Today we spent all day in Venice. Arriving by boat, the same as the night before we were met by a local tour guide, who walked us up to St. Marks square explaining the buildings and history as we went. The "Bridge of Sighs" is the last bridge the prisoners walk across before meeting their fate in the prison, whether it be a long jail term or an execution, and they sigh at their last view of sunlight and water, hence the name.
We viewed the palace of the Doges, where the ruler of Venice lives and where those executed were strung up on the pillars as an example to people to behave well. The columns are still stained pink with blood.
Next we went in to St.Marks Basillica, amazing mosaics adorn both the inside and the outside of the building with gold leaf and mosaic floor that is so uneven from the passing of feet and time. St. Marks square still floods at time of high water and there are stacks of trestle type structure for people to walk on when it is in flood, like a platform about two feet wide and 18 inches high.
The clock tower gongs out the hour with the signs of the zodiac around the face and and has the Roman Numerals as well as the sun and the moon and much gold leaf as well. Tow columns mark the entrance to St. Marks square one with St. Marks lion on top and the other with a warrior slaying a dragon, looked like a crocodile to me.
After the tour and the history lesson we spent the rest of our free time wandering all over the streets of Venice and trying to get away from the touristy stuff and find the real Venice. We found a lovely local cafe for lunch, we knew it was local when all the locals walked in for lunch. The pastries were to die for and the food was great, as local food is. The amazing thing was in all of Europe the water is great and good to drink and despite what I had heard Venice wasn,t smelly when we were there, it may be on warmer days.
During the afternoon we took a lagoon boat ride to a little town outside of the main centre of Venice called Burano, I think. It had amazing little houses painted in the most amazing brilliant colours of every hue, with a little canal bending through it. We visited a lace making factory and saw an old lady hand making lace. There was a lace wedding dress that took five years and 21 lace makers to make. You wouldn't want to gain a bit of weight or be in a hurry to get married. The venetian lace really in beautiful, but very expensive.
We travelled back to the centre of Venice to pick up the rest of the group and head back to the Hotel for dinner there. Very ordinary dinner, I must say. We have discovered that tour arranged meals are not that great.
