Venice, Italy
45° 26' N 12° 19' E
Jul 05, 2009 11:20
Distance 0km

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Text written in: English

And More Canals

Venice. Sunday, July 5th.

As Venice was so overrun with visitors on Saturday, I figured the only way around that was to start the day early.  As it was Sunday, there was a 7 AM Mass in St. Mark's Basilica (and no-one goes to Mass these days, so the church was guaranteed to be empty).  Got to St.  Mark's Plaza, and it was indeed empty, and in the church there were not more than 20 of us.  Being alone in the Basilica and celebrating Mass changed the feel of the structure.  The mass was in Italian, so for much of the time I had limited idea as to what was going on, so I was able to look at the mosaics and marvel at them, examine the five domes, look at the marble pillars and sneak a bunch of photos (officially photos are not permitted, as too many people use flashes).  Looking at the pictures of the mosaics made me appreciate more the beauty of this basilica. 

 

It was now 7:45, so I went back to my hotel (Hotel Astoria, excellent location and extremely reasonable, paying more to stay in Verona or Bergamo or most other places than here).  After  breakfast just started to walk.  There is a major “S” shaped waterway that divides Venice (plus numerous small canals).  The Grand Canal has three bridges that cross it, and as I had crossed two already, it was my goal was to cross the third bridge and visit that part of the city.  The crowds were not up yet and the sky was overcast (there were thunder storms last night).  Enjoyed the morning wandering about and trying not to get too lost.  

 

Early in the day, I learned that Vivaldi (as in the Four Seasons symphony) was from near Venice, and that the violin was invented in this area.  Vivaldi was one of the first composers to write music for the violin.  So today's music theme was Vivaldi.  Of my 7,000 songs, over 100 were written by Vivaldi.  It was the right music for walking about Venice in.  Kept me in a blissful wandering fog, the perfect space when you are on your own and in a bewildering and engaging  place.  My music has been my constant travel companion for these past two weeks. What a godsend Ipod's are. 

 

The part of Venice I was in now was full of art galleries, expensive designer shops and trendy retailers.  The Italians are a very design and style conscience, fashion aware, sophisticated people, and as a North American you can feel their class and bravado. By noon I had walked over 10 K and was bridges/canals/ alleys/islands/gondolas/ touristed out, and ready for some down time.

 

There are many islands not connected to Venice by bridges, rather you have to take small ferries to get to them. Lido Island is perhaps 1.5 K away from Venice, so I took a ferry to get there.  Lido is a single island, and there are buses and cars on it as it is long and narrow.  On the furthermost side from Venice there are beaches which stretch for several K.  European beaches are so different from what I am used to.  People are not out to look sexy, they are there to get a tan, lay about, play in the water, gather with family and friends and do what God intended beaches for.  As it was Sunday, the beach was packed.  In the public beach area were wall-to-wall bodies of every shape and size.  Only the occasional Italian man was strutting his stuff:  the women, almost all in the smallest of bikinis were seriously working on their tans.  Again, the natural cool of the Italians strikes you.  Finished my second trashy novel while sitting under an overhead sidewalk, as the sun was very intense.  Walked a good length of the beach, then caught a ferry back to Venice.  Found a MacDonald's restaurant within a stone throw of St. Mark's basilica.  What a perfect way to end my visit to one of the most unique cities I have ever visited (but remember to bring your partner (and a fat wallet)]. Other than my place to stay, Venice is tres cher!

Photos / videos of "And More Canals":

St. Mark's Square at 6:45 AM. Other than the birds, street cleaners and a few visitors, the square is empty. View of the entrance to the Basilica. This is a very large church built in the Middle Ages. The empty plaza at 6:45 AM on Sunday morning. The glorious ceiling of the church. This gold-like ceiling is made of mosaic tiles. The altar area of the church. This is the smaller altar on the left side of the church. Went to mass here at 7 AM on Sunday. Only a few dozen of us there. Was able to sneak these photos during mass. Overhead as mass was going on. The mass was in Italian, so for much of it I was lost. The scale of the ceiling is awesome, and all in mosaic tiles. Final photo of the interior to St. Mark's Basilica. Lion statue next to the church. One of the few photos of me on this trip. Arched entrance to the plaza. My hotel was about 200 metres from here, but in between were two bridges and a maze of alleys. Canals and bridges everywhere. On of the many statues or monuments to war heroes. Venice was a city state and forever in conflict with the other city states, so heroes were important and essential to the city's survival. Crossing the third major bridge over the large canal which traverses Venice. There are over 100 small bridges crossing small canals, but three major bridges over the wide canal, which effectively cuts the island city into parts. Church museum dedicated to Vivaldi. Vivaldi was from Venice and was the first important composer to write music for the violin (which was invented near Venice). Another bridge. The wide canal which cuts through the city. There are only three bridges over this waterway. A quiet RC church away from the plaza. There are many RC churches in Venice, much more than the current population can support or seems to need. There is art everywhere. Notice that there is a nun in the background. This is another island which one can only get to by a gondola. Yesterday a large cruise-liner passed through this strait. The boat was being towed and had another towboat in the rear pulling in the opposite direction, to ensure the ship would not drift to the land. Gondola with the rower in his striped jersey. All the rowers worn this attire. St. Mark's plaza at noon; the crowds have arrived. Had enough of bridges and canals; went to the beach for the afternoon (on another island). The beach was packed and the only shade was under this broad-walk, so there I camped out.
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