Before we leave, at the end of March, this was the view on Lake Ontario...deep, deep winter.
And then, we flew over the majestic Alps, snow covered...winter up there also.
And then, there was spring in Venice...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! We were excited, thrilled, to have this instant change from deep winter to a light green and grass smelling world. We had arrived!
Last time we were in Venice was in the summer of 1978. And here we were again, in la Serenissima , thrilled to spend the next 4 days exploring her streets, and canals...or should we rather say fundamente, rios, sotoportegi, and corte???
We had purchased a 72 hours vaporetto pass and were looking forward to enjoy its waterways! this enabled us to really see the many faces of Venice, capture beautiful views and hop on and off when we felt the need to continue our explorations on foot.
Our hotel Ca del Dose was located in the Castello sestiere (quarter), very close to San Marco, on a quiet Campo (Piazza) and adjacent to the church San Giovanni in Bragora where Antonio Vivaldi (yes, yes, he as a Venitian) was baptised. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Giovanni_in_Bragora .
I entered the door to our apartment in red...
When entering, his music filled the space. It was touching to know that this great musician and his family had lived on this very same Campo. And so the days and nights continued to be filled with such amazing moments.
To get in the mood visit:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgaOVV4JQHA
Of course, with several millions of tourists visiting every year, we were not alone. It felt like ALL students from across Europe decided to visit Italy at the end of March...here is what Piazza San Marco looked like!
Ah, but this crowd and all other merchants selling plastic junk just did not take away the beauty!
We spent time in each sestiere or quarter of Venice. Dorsoduro, Santa Croce, Cannaregio, San Marco, and Arsenale.
In Dorsoduro, we liked walking along the canals, enjoying an apperitive or a beer, watching the traffic...
And, in this Dorsoduro, we also discovered the wonderful church of San Nicolo dei Mendicoli (Saint Nicholas of the Beggars) where it is said that in times of high water, the priest had to use a small boat to get to his church...This area of Dorsoduro is very modest, and so is the façade of the church. The interior, however....
And then we stumbled on the Campo Santa Margherita...actually, we did look for it because it was written up as an excellent place in Dorsoduro to sit down for a drink, look at the crowd and enjoy one of those "Venitian moment" surrounded by houses from the XIV and XV century. Indeed, it was a very lovely piazza...
In the sestiere Cannaregio, there is also the Jewish Quarter with its synagogue, its kosher stores, great bakeries and a very lively piazza or Campo di Gheto Novo.
Back to San Marco...to get a glimpse of the the Basilica with its impressive mosaic covered walls and ceilings; if only, some money was being used for its renovation....has Venice not enough money for its renovation?%$???
Unless you took a picture of the famous Rialto bridge from the water, the crowd made it impossible from land....
We were also impressed by the majestic Santa Maria della Salute, erected on more than 1 millions wooden frames to support its impressive structure. One of the plague-churches, Santa Maria stands on a narrow finger of land between Grand Canal and the Bassin of San Marco thus making itself visible when entering the Piazza San Marco from the water. Its is beautiful from the outside and remarquable from the inside.
Another side of Venice that we particularly savour is the "nautical life" taking place...for us, boaters, we can appreciate how life can be dong everything by boat..shopping, moving furniture, ambulance service..and so we enjoyed taking pictures of Venice's nautical features!
Parking...
We did not miss the Rialto market, however!
As mentioned before, our Vaporetto pass enabled us to explore the islands of the Venitian lagoon.
We enjoyed Murano...definitely THE glass capital of the world; even its churches are decorated with glass...
We sailed by the cemetery island of San Michele but did not stop to visit... Heiner was surprised because I usually convince him to tag along those green and peaceful resting places, no matter where in the world. But San Michele will be for next time.. it has an interesting history: until the early 19th century, Venetians usually buried their dead under paving stones within the central city (!) not a healthy practice, particularly in times of pestilence. With the Austrian occupation in 1837 San Michele became the only possible burial ground for most Venetians. (A Jewish cemetery dating from the 14th century is on the Lido.). Nowaday, Venitians must be buried on the mainland.
And, seduced by the elegant silhouette of its church and campanile, we wanted to stop on the small island of San Giorgio Maggiore; except for the boating club yard, everything was gated and not accessible. The church was unremarkable...by that time, we had seen so many wonderful ones!!! and so, we prefer the look of San Giorgio from the lagoon rather than up close...
After 4 days of meandering through the waters and sestiere of this truly unique city, it was time to leave...with the Freccio Argente from Trenitalia to Florence!
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