Country girl like me, who imagined she would someday marry a farmer and always stay in the state of Missouri her whole life, never dreamed that she would see such faraway fantasy places like Venice... but now, with a sparkle in her eye, she can say that yes, she truly has seen this fantabulous place, and she has the pictures to prove it!
The truly expansive St. Mark's Square, with the Basilica to the left, the bell tower standing majestically in front, and US, (gasp) in the middle of it all.
At one point, the pigeons all stirred and I thought I had been swept away to Hitchcock's world.
Our lovely tour guide walked with us through the maze of streets, marching us over the wooden Accademia Bridge, and on towards St. Marks' Square. On the way, we passed these impressive gondolas. Gondolas, by the way, are very unique vessels. They are not symmetrical, as their left side is larger then the right side by 24 cm. It always navigates inclined to one side. A gondola also has a flat bottom, which allows it to cross depths of as little as a few centimeters. Eight different types of wood are used in its construction and it is composed of 280 pieces. They are always painted black.
Part of our ferry ride to Venice included the chance to purchase substantially discounted tickets for a gondola ride, and not wanting to pass up such a once in a lifetime opportunity, we of course took advantage of it. I never in my wildest dreams imagined myself on a gondola in Venice, swigging champagne from a cup, with my family surrounding me, and the handsome gondolier (though shockingly headless in this photo) navigating us through the canals with such expertise and precision.
Do you think he'll soon forget such a boat ride? I hope not.
To our surprise, UPS is alive and well in the canals of Venice. See for yourself.
The carnival masks were decidedly expensive, and thinking they wouldn't fit well in my Americana decorating scheme, I passed them up and chose to take pictures of them instead. Crazy I suppose, but I was so grateful to be in Venice, to see the amazing sights, to have the gondola ride, that I didn't mind leaving the masks right where they were.
3 comments:
What a great trip!! The boys must have loved it. Venice, Florence and Milan are cities that are still on our 'to see' list.
We thought about going in the next couple of weeks, but everybody talks about the crazy crowds this time of year. How were the crowds?
We are instead going to Geneva where we will stay with friends. (Gotta love those European friends!)
Katie O--
Yes, the crowds were pretty bad, especially in the narrow walking and shopping passages and on the Square. But if you get away from the Square and less touristy areas it isn't bad at all. No matter the crowds, it is still definitely a trip worth making!!!!
WOW, how wonderful to see such a beautiful place. I keep telling hubby I'd love to be stationed in Italy...maybe one day. How awesome that you were able to see such sites most of us only see on TV.
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