Day 8: More Venezia!

Our last full day in Venice started with another big breakfast, and a list of 'bonus' things to do IF we had extra time to spare (and we did). Even though it had rained off and on in Venice (at different points, there was thunder and even a torrential downpour that soaked us), we had mostly had decent weather...and cranked through most of our planned itinerary.

First up- we hunted down the Merchant of Venice, a former Gothic apothecary now used as a store connected to a pharmacy...this kind of stuff intrigues the inner historian in me.

Our second stop was an art exhibit at a palazzo that we passed by daily and kept commenting on. At the risk of sounding like an art moron- I think it was more fun to see the restored palazzo than it was to see the exhibit, although there were a few things we liked, of course. I just have a greater appreciation for architecture than I do most art mediums. (It's always a game changer when I know the artist though, because I get bowled over and envious by their talent!)

The third goal was to head back to the Grand Canal for a quick gondola ride across via a traghetto, a stop for fresh berries at a farmers market, and another crossing of the Rialto Bridge. Rialto is the oldest of the four bridges that cross the Grand Canal, and was built in 1173.

As beautiful as these salts are, I wasn't super fond of the massive food coloring and figured they're too touristy to be of any real benefit? We did get some of the brightly colored pastas at the top right of the picture though...it'll make a beautiful dish!

We spent a good amount of time just soaking up the action near the Rialto bridge, taking pictures, and selecting where we wanted to have dinner later that day. It can be hard to leave when you're just completely enamored, soaking up the vibes...

From atop Rialto Bridge, when I was briefly separated from Rich and Ryan by accident for about 15 min. Fortunately, our family has long had a solid "If you suddenly find yourself alone while traveling" or "If you get slammed outside of the train doors while your family is stuck inside" protocol that we strictly adhere to, so we were reunited quickly. While waiting, I had already picked out the shaded area I would call home, and ID'd the folks eating gelato I would politely as for a lick of ice cream from as well. One needs to be prepared. Very few people can say 'no' to an eldery (ageism), Asian (racism) woman asking for bites of their food, after all...otherwise I would not hesitate to let the allegations start to fly so fast and furious, they'd throw their cone at me! I've never had to use this card, but I will if gelato and starvation are involved.

Our fourth destination was the Ponte dell Accademia, a bridge (another of the four) that crosses the Grand Canal. The walk down to his collegiate/academic area was well worth the views from this bridge (see below)...

Once it was done, we headed back over to St. Mark's Square for a final time, and for our fifth 'bonus' activity that day- a tour of St. Mark's Basilica.

While we waited in the long line to get in, we cruised the square a bit. Pictures were so much better this day as on days one and two, it was overcast.

Once we got into the basilica, I was far more fascinated by the tiling on the floor than the golden cupolas which were also stunning. Back when we walked through in early 2000, we had a hand held camera that required packing rolls of film, so we were far more conservative in picture taking...and I took no pictures, then. Funny how time changes so many little things about a trip.

Who hand cut those little tile pies so symmetrically and perfectly a thousand years ago? Apparently, OCD was alive and well, even back then.

Our sixth and final activity was to have dinner along the Grand Canal and celebrate our 25th anniversary. Yes, it was in broad daylight (the sun doesn't set until 9:45pm and it doesn't get dark until around 10pm), and yes, we had Ryan with us...but those things mattered not whit, as we got to have a meal along the Grand Canal! Dining at night would have obscured our view anyway, in hindsight. 

We had a stunning front row view of the canal and all her activity- Rich had the famous Venetian spritz we saw everyone drinking and a pizza, I had grilled vegetables and lasagna and Ryan had his beloved carbonara. Not the fanciest fare, but delicious and unforgettable and super us. (We are not culinarians.)

That night, we packed up to leave, and I had Ryan model his new Japanese t-shirt from Venice, of course. ;-)

Our trip had a few ups and downs in Venice (torrential downpours, thunder, crowds, a rocking boat), but mostly ups, and it will retain it's ranking as my #1 favorite city in the world. It also made me realize how Italy itself is one of my favorite places to visit in the world, and I do see us spending more time there in the future. The people, food, culture, architecture...everything about it has a casualness I appreciate. It's also slightly more affordable than so much of Western Europe. Who knows...maybe someday we'll return for an extended stay in retirement. :-)