As we did in Santorini, we went to sleep in Venice with the rain heaving down and awoke to the bluest, clearest skies! Pretty swell considering we only had one full day to explore!
The view from our little balcony was magical. A very crooked tower in the distance and looking down through the canal with it's colourful buildings and little bridges.
We headed off in search of some breakfast and wifi. There was a bizarre fun run happening ... men, women, children, dogs, carrying signs .. all hustling through the main square and over the bridges. Not sure what it was all about! Maybe they were celebrating the gorgeous blue sky??!
We got lost on the way to breakfast, trying to find a certain jaunt .. but quickly realised we'd be getting lost fairly often!
Fuelled up and ready to go we wandered through the little alleys and over bridges. Nerida and I were just in our element capturing photos. I've never been in such a photogenic place before. It just seemed everywhere we turned it was just stunning. We stopped for some fruit and found a little pier to sit on. The sun was shining so much that it was creating twinkling stars on the water.
We made our way to the main sqaure, Piazza san Marco and to the Church of Saint Mark. From the 11th century onwards, the building has been known as the Church of gold or Chiesa d'Oro ... and it's no wonder why. Once inside you realise the entire roof is mosaic-ed with tiny, little gold tiles. It was really incredible.
Our luck on this trip with music has been brilliant. St Paul's Basilica, Church of Saint Cecilia and now the Church of Saint Mark. It was so cool to hear the acoustics each time.
Brad was keen on seeing these four horses that guard the building. They have removed the originals and placed them inside the church/museum. The four that stand outside are replicas.
We found some food for lunch and then split up to keep wandering. We had no real plans to be honest and spent it just wandering around. Mum and Dad had recommended catching the ferry down the Grand Canal so we kept walking towards to the top of the island. A few people kept walking past up with these interesting looking ice creams and we tracked it down to a Magnum store. There, you could build your own magnum! So good! We ate these out on the edge of the canal and soaked up some more sunshine.
The ferry ride down the canal is something I'll never forget. I'm so glad Dad recommended it. The ferries were open each side so you could stand and soak up the view. Taxis, speed boats, men in blue striped shirts steering the gondolas, people having long lunches on the water's edge ...
And all of these buildings just right there on the water's edge.
We hopped off at San Marco and walked through a series of local artists, all with their umbrella's set up, painting in the shade. We picked a water colour from an artist who was wonderful to chat to. A special piece to bring back home with us. We moseyed home to rest our legs for a bit before heading out to catch the golden light.
Together we ate a restaurant close by and enjoyed fish and salad. Even though it was our last night in Italy, we were fairly sick of pizza and pasta!
Venice. Wow.
