If I had a month of Sundays – it wouldn’t be enough to explore all that there is to see in Venice.
Oh, sure – there is the usual “Very High End” shopping districts down quite a few of the narrow alleys in the main areas around St Mark’s square –and we would shake our heads as we walked past mostly empty store fronts with 1,500.00 euro Gucci bags in the windows…evidently the finer folks that can afford these things were not in Venice the two days that we were in port. But the street vendor kiosks were busy!
Getting up on the top deck bright and early and watching the sun rise over sleepy Venice was a magical moment. I love my early mornings. And this one was glorious!
Water shuttle back to town!
The big domed church is Santa Maria della Salute, or yes, another Saint Mary of Health, a church by the same name of the little one we hiked up to in Kotor, Montenegro. I was on a pilgrimage to get to this church this day, but before we could we had a gondola excursion to deal with!
In 1630, Venice experienced an unusually devastating outbreak of the plague. As a votive offering for the city's deliverance from the pestilence, the Republic of Venice vowed to build and dedicate a church to Our Lady of Health (or of Deliverance, Italian: Salute). The church was designed in the then fashionable baroque style by Baldassare Longhena, who studied under the architect Vincenzo Scamozzi. Construction began in 1631. Most of the objects of art housed in the church bear references to the Black Death. [source]
More on St Mary’s in the Slide show.
On to the gondolas!
This was fun!
The gondolas are all hand crafted as they have been for centuries, and each will only fit 6 passengers, and it must be balanced so as not to tip in the water. The gondolier will tell you WHERE to sit to balance the load!
Here we go!
I caught a bit of a video to give you the feel of what this is like! Did our guy sing? No….but you can pay a fortune more for one that WILL serenade you as you float along through the canals. I got a video clip of that too—will upload at a later date as the upload speed on the ship is pretty pokey as it is.
I enjoyed the tour!
After the gondola tour we found out how to get over the Grand Canal by one of the 4 bridges that cross it, and make our way over to St Mary’s. We didn’t go into St Mark’s because the line was hours long, and no photos were allowed inside. I stuck mostly to places where I could take photos to share.
Priceless! Dated 1600s! and 1700s!
Once church was being used to house a violin and stringed instrument exhibit! These were absolutely beautiful and while we wandered, lovely Vivaldi music was playing in the background. In fact, there was a concert scheduled for that night that was free to the public, but it was at 8:30pm and we had to be back on ship by then. Oh, I wanted to stay for that concert so bad! You’ll find more instruments in the slide show. Remember you can pause it at any time to see anything a bit longer. And you can also click it to full screen mode.
Yesterday’s Croatia experience will post tomorrow!
Today we are at sea for our last full day workshop day. Some of our ladies have already finished the applique on all 4 Spanish Rose blocks….they are loving their projects and that makes me one happy quilter!
Quiltville Quote of the Day!
These quilty folks and others we have met on this fabulous cruise make me feel just this way! It’s an awesome experience, and there is so much more yet to come.
Vintage bow tie quilt top from my collection.
Have a lovely Thursday, everyone!
Great photos and very atmospheric. Very amused to hear a lady speaking Afrikaans in the background on the last few seconds of your video clip on the gondola - we South Africans go everywhere!
ReplyDeleteBreathtaking. Absolutely beautiful slide show. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love those night time photos! Don't think I have ever seen npphotos of Venice by night, especially along the water edge. Dave went with you! Glad you could enjoy this trip together! Bet he gets a kick out of seeing how much your fans adore you!😄 I have always had so many questions about the canals in Venice.....I love the narrow canals and the beautiful old houses lining them. I always wonder if the houses have maintenance problems directly related to the water outside. So many houses have doors on the canal side and it looks like they have steps there too. Do people go out the door and get into a boat? Or did it used to be a street before it was a canal? Do people sit on their steps at the edge of the water (like we might sit on our porch)?
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to read in this mornings paper about the earthquake in Italy yesterday. So glad you are out of harms way, but so sad it has hurt so many.
Safe travels home!
When we were there last month and took a ride on a gondola, the people in the one behind us had a singer. We could hear perfectly and were glad we weren't in the same boat. St. Mark's is supposed to be special but we found it not to be. We saw many more churches that were more beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWow, right today I was talking with my friend about you and you beautiful books and works...and you was so near to us..we live in Vicenza, noto far to Venezia
ReplyDeleteWow, right today I was talking with my friend about you and you beautiful books and works...and you was so near to us..we live in Vicenza, noto far to Venezia
ReplyDeleteOh, how I have loved the pictures of your travels. We made the trip a couple of summers ago. No, the gondolier did not sing--that is, not until my husband started with his beautiful baritone voice!!! :-) What a great time we had. Memories, memories . . .
ReplyDeleteThanks for the slideshow! I have dreamed of going to Venice for a long time and this was wonderful to see.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a great time for everyone!
I love your post, especially the ones from your trips outside the borders of the USA.
ReplyDeleteSome of these places I'll never see, only through your eyes. Thank you so much for sharing these videos with all of us here at home. Not to mention everything else you share. I don't know how you do it.