35 Years! Venice

Scott and I are always gratefully amazed at just how blessed our lives have been. We were married on a chilly October day in 1978. To celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary we booked an Eastern Mediterranean cruise and were quite pleased when our good friends, George, Diane, and Susie, were able to join us. Our ship departed from Venice and we decided to fly over a few days beforehand, which gave us some time to explore the city.

We had to take a boat from the airport to our hotel. Scott and George are checking out the sights!

The Grand Canal from the waterfront cafe at our hotel.

Our hotel was just a few steps away from the Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square). From our hotel we were an easy walk to the Piazza and the Rialto and Academia Bridges.

Campanile di San Marco in the Piazzetta San Marco
Most of the buildings in the square date from the 12th and 13th century, including the Doge Palace, St. Mark's Basilica, and the Campanile di San Marco (the  Basilica's bell tower). 

Doge Palace

The Bridge of Sighs so named because this is the bridge from the Doge Palace to the jails. Here prisoners could catch their last glimpse of the outside world.

St. Mark's Basilica

This magnificent cathedral was believed to have been constructed around 1073. 

After a busy day travelling to Venice and strolling through the streets, we stopped in St. Mark's Square for a coffee, and were treated to some live music. Actually, several of the cafes lining the square have live musicians to entertain their guests.

Those two tall columns hold statues of the two patron saints of Venice. The winged lion atop the Column of San Marco is the symbol for St. Mark. On top of the other column, the Column of San Teodoro, is a statue of St. Theodore the original patron saint of Venice. 

We took a guided tour of Venice which included a boat ride on the canals. The weather was not the best, but we still learned a lot  about the city and had a great time!

The Rialto Bridge

There has been some sort of bridge here since 1181, but this stone bridge has only been here since 1581. Lined with shops, the bridge is a bit of a "destination" all in itself, and one of the more famous landmarks of Venice.

Our friends, George, Susie and Diane, at the Rialto Bridge.

Those gondolas are everywhere in Venice! But a trip in one of them is quite dear and will set you back a few Euros. 

Shops on the Rialto Bridge

Duck!

Gondoliers are required to wear black pants and a striped shirt and many wear the traditional hat although it's not required. Although our American, romantic, vision is of a gondolier singing quietly while paddling his gondola down a deserted canal, that's not exactly the case. The gondolas are indeed paddled, not poled, as the canals are too deep for that. The canals are far from deserted, however, and "traffic jams" seemed common. And, gondoliers are definitely not required to sing, although some do. Some will also talk about important structures as they paddle past them. Some, if you are really lucky, will do both.

I did say it was our 35th anniversary, right?!

Whilst Paris is still my favorite city in Europe, I believe Venice might be a close second. We walked for hours and even got lost a few times, but loved it. On our last day we checked out some Murano Glass. After all, we needed some sort of souvenir from our time here!

Ciao!