There’s nothing quite like being by the water. We arrived in Venice today, by train. We are staying at the Hotel Caneva, as suggested by Sarah R, and while it is very basic, it is well located. Their directions started with a trip on a waterbus, so we climbed aboard for a short cruise down the Grand Canal to the Rialto Bridge. From there, we had a short wander through the labyrinth of alleyways to the hotel. Some of their rooms overlook a canal – ours does not, but it’s a good size, and who wants to spend that much time in the hotel when you could be out exploring Venice?!
Truthfully, at this point of the night, today is a bit of a blur. We stopped in every mask shop and murano glass shop we saw. We found St Marks Square (unfortunately much of it is covered by scaffolding and is under repair) and toured the Basilica. The gold mosaics are magnificent. (The ceiling structure and marble work is also remarkable in San Stefano). We wandered the alleyways, following the little arrows: this way to the Academia bridge, this way to San Marco, this way to the Rialto. We had a wonderful lunch in the sun overlooking the lagoon. After dinner, we wandered over to the other side of the Rialto bridge and decided we would return tomorrow when more of it would be open.
One of the things we commented on were the bells at St Marks. At 6 o’clock, they chimed 6 times, which is what you would expect except that in Florence, the bells at Santa Maria del Fiora (Il Duomo), the bells chimed 23 times at 7am. We couldn’t figure that one out either. It has something to do with Il Duomo telling time based on 24hrs starting either from sunrise or sunset. Either way, we found it odd.
Tomorrow, we will find the church in the Indiana Jones and Moonraker movies, do the Rialto Bridge by daylight, watch the figurines strike the bells atop the astronomical clock beside San Marco (like in Prague), and take the waterbus across the lagoon to San Giorgio. Venice is like Disney world for adults – what’s a trip to the amusement park without a boat ride?
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