Venice

Venice — the city for lovers…..and a family of lovers! What is not to like about Venice — it is magnificent!!!

We had a fairly early flight & grabbed a bite in the car on the road, so we arrived with plenty of day left. It was fun to grab the water taxi to the hotel.

The Danieli is now a Marriott — at least until next year. John loves to stay at Marriott hotels and he did stay at the Danieli with his aunt, uncle and cousin when he was sixteen years old. It is still as beautiful and is so historic; it is also now 200 years old! We were able to check into one of our rooms so we put all the luggage there after a bit of a wait in the lobby; no problem there — so much to see.

And then it was on to St. Mark’s Square and into St. Mark’s Cathedral.

The rest of the group decided to go into the treasury and roof of the cathedral where they could look out on the piazza. Meanwhile I took lots of pictures and then spotted this girl — nice outfit in which to visit a church!!! Look through the coverup they gave her.

Our room was wonderful with a view of the Grand Canal.

We had a wonderful dinner that night followed by a soufle that had chocolate and vanilla sauce to add. Loved by all…..except I had some kind of crepe.

We did stop just as the bell tower was chiming. I took a video of it.

And a pigeon shot:

In the morning we had a fabulous breakfast on the patio of the hotel; to accommodate all of us on short notice we had to be there at 7:30 a.m. We made it! And it was worth it!!!

And then we were off to see more sights in Venice.

Our first stop was at the Palace of the Doges.

We walked for awhile over bridges and then took a vaporetto to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum.

We wandered our way back to the hotel with a little shopping on the way. I was on the hunt for some more stable shoes for getting in and out of boats. I had one pair but they were a specific color; I needed neutral. We all wanted a little rest before dinner.

Now might be a good time to mention that the Danieli is celebrating 200 years of hospitality and over five centuries of heritage. There is a collection of old pictures on our floor, so I took one of Paul McCartney since he had just performed in London at a ripe old age. John preferred the one of Sophia Loren.

The drinkers stopped along the way for a little wine; the rest of us rested before heading back out for dinner…..passing a very narrow little street and more.

After dinner we enjoyed seeing Venice at twilight. Apparently St. Mark’s Square is washed down every night. Made for some great photography and some fun; I sped up my bike and splashed through a puddle as if I were five years old to lots of smiles from onlookers!

In the morning we were off to the nearby island of Murano. The hotel had arranged a boat to take us there — straight to the original glassworks where the tradition of blowing glass in Murano began hundreds of years ago. We were treated to a glass blowing exhibition before we were taken to the rooms full of beautiful art works. Also, they had employed the very first female glass blower! Woman Power!!! But first, the boat ride…..

She just made that horse for demonstration then she threw it back in the pile to melt again :). Too easy! Also, no photographs are allowed in the gallery so I don’t have anything to show you now. However, John and I lost our minds and bought two really beautiful pieces which we can all enjoy later.

The boat dropped us back in the Cannaregio section of Venice. Lunch was our next stop at Osteria Le Guile, right on the sidewalk. Kathryn didn’t think much of limoncello; neither did I!

One of the main sights in that section of Venice is the old synagogue and Jewish ghetto. I was told that I would not be able to do that tour, so I just wandered around ….but I do have the pictures from the tour.

Just a few fun shots on the way back.

We were leaving fairly early in the morning so it was time for a little packing up before dinner…..and then we were off for more food! We thought it had to be good since it has been around exactly as long as I have!!!!

That concludes our time in Italy; in the morning we were off to Paris — another blog on the way. I might mention that I have been home for a few days — I am quite behind on blogging. Traveling with a group is time consuming!

See you at the next stop,

Beth