Our first full morning began with a heavy breakfast of some sort of traditional Italian cake, toast, and of course, caffe! We chatted with Andrea's mom and his grandfather who also ate breakfast with us. Andrea's grandfather had a stunning resemblance to Paulo, even down his comments on how bella we were! Andrea's mother gave us a quick run down on our buses to and from Venice and we were off. We arrived at Piazzele de Roma after a short, crowded bus ride, printed our pre-purchased transportation passes, and boarded our first vaporetto, Venice's waterbus system, to the Rialto Mercato. Bustling with locals and tourists alike, the market was a hub for fresh produce and the catches of the day. We grabbed some apricots and cucumbers for snacks throughout the day and began wandering through the city towards Frari Church.
There were so many breathtaking views along the way, I continuously found myself snapping photos down each little branch of the canal. After our walk from Rialto Mercato to Frari Church, we hopped back on the vaporetto for a ride down to Piazza San Marco. As we entered St. Mark's Square, in awe, we were welcomed "by the songs of angels," as Emily stated, who were singing the procession before mass. I'm assuming this was a special mass in the square for the Festa all Sensa, to celebrate Ascension. We started our tour of the Square with a walk through the Correr Museum and the National Archaelogical Museum viewing a showcase of Ventetican history and art. Afterwards, we crossed the Square intending to get in line for St. Mark's Basilica, but after one quick glance at the line snaking nearly all the way out of the square, we opted to visit the much less crowded Doge's Palace.
Formerly, Doge's Palace housed the various rulers of Venice. As we walked through, we saw various works of art and history, mostly focused around the different councils of Venetician government. The Bridge of Sighs also connects Doge's Palace to the prison, hence its symbolic title. During our tour, I nearly missed the fact we were crossing the bridge, if it weren't for the crowds of tourists snapping selfies (selfie sticks are the latest tourist trap sales pitch, by the way) outside, I would have thought it was just another structure. The exterior of Doge's Palace featuring its Venetian Gothic architecture was especially fascinating. Growing up in an era of technology, it's hard to fathom the amount of time and manpower it must have taken not only to construct these great structures, but also to develop the intricate details throughout, too.
Following Doge's Palace, we once again tried to queue up for St. Mark's Basilica, but one final glance at the line and we simultaneously decided it could wait until the next day. So, we found ourselves a quiet spot along the canal to rest our tired feet and sip a cappacino. If you know me well, you know this I one of my favorite things to do, but let's be honest, it's exponentially better when enjoyed in Venice. Following our cappacino and a stop for gelato, we boarded the vaporetto for a nice, slow ride back to Piazzale Roma. We snagged some perfect seats at the front, so I could capture some beautiful shots as the sun began to set on the city. Unfortunately, the Rialto bridge was under construction so I was never able to capture a decent shot of it. My disappointment stems from the fact that my dad created a mock Rialto bridge for my Bella Carnivale themed junior prom, and I wanted to get him a photo of the real thing! We then caught our bus, well more accurately, a bus,and headed off the island back towards Mestre. Unfortunately, we ran into some further transportation issues when we started to realize this bus wasn't taking the same route as the one we rode earlier that day. Confused and hungry, we decided to stop in Mestre's city center for a quick dinner and hopefully a Wifi connection. Well, "quick dinner" is an oxymoron, not only in Venice, but all of Italy. We never found a wifi connection that actually worked either, but we thankfully somehow managed to find our way back to the Stocco house by 10:30pm or so. I giggled as we collapsed on our bed in exhaustion and I glanced up at the Madonna and baby artwork above our bed - I said a little prayer and expressed my gratitude for safety and being back in a warm bed.
Day two began with a trip to the islands of Murano and Burano to tour the glass & lace museums. Franco, our vaporetto driver was very charming and gave us a nice overview of both islands. Our first stop was Murano, a smaller island about five minutes from Venice, that's mostly famous for its hand-blown glass products. We were some of the first to arrive, as this sleepy little town was just starting its day. Shopkeepers, who mostly thrive off tourism, we're just cracking open the shutters and welcoming us with exuberant smiles. We first visited the glass museum, which was small, but I was quite intrigued to learn more about the process and the science behind glass making. I actually have a growing collection of green depression glass of my own at home, so I'm glad I was able to visit Murano and learn more. Next stop, Burano, which is further out and even smaller than Murano. Burano is a small fishing village which is famous for its vibrantly colored houses and lacemaking. We walked around the majority of the island in just a short time, stopped in at the small lace museum, and sat down for a nice lunch.
Again, lunch took way longer than we had anticipated and we found ourselves rushing back and navigating the twists and turns of cobblestone streets and canals to San Marco for our prearranged visit to St. Mark's Basilica. After seeing the line yesterday, we decided it was well worth the 2€ to be able to preselect a time and just walk right in. Like all cathedrals I've seen in Europe, St. Mark's possessed the same level of fascination, detailed art and architecture, and the ability to slightly take your breath away. It was a quick tour, just a somber walk through the sanctuary. St. Mark's is built on the grave of St. Mark, whose sign is the winged lion. The lion is seen throughout the cathedral in great detail, throughout the Square, and throughout the entire city itself, too.
We then moved on to Ca'Pescaro, the museum of modern art. It was definitely different to see some modern works of art after seeing so many works from the Renaissance. My favorite was the Picasso piece, mostly because it reminded me of the trip to Paris I took with my sister a few years ago. There was also a few landscapes that I found note-worthy. Afterwards, we were both ready for an afternoon cappacino break. Emily had a cappacino, and I tried a Spritz, the local beverage. It's a white wine mixed with some sort of orange liqueur and served with an orange slice and an olive. I'm glad I tried it, but I can't say I'll ever be ordering another. After a little refresher, we stopped at the Coop grocery store and picked up the essentials (bread, porchetta, some veggies and wine), said one last farewell to Venezia, and boarded our bus, the correct one this time, back to Mestre.
We spent the evening on the terrace of our room having an Italian picnic and preparing for the next leg of our journey. Venice was the perfect warm up, as we now start to take on a new culture and different language than I am accustomed to in any of my prior European travels. I'm definitely anxious for what's to come and looking forward to a less tourist-laden landscape that's more wild and awaiting adventure seekers like us.
So until then, ciao!
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