(Day 7) Golden Basilica

Ah…there is nothing like waking up and knowing you have an adventurous day in Venice ahead. Except maybe waking up anywhere and knowing that an adventure awaits. But let’s not split hairs.

I have great difficulty getting out of bed in decent time, but before I knew it, we were jamming down breakfast and planning our daily assault.


*Cough*pig*Cough*

We were only in port until five PM and we needed to make the most of it. Rachel was feeling up for the walk and really, she couldn’t miss experiencing this mystifying locale. The weather was again hot and sticky so I braced myself for an uncomfortably sweaty walk. Hooray! Off we go.





Attempting to outwit Venice may be an impossible feat, but we thought we’d try anyway. Taking an entirely different route to the Rialto Bridge this time, we didn’t even mind the disoriented feeling. In fact, it was starting to be familiar.






The Santa Maria Gloriosa Dei Frari





Truthfully, everything in Venice seems to lead, at one point or another, to the famous sights of the Rialto and Piazza San Marco – so why were we worried yesterday? We are like locals already…no big deal. We emerged, though at a slightly different point, upon the Rialto after a quick, 2 euro bathroom stop.



The commotion from last night had dissipated and the fog hung heavy in the air. The cafes were also a little less enchanting now…and yet still far too pricey to even be considered. Our cruise director told us that buying a coffee and having a seat in Piazza San Marco could easily set you back about 12 euro (~$20 CDN) – YIKES! And yet, many seats were taken. People be crazy.






The Grand Canal





Considering the glass souvenirs the geris were likely snatching up at this exact moment, I found a glass object that even I wouldn’t mind receiving:



Once again, we departed the Rialto Bridge and headed toward Piazza San Marco. The route, despite heading down the same alley as last night, seemed to diverge upon yet another set of obscure paths…neither resembling our last night tromp. C’est la vie in this place.





Many people asked if I wanted to ride a gondola in Venice…and while it obviously would have been nice, I wasn’t prepared for the mental anguish that would accompany it. You see, to ride a gondola in Venice is a tricky game where you and the gondolier must outsmart one another – you are trying to get the lowest price, and he is trying to get an obscene figure for doing next to nothing for a very short period of time. For a ~20-ish minute gondola ride, you can expect to pay about 40 euro (~$65 CDN)…in the daytime. If you want to go at night, it will likely be double, and if you want singing, well, you’d better take out a small loan. To avoid this hassle, I chalked up my ride in a gondola at DisneySEA to be a fair equivalent and left it at that. This, however, didn’t stop the gondoliers from telling me that, “No gondole?!? No Venice!!” I think I’ll live.



Once again, we made it to Piazza San Marco. The dive-bombing pigeons and people were out, once again to commune together in this vast expanse.




Lovely St. Mark’s Basilica






When the bell tolls on the hour, these little friends with their hammers will literally move and whack the bell.

The Basilica was free and apparently heralded as one of the nicest in all of Europe, so we joined the lengthy procession which slowly made its way inside.













Sorry, there were no pictures allowed inside so mine came out all blurry and crooked since I shouldn’t have been using my camera anyway. Jean wouldn’t be happy with me. But it’s gilded in gold! Pretty sweet, no?








The crowd of fans outside waiting for me. Psh.


Rachel and Grant outside of the Basilica

Next up was the highly-revered Palazzo Ducale, or to the non-Italians like you and I, Doge’s Palace. This place was recommended as one of the best attractions in Venice, so, like a sheep, I went. Now, unfortunately, I don’t know much about Italian history, but there was cool stuff to look at and soak up the Italian-ness. Pardon the blanket statement, but with seeing so much history in one trip, you just stop caring after a while.


Got scolded for taking this one…apparently there was a picture ban and I didn’t see it, so I didn’t know I had to be discreet about it. Dang.





Here’s a pano (click it to find out what happens!):















You want to see some gaudy interiors? Check this out:



In the depths of the palace lay the courtrooms and subsequent prisons, which were accessible through the romantic/depressed-sounding name, the Bridge of Sighs. I came across some wily geris trying to escape their fates.





The Bridge of Sighs is so named from the notion that ”one could hear the sighs of the prisoners coming from the courts as they looked one last time upon the outside world before being locked up. Although by the time the bridge was built and summary executions at the hand of the inquisitors had become a thing of the past, many of these prisoners most likely did not see freedom again.”

Here’s what it normally looks like, without GEOX ads plastered all around it: (picture not mine)



And here is what she looks like from the inside:


I sighed a lot on this bridge. Like this: “Sigh” “sigh” “SIGH” “Erin, what are you doing?” “Sighing.”


This is me peeking out from the windows on the bridge while taking a break from sighing. Look at all my adoring fans!



After I’d sighed myself silly, we strolled back out with the commoners and absorbed as much of the square as we could (though it meant taking in many, many geris). Click the geri photos to enlarge.





I wasn’t kidding. Geris could take over the world.

More wannabe panoramics (click to enlarge, as always!):







Here’s a classic Venice favourite, taken by yours truly:



Before long, the morning turned to afternoon and the crowds became thicker, lines longer, and temperatures higher. We took our final looks around the piazza and started along our merry way back home.







Funnily enough, there was a shoe store I found during last night’s walk that I wanted to visit, now that it would be open...do you think we could find it? If you answered no, you are…wrong! I can sniff out a nice pair of Italian shoes within a mile radius. They had some really cute boots, but nothing in my size. Phooey. The lady was really unfriendly too. And she didn’t know a drop of English.



We made it back to our floating home with a decent amount of time to spare before sail-away. After a much-needed shower and snack, it was time for the sail-away party on deck as we said goodbye to Venice. Basically, the “party” was just everyone staring wistfully at the island as Andrea Botticelli played over the sound system. But…it fit.






Can you spot any crooked bell towers?














One last look at Piazza San Marco


Hoardes!





…and off we sailed into the sunset.

Considering the early hour of departure, we were still in time for our formal dining room seating, so we decided that it was time, once again, to grace the dining room geris with our presence. I’m sure their lives are so much richer because of it.







They even had a flurry of singing and dancing in the room that night.



And I ate this soupy bread pudding…




So, the days in Venice came to a close and tomorrow we spend another day sailing the beautiful waters of the Adriatic. The day after tomorrow we will be in Sicily, but for tomorrow, we will relax and not focus on picture-taking. Also, a break for you, dear readers. Goodnight.



HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!