Last day in Venice

The last day, so we have to catch up on things we missed.  We had to tour the Basilica of St. Mark, had to visit the glass factories in Murano, and had to take a gondola ride.

Let's start with the Basilica.  It was a one hour guided tour, but we were told no pictures.   So I think I may have been the only person in the place who didn't take any.  It was a work of art inside.  The entire ceiling (and there was plenty of it) was filled with mosaic tiles depicting Christ and the apostles.  Most of the tiles were gold, so plenty gaudy.  It took 7 years to complete the building but a hundred years to finish the decorations.

 Every time we look at this building, we notice something else. Notice the golden-winged angles and the golden lion, the symbol of Venice.

The floors of the Basilica are mosaic patterns in different colors of marble.  The floors were once flat, but because of the unstable nature or the soil, the floors are now as wavy as the water in the canal.

Venice is famous for its glass artworks.  The island of Murano is where most of the glass artwork is produced.  We signed up for a free tour of one of the factories.  

 Above one of the glass blowers finishes a vase.  It took about 10 minutes.

Here is a glass horse he completed in about 5 minutes.

After the tour, they take you to the show room where there are hundreds of kinds of glassware and glass objects on display...figurines, glasses, vases, sets of plates, etc.  Of course the idea is for you to purchase something.  We found a nice candy dish, maybe 8 inches around on a short stem.  I figured it would probably cost about 100 euro and maybe 30 more to ship it home.  I almost choked when the salesman said it was 800 euro if I take it with me and 900 if they ship it.  It is still in the showroom.  Oh well, it was a nice boat trip.

When we got back we found a place where you could get a ride on a gondola.  The ride was about 30 minutes down the Grand Canal and into a couple of the small canals.  I am glad it wasn't 35 minutes.

What a good looking couple!

This is one of many huge liners that come up the Grand Canal.

Since there are no trucks to move cargo on the land, everything is moved on boats and then on hand trucks like this.  It is designed so that it can get up and down the steps of the bridges over the canals.

Pigeons are a problem, especially in Piazza San Marco.  A few years ago there were as many as 20,000 of them in the square.  So they passed a law forbidding the feeding of the birds.  Now the population is down to about 2000, but they can still be a nuisance.  Here a lady holds some food in her hand to attract the birds for a picture.  At the many outdoor cafes the pigeons fly right up onto your table to grab a snack.

Thursday is moving day again as we take a train to Milan and transfer to a train to Como.  This is our last stop on our voyage.  We will probably not blog again until Friday.

 

Around Venice

Tuesday was a mostly sunny day with just a few showers in the afternoon with temps in the low 70's.  We went on the walking tour that was rained out on Monday.  Our guide, Rosanna, took us through back streets to see some things we wouldn't normally see or notice and explained things that are not in the tour books.

She explained why tourists get lost so easily.  First, Venice is divided into six districts, and houses and businesses are numbered, like street addresses, from 1 to about 6800.  But they do this in each district so there are six of every number.  One area might be 5300's and the next 2400's, there is no pattern.  Also the  street names are not unique even within each district.  There are hundreds of streets named Calle di Forno, which means "street with an oven" (or bakery).  There are also lots of streets named Marie or Marco, etc.  So they usually give directions by landmarks not street names.

Unlike other cities, there is only one Piazza (meaning square) in Venice, Piazza San Marco (Saint Mark's Square).  The rest of the open areas are referred to as Campo (field) or Corte (Courtyard).  The Piazza was the only open area that was paved from the outset, while the other open areas were grassy or planted with flowers or vegetables.  Most of these areas are now paved as well.  A lawn service would not be a good business in this city.

There is no source of fresh water in Venice except rain water.  So each Campo or Corte has a "well" which is really a cistern.  The Campo has a large paved area with drains that lead to a huge waterproof tank underground.  The water passes through a sand filter and into the tank, then water is pumped from the tank for drinking purposes.

This is the view from our balcony of the courtyard.  The well is covered to protect the water below.  The punishment for poisoning a well is death.

Here is a picture of a spiral staircase at the rear of a "palace".  The story behind the staircase is that the owner wanted a way for his horse to climb to the top floor.

The picture below shows a lone gondolier in this canal.  Gondoliers in Venice have to go to school and pass tests to attain a license.  Only one woman has taken the classes and passed the tests.  She was refused a license, however.  She protested that she was being denied because of her sex, but was told she was denied because she is not a Venician.  She still has a job as a gondolier, however, because she is the private gondolier for one of the hotels in town.  But she cannot work at one of the regular gondola stands in the city.

The only female gondolier in Venice is standing on the gondola dressed in white.

After a nice pizza dinner Pat wanted to have dessert at the Florian Cafe in Piazza San Marco.  The restaurant has been in business since 1720 and serves elegant lunches and desserts presented on silver platters, and served by men in tuxedos.  Tonight they were serving outside in the square and had a five piece ensemble to entertain us.

Look closely at the bill and you will see we paid quite a bit for our indulgence, twice what we paid for our pizza dinner.  This included a 12 euro cover charge for the music.  But it is a once in a lifetime experience.

Below is a picture of a typical bar, where we had lunch.  Bar's are not beer joints like we have at home...you can buy a drink if you want, but mostly they sell sandwiches (panini), coffee, and breakfast and lunch food at reasonable prices.

The guy on the left either works as a gondolier or somebody stole his clothes and he dressed himself from the souvenir vending cart.

And now about 14 seconds of the quintet.  Two other restaurants in the Piazza had similar entertainment.  What a treat!