The city of canals
Venice was absolutely beatiful. My favorite part is their public transportation. I know that sounds ridiculous, but everybody rides these boats called, vaporetto. They are incridibly crowded, but very cool nontheless. The whole city was crowded, with tourists, which can be quite annoying at times. There was evidence of the fact that we irritated the locals. One morning when we went to buy fruit at one of the little fruit stands. The vendor had a sign that read "No Tourists" quite odd in a city of tourists.
One day we went down to Piazza San Marco. This huge square in front of the Basilica di San Marco. Which is a huge church that was built to house the remains of what they believe is the apostle Mark. How they acquired these remains is quite interesting. In 828 AD two Venetian merchants pursuaded the guardians of Mark's tomb in Alexandria to let them take him. So the loaded his body and took him to Venice. Why? You might ask. Well the patron saint Venice already had was not famous enough for them. Go figure.
An evening view of the Piazza
The Piazza was really quite beautiful if you can overlook the tourists and the pigeons running around everywhere. We went back in the evening and happily, found the place quite deserted of both.
Venice is a city of islands. Some are only a bridge away and others require a boat ride to get to. One of these islands is Murano, the glass blowing island. Tim really wanted to see it, so we hopped on a boat and went over there. They have furnaces set up where you can go and watch the artisans at work. We found one of these furnaces and sat down to watch. The workers were very entertaining. It was amazing to watch them turn glass rods into works of art. They take glass blowing very seriously, to the extent that if someone learned the trade of glass blowing on the island, it was considered treason for them to move away. Serious stuff.
And of course who can go to Venice and not take a gondola ride. We found a guy who was willing to do it for a reasonable rate and went. It was so great. Our driver's name was Diego and he was quite entertaining. He sang and pointed out all the interesting landmarks. It was wonderful.
One day we went down to Piazza San Marco. This huge square in front of the Basilica di San Marco. Which is a huge church that was built to house the remains of what they believe is the apostle Mark. How they acquired these remains is quite interesting. In 828 AD two Venetian merchants pursuaded the guardians of Mark's tomb in Alexandria to let them take him. So the loaded his body and took him to Venice. Why? You might ask. Well the patron saint Venice already had was not famous enough for them. Go figure.
An evening view of the Piazza
The Piazza was really quite beautiful if you can overlook the tourists and the pigeons running around everywhere. We went back in the evening and happily, found the place quite deserted of both.
Venice is a city of islands. Some are only a bridge away and others require a boat ride to get to. One of these islands is Murano, the glass blowing island. Tim really wanted to see it, so we hopped on a boat and went over there. They have furnaces set up where you can go and watch the artisans at work. We found one of these furnaces and sat down to watch. The workers were very entertaining. It was amazing to watch them turn glass rods into works of art. They take glass blowing very seriously, to the extent that if someone learned the trade of glass blowing on the island, it was considered treason for them to move away. Serious stuff.
And of course who can go to Venice and not take a gondola ride. We found a guy who was willing to do it for a reasonable rate and went. It was so great. Our driver's name was Diego and he was quite entertaining. He sang and pointed out all the interesting landmarks. It was wonderful.
posted by Jennifer | 2:18 PM
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