November 7, 2014 – Aquileia

John is writing the first part of the blog today. Slow internet response makes the writing and uploading of pictures very time consuming. So he’s writing a bunch of stuff and then mailing it to me. All I have to do is paste it in and upload pictures. And, of course, write this lengthy explanantion.

John writes-
Ten years ago, we visited Aquilea. It was summer and really hot. Today it’s not hot but it’s threatening rain. We plan to see and do many of the same things we did ten years ago. If the rain holds off, that is.

First we go to the Patriarchal Basilica. It’s been built and rebuilt many times since its beginnings immediately after 313 AD, with significant parts remaining from each era. The main church is really all about the fourth-century mosaic floor. We walk on raised transparent walkways over portraits of men and women in Roman dress, all kinds of land sea creatures. and allegorical scenes.

Patriarchal church in Aquileia
Patriarchal church in Aquileia

Overview of interior
Overview of interior

There’s one of a rooster (symbol of Christianity, the “Light of the World”) battling a tortoise (symbol of Evil, name in Greek means “Lives in Darkness”).

Good and evil about to battle it out
Good and evil about to battle it out

Then there’s Christ as a young shepherd tending his Mystic Flock of all sorts of animals.

The good Shepherd
The good Shepherd

We also see a large fishing scene that includes episodes from the story of Jonah, symbolizing death, resurrection and ascent to heaven.

Fishing scene
Fishing scene

The altar area is blocked by scaffolding, but we can see off to the side a relief of Christ flanked by Peter and St. Thomas (presumably Becket) of Canterbury. (They all seem to have large ears.)

Manny, Moe and Jack
Manny, Moe and Jack

After the floor, we go down into the Crypt of Frescoes, which tells the story of the martyrs of Aquileia, most notably saints Fortunatus and Ermagora. These frescoes were painted in the 11th or 12th century, and include scenes of the crusades on the lower panels.

Into the crypt
Into the crypt

We’re able to go into another crypt, which includes excavations showing the floor of the original 1st-2nd century Roman house on which the church was built, the early 4th century floor one meter higher,a later 4th century floor a meter higher than that, and the foundation for the 11th century bell tower another meter or so above that.

An earlier rendition of the tortoise and the rooster in the excavation crypt
An earlier rendition of the tortoise and the rooster in the excavation crypt

We finish the complex with a visit to the baptistry which has been converted to a museum.

The peacock which symbolizes resurrection from the Baptistry
The peacock which symbolizes resurrection from the Baptistry

Mary writes –

After we finish at the cathedral we stop by the Paleo-Christian museum. We saw this the last time we were here but now we have ten years worth of knowledge about early Christian art. But it’s closed. Only open on Thursdays. Bummer.

Closed Paleo-Christian Museum
Closed Paleo-Christian Museum

Time for lunch anyway. We head over to All’Anfora, a pizzeria and restaurant that we ate in the last time we were here. Our last foray had us ordering a pepperoni pizza only to find out when it arrived at our table that pepperoni means peppers in Italian. It was a very delicious pizza with peppers but not what we were expecting at all.

I order a cheese pizza and John orders a pizza not listed on the menu. “Possible pizza con salsicci e cipollini?” he asks. “Oh, si, si.”

We are presented with two giant pizzas. Way too much. But the crust is so yeasty, so elastic, and has great char. It is hard to not to eat too much. This is like the pizza of my youth.

John and friends with a sausage and onion pizza
John and friends with a sausage and onion pizza

After lunch we spend some time in the National Archaeological Museum. Most of their exhibits come from the Roman funereal sites around Aquileia. Aquileia was the 7th largest city in the known Roman world. So there are lots of relics.
Funereal sculpted head looking a lot like a young Abe Lincoln
Funereal sculpted head looking a lot like a young Abe Lincoln

John didn't get the memo that toga was not optional
John didn’t get the memo that toga was not optional

John says the guy on the left is signalling slider while I think it's a Wall St. tip to buy two
John says the guy on the left is signalling slider while I think it’s a Wall St. tip to buy two

It is getting dark and time to go back to the hotel. There’s no chance that we are eating dinner tonight. In fact, I think we’ve only been out to dinner one or two times since we started our vacation. Lunch takes care of dinner too!

November 6, 2014 – A wet day full of ancient churches

It continues to rain. We are trying to not let it upset our plans. We have three ancient churches from the 10th to the 12th century to explore today. One thing about having such esoteric taste, you’re not liable to run into any crowds. In fact I would be surprised if there were anyone but us in all these places.

The countryside is flooded. There must have been a good deal of rain before we got here and now these latest storms are adding to the total. We pass by farmhouses stranded on little isles in a sea of brown water.

A farm house in a sea of muddy water
A farm house in a sea of muddy water

This area has been inhabited for a long, long time. The Romans built their houses and temples over previous houses and temples, and early Christians built on top of that. In the 4th century Constantine declared Christianity legal and the building of churches began in earnest. Very few of those early churches survive as they have burnt down, been sacked or have been carried away in floods. Coming across anything from the 11th to 13th century is rare and this area has a least three partially surviving churches. The first church we go to is the Abbey of Santa Maria Maggiore in Summaga.
Abbey of Santa Maria Maggiore, view from the front
Abbey of Santa Maria Maggiore, view from the front

Side view
Side view

Although the church has a 17th century facade, the body of the church is from 1211.
Central nave of Abbey of Santa Maria Maggiore in Summaga
Central nave of Abbey of Santa Maria Maggiore in Summaga

There is no one here but the door is open so we go in. Down the left side of the church are various martyrs standing in amongst a bunch of cattle. I have no idea what the cattle signify but you can tell that they are martyrs because they carry the palm frond.
Martyrs and cattle
Martyrs and cattle

Close up of martyr with cattle
Close up of martyr with cattle

Above and surrounding the altar are the Virgin and Child and beneath them Christ and the twelve Apostles. They are in pretty good shape considering that they were frescoed in the 13th century.
Altar area
Altar area

There is a lot to look at. Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden of Eden, the Crucifixion, the Redemption. It’s also nice to be able to walk around taking pictures without someone coming after you saying “NO FOTO.”

Leaving Summaga we head for Concordia Sagittaria, a Latin sounding name indeed. As we get out of the car the skies open and thunder starts. Perhaps this is an indiscreet comment on our visiting churches. This complex consists of an archaeological dig which holds the 350 A.D. chapel which held the remains of the Holy Martyrs of Concordia killed by the Emperor Diocletian in 304 A.D. There is a cross-shaped recess that held the relics.

Trichora with cross-shaped chamber for relics of the Holy Martyrs of Concordia
Trichora with cross-shaped chamber for relics of the Holy Martyrs of Concordia

We also visit the cathedral which is dedicated to St. Stephen. It is the third cathedral built on the site and was erected in the second half of the tenth century. It is a large structure that we don’t have too much time to explore since it is time for the holy Italian lunchtime and the cathedral must close.
Cathedral in Concordia Sagittaria dedicated to St. Stephen
Cathedral in Concordia Sagittaria dedicated to St. Stephen

One of the buildings that we do have time to explore is the baptistry which lies between the cathedral and the excavations. It is a small bulding built in the shape of a Greek cross sometime between 1089 and 1105.
Baptistry at Concordia Sagittaria
Baptistry at Concordia Sagittaria

The ceiling is covered in frescoes. Here are three well-preserved ones.
Fresco of St. George off to slay a dragon on his steed
Fresco of St. George off to slay a dragon on his steed

St. Peter holding his keys
St. Peter holding his keys
St. Mark writing his gospel with his ever-present lion
St. Mark writing his gospel with his ever-present lion

The rain has abated somewhat and we are off to our third visit before we head to tonight’s lodgings. It is the Benedictine Abbey of St. Mary Sesto al Reghena. It’s situated on a little island with a moat around it. As we drive up towards the gate it all looks very promising.
Entrance into the abbey complex
Entrance into the abbey complex

We buy a parking ticket and walk through the gate and up to the church entrance. There is an elaborate portico with frescoes. I especially like one with a serpent body attached to a very glam looking head.
Mary next to the door of the church with fresco above
Mary next to the door of the church with fresco above

Close-up of serpent
Close-up of serpent

But the door is locked. It is 12:45 PM and everything is closed for the sacred Italian lunch break from noon until 3 PM!

Off we go to find a place to have a very slow lunch. Jack, our GPS, finds a ristorante and we are ushered in. There are plenty of people in the restaurant but we are put in a room by ourselves. Odd. Then there are no menus. Just the waitperson telling what’s for lunch. Now we are no strangers to Italian dishes when we see them written down but when they are rattled off in rapid fire Italian, we ourselves are a bit rattled. But we order some pasta and a salad and even have dessert trying to fill the two hours until the Abbey reopens.

We arrive back at the Abbey at about 3:05 PM to find it still locked. As we search around to find someone to ask about this, the door finally opens at 3:15 PM. Apparently 3 hours is not quite long enough for lunch.
We are ushered in, buy our tickets and I snap one picture when I am told NO FOTO. I say, no flash? NO FLASH, NO FOTO! Sigh. There are many great frescoes here. We buy a book with pictures since we cannot take any of our own. It is probably what they want you to do.

Inside of Abbey church
Inside of Abbey church

It’s getting late and we want to get to our next overnight before it gets dark. It is also raining (again/still). We find the B and B where we are the only guests. Our host does not speak much English. The whole place is a bit rustic but we are tired and collapse for the night.
Our room at the Al Pic de Corone in Terzo d'Aquileia
Our room at the Al Pic de Corone in Terzo d’Aquileia

November 5, 2014 – Noah get the boat!

Due to spotty slow internet, there are no pictures. When I wrote that yesterday I thought I might be able to post it without pictures. Alas, it was not to be. So now we’ve landed in a new place which is quite rustic but does have reasonable WiFi. (Yay!)

Post from Wednesday, November 5

We choose today to depart Venice because the high tide tomorrow (Thursday) is supposed to be higher than today. As is, this morning after the city high water warning alarms woke us at 6:30AM, the water in our canal is ankle deep on the other side. People are walking around with plastic bags on their feet and legs and I see a guy crossing the bridge in fisherman’s waders. A wind blowing up the Adriatic from Africa pushes the water into Venice making the high tide, aqua alta.

First warning - our landlady brings us boots
First warning – our landlady brings us boots

On top of the water flooding the streets and the wind howling there is also rain which falls torrentially off and on. We wait for low tide and brave the elements. It’s not like you can call a taxi to come pick you up. The walk to the Alilaguna stop is not too far away, just down the block and over a couple of bridges but by the time we get to the stop we are soaked through. Plus there is no covered enclosure to wait under.

Luckily we do not melt and we and our sopping luggage catch the boat to the airport.

On the slow boat to the airport. It's probably about a mile away but it takes almost two hours to get there.
On the slow boat to the airport. It’s probably about a mile away but it takes almost two hours to get there.

We pick up our rental car at the airport and drive about a half and hour to a Relais and Gourmet hotel. At least the roads are draining well and are well marked.
Good roads
Good roads
Our hotel
Our hotel

It seems that there is only one person manning the hotel. He checks us in. He waits on our table. In fact, he waits on all the tables. Our room is nice and except for the main course the food is good.

I think moving out from Venice is a good save.

November 4, 2014 – Aqua Alta and visiting churches

First, due to high water forecast with the high tide occurring on Thursday morning, we have decided that we need to leave during low tide on Nov. 5 instead of Nov. 6. We were alerted to this when our landlady brought boots to our doorstep late this afternoon. We cannot imagine trying to drag our suitcases through the water.

Second, Clark and Lewis have no post for today. We were visiting churches and even I have some sense of decorum. It’s hard to pose Clark and Lewis on the altar rail without feeling a little sacreligious.

So this is going to be a quick post.

I love seeing artwork in the venue for which it was intended. In Venice you can buy a ticket called the Chorus Pass which lets you into 14 churches. Each church has a placard that explains what the church is about and what the artwork is. There’s a map of the artwork in the church on the back. It’s 12 Euros and totally worth it.

First and best church up first – Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. Pictures are not allowed so I only was able to sneak a couple (I am so bad.)

The Frari Church
The Frari Church

Monteverdi's tomb
Monteverdi’s tomb

Vivarini tryptich of St. Mark (center) with Saints
Vivarini tryptich of St. Mark (center) with Saints

The best artwork in my opinion is the Bellini altarpiece. It is so beautiful and Mary looks like she is about to step right out of the picture. Unfortunately there were too many people around for me to get a photo. I got a picture from the internet but it just doesn’t do it justice.
Bellini alterpiece
Bellini alterpiece

Next church, San Polo.
San Polo
San Polo

San Polo's most famous painting Tintoretto's Last Supper
San Polo’s most famous painting Tintoretto’s Last Supper

I was able to snag that last one because the guard got a phone call.

One more church before lunch, San Giacomo dall’Orio

San Giacomo dall'Orio
San Giacomo dall’Orio

This was a wide church without any little corners to hide behind to take pictures.

We’ve been on our feet for about 4 hours at this point so we decide to take a break for lunch. We end up in a kind of grubby place called Captain Hook’s. The place is full of workers. No women. No English. Our meal is okay. Not outstanding.


After lunch we go to St. Stae. It has mostly 18th century stuff.

We catch the slow water bus #1 down the Grand Canal. It stops at every stop. It’s good to be sitting down. Our last church of the day is Santa Maria della Salute. It is enormous. The best works are in the sacristy. We are given mirrors to look at the artwork on the ceiling.

Santa Maria della Salute
Santa Maria della Salute

Interior
Interior

Here’s a picture of me in front of the church.
Mary in Venice
Mary in Venice

After this the sky begins to threaten and we hurry back to the apartment and get the news about the Aqua Alta which starts tomorrow. Time to pack up and leave during low tide!

November 3, 2014 – Visiting the Accademia

Today our plan is to visit the Accademia. It is full of early Renaissance and later artwork. Since it is Monday we are hoping that most people will think it is closed since Monday is the traditional day for everything to be closed. The last thing I want is to be enjoying these beautiful pieces of art with hundreds of other people.

As we leave the apartment we notice workers doing a renovation across the canal. What a lot of work! The guy on top lowers a bucket full of debris to the worker at ground level who transfers it into a wheelbarrow. When the wheelbarrow is full he wheels it over to the boat which is parked near by. Then the debris is taken out by bucketful and put into the debris boat. Renovating here must be time consuming and expensive!

Boat being filled with debris from a renovation
Boat being filled with debris from a renovation

The walk to the Accademia is a short one involving only one bridge. Upon arrival we discover very few people in attendance. Yay! We stow John’s knapsack and my purse and start with the early Renaissance paintings. These painting are usually done on gold backgrounds and the figures in them are stylized. There is a lot of information in them though. Just the figure of a saint would have told someone in the 14th century all about them – who they were, what their story was, how they died and what moral they imparted. Here’s one of St. Stephen. He was a Hellenistic Jew who adopted Christianity and fiercely denounced the authorities who were judging him for spreading Christian teachings. His fate was to be stoned to death. He is usually shown with rocks on his head and shoulders and carrying a martyrs frond.
St. Stephen
St. Stephen

Then there are tryptichs full of these figures. Each one can be identified by his clothing and what he is holding. It takes a long time and careful examination of the paintings to do this. That’s why we need the gallery to be uncrowded! We are art hogs!
Annunciation with Saints
Annunciation with Saints

Moving along from the 14th to the 15th century we see styles change as perspective and more lifelike painting occurs. Here is a picture of Giovanni Bellini’s Madonna and Child with Saints painted at the end of the 15th century.
Bellini masterpiece
Bellini masterpiece

At one point a woman came up to me. Do you know Italian she asked. Apparently I am a dead ringer for an American. What’s this word nebbia in the picture of St.Mark’s Square she asked. I don’t know much Italian but I do know nebbia which is fog. She said it looks just like St.Mark’s Square now. We walked outside after our long day at the art gallery and it was indeed nebbia-y.
Foggy view across the Guidecca Canal
Foggy view across the Guidecca Canal

It is past lunchtime so we decide again to make a late lunch our major meal of the day. We find a restaurant and tuck into some salad and pasta.

On our walk back to the apartment the fog clears and a gondola goes sailing by the gondola repair shop. The shop is just down the canal from us.
Gondola repair shop with gondola sailing by
Gondola repair shop with gondola sailing by

Finally one last picture which is kind of iconic of Venice.
P1040421

November 2, 2014 – Visiting the Doge’s Palace

It is a beautiful day today and we are off to visit the Doge’s Palace over in St. Mark’s Square. It’s kind of a long walk with lots of bridges and we are enjoying the sunshine and all the Venetians and tourists who are out in droves today.

Some pictures from the walk over to the Doge’s Palace –

John in front of our apartment
John in front of our apartment

View down the Grand Canal from the Accademia Bridge
View down the Grand Canal from the Accademia Bridge

View up the Grand Canal
View up the Grand Canal

St. Mark's Square
St. Mark’s Square

Basilica San Marco (still being restored)
Basilica San Marco (still being restored)

Sharing a wall with the basilica is the Doge’s Palace. In fact until around the 12th century the basilica was the private chapel of the doge.
The Doge's Palace on the right with the Basilica San Marco behind it
The Doge’s Palace on the right with the Basilica San Marco behind it

At first we decide that we will just follow the self-guided tour and read the placards which are conveniently posted in three languages. Since English is the second language of the world, it is always included. (In fact today a Russian family was having lunch at the same time as we were. The Italian waiter could not understand Russian and the Russians could not understand Italian so they all spoke English. We’ve seen this a lot.) Getting back to the palace visit, the explanations on the placards are very lengthy and require looking back and forth from the placard to the object that it is describing. It is just too onerous and we decide that we are better off using the audio tour.

The palace is immense and was not only the doge’s house but also the seat of government where our audio guide says that the functions of executive, legislative, and judicial branches were carried out. We are not sure that this is a picture of an early modern form of government since many of the same people were doing all the jobs. Not exactly a separation of powers.

Here are some pictures from the palace –

The courtyard
The courtyard

The always interesting Hall of Maps
The always interesting Hall of Maps

A sculpture of the head of Doge Francesco Foscari by Bartolomeo Bon
A sculpture of the head of Doge Francesco Foscari by Bartolomeo Bon

At this point John takes the camera and snaps off quite an array of artwork. I’ve asked him to pick out a few of his favorites.
St. Christopher by Titian
St. Christopher by Titian

On the ceiling Tintoretto's Doge with the Holy Family
On the ceiling Tintoretto’s Doge with the Holy Family

Tiepolo painting near the end of Venetian power is rather tired looking Venice (the woman) and her symbolic lion
Tiepolo painting near the end of Venetian power is rather tired looking Venice (the woman) and her symbolic lion

We visited the Doge’s Palace when we took Sarah and Jonathan on a Grand Tour in 1998(?). One of the rooms that they enjoyed was the Hall of Scrutiny. Actually its function was for vetting future doges and office holders. But at our house ever afterward when someone said something a little unbelievable, we would give them the gimlet eye and say sonorously, Hall of Scrutiny!. (A little of our weird family humor)
The Hall of Scrutiny
The Hall of Scrutiny

Needless to say our minute examination of the Doge’s Palace takes up the better part of the day which means at 4 PM we have not eaten lunch. Eating near St. Mark’s Square is a dodgy business since many proprietors are not really interested in serving the hordes of tourists the best food but are interested in charging the most expensive prices. But we duck into a little alleyway on the route back to our apartment and are pleasantly surprised by a well-prepared lunch/dinner.

November 1, 2014 – A slow start in Venice

Today I wake up with my face swollen. I kind of look like Popeye from the nose down but without the pipe. I’ve been battling some sort of auto-immune reaction to some unknown allergen for a couple of years. Been to the allergist and basically he has no idea what the allergen could be. It’s ideopathic. Probably the exhaustion from yesterday brought it on. Anyway it is not usually life-threatening and a couple of big doses of benedryl does the job. However, benedryl makes me sleepy so our day gets off to a slow start. We manage to get ourselves out for a while in the afternoon.

Our apartment in the Dursoduro section of Venice is on a little canal with some boat and gondola traffic. We have a sitting room that faces the canal and we can watch the people and boats go by. There’s also a little kitchen, bath with a shower (yay! for enclosed shower), and a bedroom. The internet works most of the time. We are in a perfect location for doing all the things we enjoy – close enough to walk to most things fairly easily and far enough away from the crowds that fill St. Mark’s Square.

Here’s the little bridge which is right outside our door.

Bridge over the canal
Bridge over the canal

John in the kitchen
John in the kitchen

Delivery boat out front
Delivery boat out front

In the afternoon we take a walk along the large Guidecca Canal. It’s a beautiful day and Venetians are out with their families walking, skating, sitting in the sun and in the many cafes along the canal. We head to the Church of St. Sebastian built on the site of an older church in the 1450’s. St. Sebastian is thought to have saved the city from the plague in 1464. He is usually pictured tied to a tree and shot full of arrows. He was able to survive from this effort to kill him.
The Church of San Sebastian
The Church of San Sebastian

Just inside the door there is a painting by Titian of St. Nicholas. He is recognizable by the three gold balls by his feet and his bishop’s garments.
St. Nicholas
St. Nicholas

There’s also a nice bas relief of St. Jerome with his cardinal’s hat, lion and rock so he can beat himself.
Bas-relief of St. Jerome
Bas-relief of St. Jerome

The church is most famous for its Veronese paintings. Unfortunately most are undergoing restoration.

Back out into the sunshine we go to help get over jetlag. I am not sure if I am tired from the time change or from the benedryl. We stop in another church, the Gesuati. This church was also built to replace an earlier one in the late 1400’s. It has an impressive ceiling by Tiepolo.

It’s getting late in the afternoon so we decide to stop in a little cafe/bar just at the foot of the Accademia Bridge. We order a small sandwich which comes, Italian style, on crustless white bread. John orders a negroni. Whoa, what’s this, a mixed drink? Actually we had been to this bar at Christmas last year and the owner had fixed a complimentary negroni. This one is entirely different, though. We find out later that there are variations on this theme. The one that John gets has gin in it. The one we had last year had champagne instead of gin.

Meat? and egg sandwich on white bread
Meat? and egg sandwich on white bread

John and his very bitter negroni
John and his very bitter negroni

Later in the evening at proper European dining time, we go out to dinner at Agli Alboretti, a restaurant we’ve been to many times before. Amazingly all we hear is Italian. Usually there are Americans everywhere.
The dinner is okay, not great. It’s a little too nouvelle for my taste. I was hoping for something a little more traditional. We look at the menu and order. All around us the Italians carry on long conversations with the waiters concerning the food and the tweaking of dishes and where the products come from. We are not brave enough to do this.

Finally we walk home through the silent passageways.
Our canal at night
Our canal at night

October 30-31, 2014 – The long trip to Venice

I am trying to decide what is worse – flying in coach to Europe or being given such a horrible routing with an award ticket for business class that your layovers are longer than the flights. Hard to say.

Our flight for Seattle leaves at 6 AM (United also has flights to Seattle that are at 7, 8, and 10 but none of those are available to us) which means we have to get up at 2:30AM to get to the airport. After hassling with the agent about a misspelling on my ticket, we board and arrive early in Seattle at 7:45AM. Our next flight leaves at 3:05PM for Frankfurt. We wander around the airport. We eat lunch. We play on our iPads. I put my head on a table and go to sleep.

At last it is time for the flight to Frankfurt. The seats are fairly Teutonic in their comfort. We have dinner and fall asleep briefly. Then we watch movies until breakfast. It is all fairly uneventful.

After landing in Frankfurt we have a three hour layover. We are so tired. I wish there were rent-a-beds.

It is time for the last flight from Frankfurt to Venice. We get some lunch. It is probably the best airline food so far. Out the window I see the Alps.

The Alps out the window of the flight to Venice
The Alps out the window of the flight to Venice

Once in the Marco Polo Airport we buy our tickets for the water bus (Alilaguna) to our stop, Zattere. Marvels of marvels our telephone works and we call Truly Venice who is arranging our stay. They will meet us at our stop. Venice airport is so cool with the ferries docking right at the airport.
jet age/boat age side-by-side at the Marco Polo Airport
jet age/boat age side-by-side at the Marco Polo Airport

Although the water taxi is faster we are taking the Alilaguna (water bus) over to Venice. Depending on the tide it can be difficult to get into the water taxis as there are no ramps just a box to step on as you descend into the boat. I am concerned that between my knee and John’s hip, boarding might be a misadventure.

A water taxi zooming by
A water taxi zooming by

Our boat is so slow and I am so tired. I keep falling asleep although I am sitting straight up in my hard seat. There’s no fighting it. I am only aware that I’ve fallen asleep when I wake up. There’s some stuff to look at. It appears that some islands in the lagoon are privately owned. We also pass the island of Murano where there are many tourist excursions in the hopes that you will buy some Venetian glass.
Somebody's private island
Somebody’s private island

The island of Murano
The island of Murano

After about an hour on the boat we see Venice. John snaps a picture of gondolier with his payload of Japanese tourists. They are about the only ones you see in the gondolas. Also the doge’s pink palace glows in the setting sun.
Gondolier plying his trade
Gondolier plying his trade

The doge's palace on the right
The doge’s palace on the right

Our trip is almost over! After an hour and 45 minutes on the boat and over 30 hours traveling since we got up on Thursday we have arrived! Our host from Truly Venice meets us at the dock and we walk to our apartment. Last order of business is to find a grocery store and buy some supplies for breakfast. That done, we unpack and fall asleep.