Europe - Venice

 We had a leisurely departure from Verona, and along the way we decided to make a few detours to visit some vineyards on the way to Venice.  Unfortunately we timed it pretty badly, as most were closed for lunch, but we did find a couple that were open.  A bit of wine tasting, and a few bottles in the car, we were all set to get to Venice

Actually we decided not to stay on the Venetian islands due to parking and found our place on the mainland in Mestre.  Just outside out apartment we have a selection of buses that only take around 15 minutes to get into Venice. And we made the most of it!

It was 2 action packed days in Venice with LOT and LOTS of walking were on the last day, Mish’s Fitbit recorded having walked 18.5km!  That means we saw a lot of Venice, apart from seeing countless churches, canals and little souvenir shops (and there is a lot of those!) some of the highlights included:

• The Jewish district including the “island ghetto”
• The gorgeous bridges of Ponte di Rialto with its shops on the bridge and Ponte dell’Accademia (a intricate wooden bride) 

• Of course the Basilica di San Marco which unfortunately was closed to visitors whilst we were there, along with the Palazza Ducale and the Piazza San Marco.  Mish noticed that a number of clock towers had a rather strange setup.  Instead of having an 12-hr clock with 2 hands, a number of clock towers sported a 24hr clock with just one hand for the hour.  Apparently this was quite common in Medieval Italy and Northern Europe, and 12-hr clock face only started to become common in the 14th/15th centuries.

• Window shopping, with a special focus on the Venetian glass from Murano.  It was amazing to see what these craftsmen can do with glass.    There were so many things that we wanted to buy, but we had to keep reminding ourselves that there was no way that the glass would survive the rest of our long car journey back home. 

• Getting lost in the back alleys of Venice was also fun, as we were able to find some interesting places without the throngs of tourists (lots of those in Venice). 

As a special treat for the girls we had two surprises for them:

1. A Venetian face mask making session with one of the local specialists.  The girls had a blast making their own masks.  While they were limited to just an hour, they have plans of making upgrades to their masks when we get home.  Mish in the meanwhile escaped with the doggies to a local bar for a glass of vino Bianco.

2.A Four Seasons concert by Vivaldi, in the church of Saint Maria Della Pieta or also known as Church of Vivaldi.  It was here that he worked  (due to his hair, he was known of the “Red Priest”) and composed his works.  The music was beautiful and it was great to expose the girls to a live classical music concert. 

Venice is definitely interesting and very unique, and whilst we only spent 2 days here, there is so much more to explore.  Unfortunately we will have to leave that for our next visit…