First Day in Venice

We didn’t port until 2:00 so we had a nice morning to sleep in, eat and relax before we gathered in the Breinholts room to watch as we sailed into Venice.  It was a beautiful clear day.

There was a marathon being run that morning so it was fun to watch that from afar.

 

   

By 2:30 we were off the boat and wandering through Venetian streets, admiring all the old buildings and cool waterways, shopping at glass stores, buying souvenirs for the kids and enjoying the great atmosphere.  Here we are on the Rialto Bridge.

Some cute artwork I fell in love with but didn’t buy…

 

Cute Terri and Brian…

Chris and I love the Frari Church (below).  Last time we visited Venice we spent a lot of time in the art galleries and loved Titian’s paintings.  The Frari Church is home to one of Titian’s most famous paintings…  The Assumption of Mary.  It’s centered over the high alter and it’s gorgeous.  The whole church is beautiful with wood beams throughout.

 

My beautiful friends… Terri, Missy, Geneva

 

Chris, waiting outside a Venetian glass store…

Chris wanted some of these Meringhe things – kind of like hardened cotton candy.  He tried Terri’s licorice but could barely bite it.

    

Doug telling us what he really thinks of Venice.

 

When we finally made our way over to St. Mark’s Square, the St. Mark’s Basilica had just closed.  We wandered around the square to take pictures and then over to the piers.

 

St. Mark’s Basilica from the side…

 

Busy waterfront…

We left this gorgeous sun setting scene to go out for dinner.  The boat was ported here overnight so we had an evening to enjoy.   We ate at an great but expensive place.  When we found out the soft drinks were going to be 5 Euro each (no refills) then we ordered without drinks and then our waitress came back with a cheaper half price deal.  I ordered pasta with cream sauce and sautéed zucchini and I liked it a lot.  Geneva ordered hers with mushrooms and it just about doubled the price.  Those were some gourmet expensive mushrooms!  No cheaper deal on those.   After dinner we went back to San Marco Square to listen to the dueling orchestras for a while before heading back to the ship.  Geneva caught this picture of us… and I love it.   Oh, to travel without children!!

When we got back to the boat Brian, Terri, Chris and I headed to the outdoor pool area to watch a movie on the big screen.  Almost every night they showed a movie – usually having to do with the city we were in.  Tonight’s was Casino Royale because of it’s Venice scenes.  Chris grabbed us piles of blankets and Brian fixed us up with popcorn.  We were dressed in our  jammies and brought pillows from our rooms so we were nice and comfy.  It was pretty cold but we were WARM inside our blankets.  I desperately wish we had a picture – but I’ll just imagine looking over at Terri and only seeing only her eyes peeking out.   Good times!  {the picture was from another night – by the time we were there  it was pitch black and I didn’t have my camera.}