SP:
After a refreshing night's sleep, we got up and felt ready to conquer the world! Or, at least, our tiny part of it. Breakfast came first. I immediately made friends with the hotel's cat (affectionately dubbed Fat Louie, for no real reason) by bribing him with some of my salami. He loved the attention. I enjoyed seeing a cat.
The next adventure involved solving the question of the Vaporetto. It appears to run on a system similar to the SmarTrip Card. If you don't have one, you're supposed to immediately buy a ticket once you're on the boat. Can you imagine? The system is run on the Honor Code! The Venetians either have a lot of trust in their populace, or they are some of the most honorable people on Earth.
Once on the Vaporetto (and heading in the right direction), we went into the breach. By that, I mean we took on San Marco Plaza and its crowds. Luckily, it was early so the tourists weren't out in force. Also, uh... the rain helped. Oh! I forgot to mention. Anna and I broke down and bought bright yellow ponchos. We were tired of being wet, and at only 5 euro each, we couldn't pass that up. The Basilica was first. Unlike last time I saw this place, there is no entrance fee. But they get you on the inside. There, you have to pay to see everything. The Treasury, the Golden Wall, and the Horses stolen from Constantinople (more on those). I anted up for the Golden Wall. It's yet another example of beautiful, stolen works of Art with precious and semi-precious stones the size of my fist inlayed onto an Orthodox icon. After that, Anna and I walked up to the attic to look at icons, priest robes, and Bibles in the Basilica's "museum." This is also where they have the horses that used to be part of the Hippodrome (so says legend) before being brought back to Venice after the Fourth Crusade. A refresher: the Fourth Crusade is the one where Venetians helped attack the Christian city of Constaninople. These people made their living as merchants and, apparently, they "didn't realize" they were nowhere near the Holy Land. The Pope was not amused, but hey... when is he ever? The kicker in all of this is that Napoleon came along and took the horses back to France as souvenirs. Venice kicked up such a fuss, that France eventually gave them back. They complained the stolen horses WERE STOLEN!!! For more interesting Venetian stories, I recommend No Vulgar Hotel by Judith Martin.
After the Basilica, we aimlessly drifted about the Doge's Palace. I must explain. By this point, we hadn't really eaten since breakfast the day before. We were both having out of body experiences, probably due to lack of sugar. Also, a lot of those rooms in the Doge's Palace look alike. Either that, or we kept seeing the same rooms over and over again. Which is, of course, a real possibility.
We were obviously in need of lunch. And a gelato. And a nap. All of which were had and in that order.
Post-nap we discovered that the rain had stopped. This was a great time to wander around our part of Venice- the area around the Salute Church. And wander we did. In a circle appparently. During our little Daniel Boone-esque adventure (and yes, walking through Venice's double-named, no-named, or un-mapped alleyways is a bit like exploring the vast wilderness with just your gut instict to guide the way), we happened upon a beautiful woodshop that made pieces of art that depicted Venetian landmarks while retaining the look of a jigsaw puzzle. They also made adorbale mobiles of sea creatures. We also found a maskshop with exquisite pieces. After buying some stuff from the woodshop and making careful note of the location of the maskshop, we wandered to dinner.
And by now you all know the routine... after dinner, we went to bed.
The next adventure involved solving the question of the Vaporetto. It appears to run on a system similar to the SmarTrip Card. If you don't have one, you're supposed to immediately buy a ticket once you're on the boat. Can you imagine? The system is run on the Honor Code! The Venetians either have a lot of trust in their populace, or they are some of the most honorable people on Earth.
After the Basilica, we aimlessly drifted about the Doge's Palace. I must explain. By this point, we hadn't really eaten since breakfast the day before. We were both having out of body experiences, probably due to lack of sugar. Also, a lot of those rooms in the Doge's Palace look alike. Either that, or we kept seeing the same rooms over and over again. Which is, of course, a real possibility.
Post-nap we discovered that the rain had stopped. This was a great time to wander around our part of Venice- the area around the Salute Church. And wander we did. In a circle appparently. During our little Daniel Boone-esque adventure (and yes, walking through Venice's double-named, no-named, or un-mapped alleyways is a bit like exploring the vast wilderness with just your gut instict to guide the way), we happened upon a beautiful woodshop that made pieces of art that depicted Venetian landmarks while retaining the look of a jigsaw puzzle. They also made adorbale mobiles of sea creatures. We also found a maskshop with exquisite pieces. After buying some stuff from the woodshop and making careful note of the location of the maskshop, we wandered to dinner.
And by now you all know the routine... after dinner, we went to bed.
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