There is something spooky about a city without cars. It's quiet!
After the restaurants and shops closed and a few of those with plenty of wine in them went home..there was hardly a sound until the bells rang in the churches at 7am. It was quieter than the country. No animals or wind sound. After 7 there was the rumble of hand carts in the street and the day began.
We had breakfast at 8:30 and headed out to the Doge's palace which is just around the corner from where we stayed. It is much more than just a palace for a rich person but rather the seat of government for the Venice Republic that lasted nearly a 1000 years. Interesting stuff. We rented one of the self guide systems and visited the whole place. We went early to try to avoid the crowds.. only partially successfully. But we ended up spending 3 hours there. The art is amazing. How can things like this survive so long?
It was then off to the Rialto Bridge and market. We had passed under it on the way in. Lots of ticky tacky things but off the bridge there is a food market with fruits and vegetables and a fish market with lots of interesting things.
We had lunch along the Grand Canal and then headed off toward the Accademia area. Lots of stores on the way. Any number of old churches... all different all lovely. We ended up close to the one Anglican church across the canal from St. Marks Square but by this time we were about churched and cultured out! We wandered back and had a beer in the square near our Inn.
We went out for supper one last time as we head out in the morning to San Marino. We can't put our finger on it but the city has a very different feel tonight compared to last night. There were a lot fewer people around for one thing but it is just quieter. The makeup of the tours staying over has something to do with it... but... Venice is a city always changing.
After the restaurants and shops closed and a few of those with plenty of wine in them went home..there was hardly a sound until the bells rang in the churches at 7am. It was quieter than the country. No animals or wind sound. After 7 there was the rumble of hand carts in the street and the day began.
We had breakfast at 8:30 and headed out to the Doge's palace which is just around the corner from where we stayed. It is much more than just a palace for a rich person but rather the seat of government for the Venice Republic that lasted nearly a 1000 years. Interesting stuff. We rented one of the self guide systems and visited the whole place. We went early to try to avoid the crowds.. only partially successfully. But we ended up spending 3 hours there. The art is amazing. How can things like this survive so long?
It was then off to the Rialto Bridge and market. We had passed under it on the way in. Lots of ticky tacky things but off the bridge there is a food market with fruits and vegetables and a fish market with lots of interesting things.
We had lunch along the Grand Canal and then headed off toward the Accademia area. Lots of stores on the way. Any number of old churches... all different all lovely. We ended up close to the one Anglican church across the canal from St. Marks Square but by this time we were about churched and cultured out! We wandered back and had a beer in the square near our Inn.
We went out for supper one last time as we head out in the morning to San Marino. We can't put our finger on it but the city has a very different feel tonight compared to last night. There were a lot fewer people around for one thing but it is just quieter. The makeup of the tours staying over has something to do with it... but... Venice is a city always changing.
No comments:
Post a Comment