Venice Day 2

 

Day two in Venice is pretty much in the books, and we’re still in awe of this place.  Although we’re spending our time in Venice, we’re actually staying in Mestre, which is just off the collection of islands that make up Venice.  This suits us fine as we have conventional plumbing and accommodation is way better priced.  We have a three day transit pass which gets us on to the #2 bus into Venice (about 15 minutes), and then onto our choice of vaporettos, which are essentially buses on water.  Yesterday we chose to walk across Venice, more or less following the Grand Canal to St. Mark’s Square, and then hopped the vaporetto back along that same canal.  Today, we had tickets to get us into St. Mark’s Basilica in the morning, and the vaporetto we caught took us all the way around the outside of Venice to get us there by the back route.  It was a much more efficient route with fewer stops.

   The St. Mark’s tour was very worthwhile, and Debbie once again demonstrated her wisdom by purchasing the tickets in advance.  We felt really sorry for the people in the ticket line.  One of the best parts of the tour was that we could access a balcony that provided fantastic views of St. Mark’s Square and the sea surrounding Venice.  We sat on a ledge and spent a very long time there.

   Next on our list was a visit to the Doge’s Palace, where we encountered a decidedly unfriendly woman who was absolutely exasperated with us for not knowing that our ticket wasn’t any good until after 12:00, despite the fact that this information appeared nowhere on said ticket or anywhere else.  We felt her employer should issue her a bayonet to complete her persona.

   Eventually we were granted entry and found a lot of very grand rooms with artwork on almost every square inch of the walls and ceilings.  We were also paraded through the prison cells and had a chance to look out the window of the Bridge of Sighs, which was the last look at anything that a lot of  prisoners got back in the day.

   The rest of our day involved a lot of not really knowing where we were but then not really caring.  Venice is a pretty magical place.

St Mark’s Basilica

Gold mosaics everywhere!

The Pala d’Oro is one of the most precious treasures of Venice, housed inside St. Mark’s Basilica. This magnificent golden altarpiece dates back to the 10th century and was enriched over the centuries with gold, silver, and thousands of precious gems.

Mosaic floors everywhere

With the fall of Constantinople in 1204, the victorious Venetians pillaged and plundered the defeated city. One of the crowning jewels of the collection was the Hippodrome's four bronze horses. The four horses were dismantled and shipped to their new resting place atop St. Mark's Basilica as a symbol of triumph. Today they get to relax indoors while cheaper newer replicas stand in for them on the roof.

St. Mark’s Square

Doge’s Palace

The ceilings are magnificent!

Prison 

Looking out through the bars on the bridge of Sighs, named as such because convicted persons were moved across this bridge from the courts to the prison and this provided their last glimpse of Venice. The next photo is the Bridge of Sighs from outside.(the little connection between the two buildings )

The grand staircase: site of the coronation of the Doge (the chief magistrate of Venice)

The Doges’ private gondola

The Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs from around 300 AD. The sculptural group has been fixed to a corner of the façade of St. Mark’s since the Middle Ages.

The yellow Venetian ambulance with paramedics and very loud siren! No other way yo reach a patient.

Rialto Bridge