This is post number two about our Italian trip. The previous post is:
A day after landing in Milan we took a two-hour train ride to Venice. Venice was the city both girls most wanted to visit and they loved emerging from the train station next to the Grand Canal.
We walked 20 minutes to our hotel where we checked into a lovely room. It was conveniently located about 10 minutes from the Rialto Bridge and 15 minutes from Piazza San Marco. It was also relatively close to the vaporetto (boat "bus") stop from which we would go to the other islands.
While exploring the neighborhood we found ourselves at a bar near that dock and we sat down for a snack of pizza and drinks. The pizza was fantastic. Perfect crust and sauce. I told the girls we'd be enjoying food that good for our entire trip. I was wrong, though. We certainly ate plenty of good food, but that was the best pizza we were to find anywhere.
From 1983-1986 my boss in my first professional job was Phil K. Even though I was a very immature and in some ways terrible employee, Phil and I somehow became friends anyway. We had many outdoor adventures together.
Phil is Swiss, and in the 90's he moved home. I saw him a couple of times in Switzerland back in the days when I travelled to Europe regularly for business. The last time we had seen each other was in 2006 while Phil was in Seattle. I always fantasize about visiting Phil again in Switzerland but of course with a family that is difficult.
When we made the plan to visit Italy I let Phil know our itinerary and invited him to join us for part of our trip. He decided to join us in Venice. He arrived two hours after us and we met near the hotel.
Once Phil was checked in we all went wandering. We ended up in Piazza San Marco (of course) and at the Bridge of Sighs. Then we wandered back toward our hotel but we weren't trying to get there too directly. Carol and my favorite thing to do in Venice is just get lost. There are interesting scenes around every corner: hidden small piazzas; churches; small canals and fascinating buildings.
Along the way we passed a restaurant that caught our eye. Later, when it was dinner time, we returned there and had a lovely dinner in a great atmosphere.
The next day after breakfast at the hotel we set out for the vaporetto stop. We took the boat to Burano, and outlying island known for lace and brightly painted houses. It's a beautiful place. it also has a church bell tower that is tilted by 5 degrees. We visited a lace shop and bought some souvenirs (bookmarks and handkerchiefs). We wandered around the less-travelled parts of the island and found a big lawn to relax on (in the main part of Venice there is absolutely no "green" ground).
Next we took the vaporetto to Murano, the island that is famous for glass blowing. We visited a few glass shops and then found a casual restaurant for lunch.
The vaporetto from Murano back to Venice stops at the cemetery island. Hardly anyone gets on or off there, but it's another favorite aspect of Venice for us. It's fascinating because in Venice people obviously can't be buried underground so Venice's dead are all interred in above-ground mausoleums. The cemetery island contains acres and acres of mausoleums. It's interesting to read the names and dates and look at the decorations (and fake flowers).
Of course, while in Venice one must go for a ride in a gondola. It's somewhat expensive but still obligatory. We discovered that the price goes up at 7:00pm so we went in search of a gondola at 6:30. We found one pretty quickly. He turned out to be very informative, and the timing was perfect: our half hour ride was just before sunset - during what the photographers call "the golden hour". It was beautiful, and it was even longer than usual since we were our gondolier's last customers of the day.
On Tuesday afternoon Phil would head back to Geneva and we would depart for Florence. But in the morning we returned to Piazza San Marco to see the church and go up in the camponile. I had forgotten just how beautiful the church interior is - it is covered with mosaics, many of which are made with gold leaf. The view from the camponile was cool. It's interesting to look down on the random jumble of buildings that make up the city.
One thing I learned that is obvious once you hear it: Venice is made up of something like 140 islands. Initially people used them as a way to escape from raiders on the mainland. They eventually built bulkheads at the edges of the islands. The waterways between the islands eventually became completely walled in and became today's canals. When wandering around Venice and crossing all those small canals it had never occurred to me that I was traversing a bunch of separate islands.
Phil walked us to the train station in the early afternoon and we said our goodbyes. I was so glad that we were able to meet again. It was great to see Phil and great to share Venice with him. He and the girls enjoyed each other's company, too.
Next: off to Florence.
