Adventures of Tin Can Lulu

We started planning our trip to Italy last November and now it’s a reality. We drove to  Atlanta from Ocala, so that we had a direct flight to Venice. This eliminated having layovers and doubling our travel time to Italy, 9 hours vs 18 hours!

Pre Tour Venice Italy

Getting from the airport to the hotel in Venice is like going on amusement rides. We were met by a limo driver who transported us to the water taxi stand. It was a 20 minute drive at Italian driver speeds. Everything you’ve heard about Italian drivers is true, including multi tasking…driving, weaving in and out of traffic, phone calls and talking. We were then ferried by water taxi to near our hotel and walked the last 50 meters! The canals in Venice are like roadways…lanes, speed limits, stop lights and all kinds of boats.

Venice, is the capital of northern Italy’s Veneto region, is built on more than 100+ small islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. It has no roads, just canals – including the Grand Canal thoroughfare – lined with Renaissance and Gothic palaces. When walking, every time you cross a bridge you are on a different island. 

The central square, Piazza San Marco (Saint Mark’s Square), contains St. Mark’s Basilica, which is tiled with Byzantine mosaics, and the Campanile bell tower offering views of the city’s red roofs. 

The church is located on the eastern end of Saint Mark’s Square, the former political and religious centre of the Republic of Venice, and is attached to the Doge’s Palace. Prior to the fall of the republic in 1797, it was the chapel of the Doge and was subject to his jurisdiction, with the concurrence of the procurators of Saint Mark for administrative and financial affairs. After 1797 Napoleon had his way. 

The present structure is the third church begun in 1063. Like the two earlier churches, its model was the sixth-century Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. Middle-Byzantine, Romanesque, and Islamic influences are also evident, and Gothic elements were later incorporated.

The altar and mosaics throughout the church were amazing. It was hard to imagine that they were created in the thirteenth century. The museum provided details on how the mosaics were maintained and restored overtime.  

St Mark’s Campanile (Italian: Campanile di San Marco, Venetian: Canpanièl de San Marco) is the bell tower of St Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy. The campanile is a reconstruction completed in 1912, the previous tower having collapsed in 1902. At 98.6 metres (323 ft) in height, it is the tallest structure in Venice. The bell tower was initially intended as a watchtower to sight approaching ships and protect the entry to the city. It also served as a landmark to guide Venetian ships safely

There are several larger islands across the canal from Venice. They are easy to travel to via the Vaporetto (water taxis) either private or public. There are designated routes, just like bus systems in the US, and all you need is a validated ticket and choosing the right route. The island of Murano is known for glass making and the island of Burano is known for lace and mask making. We visited Murano and did a tour of the famous B.F. Signoretti factory and museum. Glass making of this caliber is hard to comprehend and describe. We had planned to participate in a glass making class at the Original Murano Glass (OMG) factory but canceled at the last minute. A disappointment for us. 

Next up was a food and drink tour. We choose the tour company Eating Europe and had a fantastic experience. Our guide Cecilia was full of energy and amazing facts about the food of Italy. 

There were five different stops along the tour. The first round was street food from Rizzo. This tasting was a sample of focaccia bread, topped with fresh mozzarella, pesto and meat from Bologna. Next we went to Why and Not Savor for the classic cicchetti (Venetian tapas) paired with a glass of  Prosecco col fondo or regional wine. Next we tried a typical Venetian main dish of artichoke risotto and lasagna with a glass of Veneto white wine. The fourth stop was a spritz-making demonstration learning the history of this iconic drink while tasting two more traditional cicchetto. The final stop was for gelato at the tiny shop called Bacaro del gelato. It was creamy and reminded of us mousse. During our tour we strolled through the historic Jewish Ghetto, which was an isolated island totally surrounded by water. The Jewish were locked in at night and there were over 4000 plus that lived in here. The buildings were the tallest housing in Venice…4 stories.

What are the chances of seeing a dear friend in Venice? We did, Laura was able to connect with Marcia Rioux, a friend from her HP days. We met up at Harry’s Bar and had a delightful visit with Marcia, Tony and family! The visit was too short, but a longer one to be planned in the future!

Our next 17 days will be on the Rick Steves tour “The Best of Italy”. A dopo! Ciao!