all incredible and then to make it even worth more you have pieces framed in solid gold. What the what? In the Hall of the Grand Council I tried to count the number of portraits and I couldn't so I tried to could the number of golden frames. I lost count there as well. These people liked their opulence.
Top on Jason's list of things to see in Venice was the Bridge of Sighs. Not only did we pass it by but we also got to walk through it. The Bridge of Sighs it the covered bridge that leads from the Doge's Palace to the prison next door. It is called the Bridge of Sigh's because it is said that as convicted men crossed to the prison the small windows in the bridge were their last sight of the outside world before their sentence began. Knowing they wouldn't see the sun again for a long time always invoked a sigh.
The bridge was small, crude and a tight squeeze.
We got a little lesson on the meaning of the back of a gondola from our guide. I can't remember it quite clearly but I believe the large top piece represents Venice and the 7 smaller pieces sticking out represent the districts, or neighborhoods, of Venice. I think I'm right but if you are playing Jeopardy you're on your own.
Pigeons are everywhere in St. Mark's Square and they really want you to feed them bread crumbs but you can't, it's against the law. There are a bunch of pushy men who try and put bread in your hand and then expect euros for it. We just wanted to make sure didn't get pooped on. Success! We all stayed bird turd free.
We were scheduled to take a gondola ride and hemmed and hawed about whether we should do it or not because of the rainy, drizzly weather. We had to though. When are we going to be back here? To kill some time we did some window shopping and mask trying on.
These 4 were dying to get on their gondola. It wasn't super organized and they waited so patiently.
The fab 5:
The gondola ride was really cool. The curving waterways were just neat to see. It has been something I've always dreamed of doing and here I was, do it with my whole family in tow. Pretty amazing.
I love him.
To spend a month here sometime would be so cool. I'd love to cross every single bridge, big or small.
Our gondaleer wasn't much of a talker. At one point he said "Hey lady. Marco Polo's house" and pointed in the direction of a few homes. I'm not exactly sure which one it was but we can say we've seen it.
We wandered around the small sidewalks looking for a good place for dinner when we came upon this place. It was small, it was local, it was out of the rain and warm inside so we took a seat.
The food was fresh and delicious and, once we got the check we realized, very expensive. Oh well. The experience was wonderful.
On our walk back to the tender we came across these guys playing outside a resturant at St. Mark's square. It was about 8:30 and just like everything we have read said, St. Mark's Square was flooding for the night.
I felt a little like I was in the movie Titanic. Remember when the musicians were playing as the passengers were getting to their life boats. With the water rising in the square (even though it doesn't get very deep at all) I wanted to yell "Run to safety!" I didn't though. My family is thankful.
Today was great. We did it! Our trip is coming to an end. We have absolutely loved these past two weeks and we would do it all over again, starting tomorrow if we could. Those we are on this trip with are anxious to get home to their families and tell them about all the beautiful places we have been, all the history we have learned and all the experiences we have had. I am so very grateful that I was able to make these memories with my very favorite people. The kids have been excellent travelers, excellent friends to each other and those we have met. They have exceeded Jason and I's hope for their involvement for this trip.
Dear Europe,
We will be back soon.
Love,
The Widnig's
