Venice - sunshine

Oh photos can be deceiving. Let's just pretend for a while that it was warm and sunny all the time. Two weeks after the fact and browsing through the photos it does seem a while lot warmer and sunnier in Venice. I was even able to find a few with shimmering water...

A view from the Ponte di Rialto


















And this one from the bridge heading to Academia






















Venetian flare. Oooh look at that sunshine.

















You need sun for a sunset, no? Looking back to Venice from near Murano.






















Shimmering water on Murano, the small island known for its glass.

From near Fondamente Nove, the north side of Venice. which feels a lot like the working end of the city.

Wishing you sunnier memories.

Venice - everyday

One strolls around Venice and goes ooh and aah at the little canals, old buildings and history all around one. Sure, you take the bus, which is a boat, but it didn't really sink in until day 3 when we strolled past the hospital, that people live a normalish life here with all that is required for normality. Of course if you have a city you need a hospital and ambulances... and yes, if you have no roads then you ambulances must be boats...

This is the quay outside the hospital, with yes, an ambulance awaiting.

















Yet another waterborne emergency service.

Apart from the necessary, there is also the luxury. Limo anyone? There were some beautiful wooden boats floating about.

Not all 'boats' have a striped-shirt Casanova on the back. Most have a noisy diesel, so in everyday life there are also the petrol stations. Obvious, but just a little odd.

Strange how we just take things and how they are for granted.

Venice - Cathedral

Venice isn't like anywhere else. The feeling is so unique, you don't really need attractions to make it worthwhile. That said, there is one such attraction that takes a lot of beating for wow value; the cathedral. Religion has at least served up some architectural and cultural treasures. I wonder what they would have painted, and in this case mosaic'ed, had it not been for the old and new testaments???

Although oh so catholic, here in Venice, there are small hints that this was once the gateway to the east. Even inside the cathedral there is a little bit of oriental. Dubbed 'the golden church' for a good reason, the interior walls and ceiling are almost completely covered in gold mosaic and scenes from the bible. There are also several intriguing slabs of marble, here and there, as only the Italians do so well. Even the floor is covered in mosaic of whimsical animals and geometric patterns that seem to come from and IQ test. Amazing! You will have to take my word for it, since unlike some illiterate peasants that insisted on trying to take photos of the interior, even though asked not to, I restrained myself. So, here is a look at the outside of one of the wows in Venice.


























A little gold with pointy arches... hmmm a tad eastern?


















Looking down from the campanile... the grimy side of the roofs. Something has to keep the rain out.
























Evening stroll, and...

























daytime stroll.

















Oh well, I guess if you don't take photos because of scaffolding you will never get the photo ;)

If you get a chance, be sure to see the inside.

Venice

I confirm, Venice is built on the... or should that be in the water. Nothing that some gumboots can't fix. More about that next time, for now some views of Venice.

























Do you have a table for two? Piazza San Marco a little under water.


















A view out from the pier San Marco, late evening gondolas all tied up.

























Grey can also be pretty, more so in retrospect ;)

















In fact very pretty...

















Some more photos and story to come. A great way to spend an anniversary.