tour of venice and the veneto, 2015 - radio nn6xx

TOUR OF VENICE AND THE VENETO, 2015
SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2015
Michael Norman was at our house a little before 9:30, and he dropped us off at the SFO Delta
Terminal just after 10:00 a.m. Checking in went quickly and we left on time: Lift off at 11:45, with
stops in Detroit and Amsterdam.
SUNDAY, APRIL 19, 2015
We arrived in Venice a little before 5:00 p.m. A Uniworld rep was there to greet us. She knew who
we were as we were the last two to arrive, and she escorted us out to a large bus. The driver took the
two of us (we were the only occupants) to the ship. We were the last people on board.
We unpacked and went to the lounge for a fire/safety drill. River boats don’t have life boats. They
do have one small boat in case of a man overboard. We were greeted by the captain, from South Africa,
the tour director, and then the activities director who told us about various parts of the program.
Instead of eating in the dining room we opted to eat on the top deck, which had various pizzas and
salad ingredients, because we wanted to be up on top when the ship repositioned at 8:00 p.m. from the
cruise ship terminal, through the Guidecca canal, next to the Giardini stop, SE of St. Mark’s Square.
This cruise was done just after sunset, and with the lights of the city on, it was gorgeous.
MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015
We enjoyed an excellent buffet breakfast in the Savoy Restaurant. At 9:00 we went outside to meet
our local tour guides. Jack and I (at my request) joined the Puccini Group for “Gentle Walkers” (they’re
not allowed to call us slow walkers). Corina, who lives on the Lido, was our guide and she was
excellent. Getting to St. Mark’s Square from our boat involved crossing seven bridges. Our tour was of
the Doges Palace and our group was able to take an elevator up to the fourth floor to begin our tour.
We got to see most of the public rooms, including the largest room in Venice. We went over the Bridge
of Sighs twice, and sighed on our way out. The rest of the groups went as far as the Rialto Bridge, but
we got to go back to our ship by vaporetto.
In the afternoon I opted for a nap while Jack did a walk of the Castello area.
Our evening tour of St. Mark’s Cathedral was a real treat. We all went to the cathedral by vaporetto,
and it was just our group from the ship that was in the cathedral. A local historian, Carol, had us all
seated in special chairs which allowed you to lean back and see the ceiling as she spoke for about 45
minutes about how the cathedral was created and explained the main mosaic murals in the domes above
us. The mosaics were all lit and the evening was magical. We also got to see the Pala d’Oro, golden
altar piece, up close and Carol talked about it. Before we left for our evening tour we had an early light
meal. When we got back we had a late snack and our cappuccinos.
TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015
Venice in the morning, looking towards St. Mark’s Square and La Salute Church with boats plying
the water—a postcard! This is what we’re seeing on the top deck waiting for our ship to turn around and
head out the lagoon toward the Po River. It’s misty, a bit foggy/smoggy out. There’s a lady on board
who’s narrating our transit. The MOSES project, in which Jack is very interested, is being explained.
Indoors we have a continued talk on the lagoon, Aqua Alta, and the problems Venice has with so many
tourists—25 million a year.
We docked at Chioggia and Jack finally got an e-mail sent. The wifi has not been working since we
got on the ship. After a quick lunch we got on a bus for an hour and ten minute ride to Padua.
Our bus parked at a lot near a park, the Prato della Valle, once a Roman theater and later St.
Anthony’s preaching grounds. This is the largest square in Italy, and has dozens of statues of Padua’s
famous citizens. We walked several blocks to St. Anthony’s Basilica, a pilgrimage site. St. Anthony is
the patron saint of this city. There were several impressive frescos in the church. St. Anthony’s relics,
in the Chapel of the Reliquaries behind the altar, consisted of his lower jaw, his teeth, and his vocal
chords—he was supposedly a good preacher.
From there we made our way to the University of Padua, founded in 1222, the second oldest in Italy,
Bologna being the oldest. We went through the new section to the old section where groups of people
were celebrating a few of the students graduating with songs of revelery . We walked around City Hall
(Jack went up to il Salona on the second floor of the Palazzo Ragione to see a series of frescos), and
then we had coffee at Café Pedrocchi. The café was built in 1831 and has three dining rooms decorated
in red, white, and green. We had our coffee in the red room where Lyndal and Trevor (Aussies) joined
us, and then we walked to Garabaldi Square to catch our bus. It again took an hour and ten minutes to
get back to our boat which was tied up at a very unscenic spot in Porto Viro.
This evening was the Welcome Dinner, which was fabulous! First the potentates on the ship were
introduced, and then we went to the dining room. The meal was gourmet—lobster salad appetizer, bean
soup, truffle risotto—and huge shrimp and steak for the entrée. The dinner concluded with chocolate
mousse for dessert along with a scoop of lemon sherbet and—a cappuccino.
We were finally able to get off an e-mail to Heather, the first time wifi on the ship tentatively
worked. During the evening our boat sailed to Polesella, where we docked at 11:00 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2015
Jack’s comment this morning was, “If Heather can get us another one of these (trips), maybe we’ll
do this again!” It was from Polesella that we left for Ferrara, our destination for the day. Many of the
people on the ship opted for a trip to Bologna which featured a ‘make your own pasta’ lunch.
The bus deposited us near Este Castle, so our guide first walked us through the courtyard of what was
officially Il Castello Estense, with actual water in the moat, and told us some of its history. There was
scaffolding on the tower because a major earthquake in 2012 brought parts of the towers down. Our
guide next walked us to the Town Hall and some municipal buildings in the municipal square. There
were school children everywhere on field trips. Bicycles are big in this city and a pedestrian has a good
chance of being hit by one. We walked down Seracena Street in the Jewish Ghetto to a synagogue with
a very non-descript front. We back tracked to the main Cathedral Ferrara, the Archbishop’s Palace,
which we toured. It has a very elaborate façade and a tower that leans. That’s where our official tour
ended. We asked about an Internet Café since we were not having any luck with our wifi—and that we
found. Jack wrote a brief letter to Heather and my sisters, and then we went to have lunch in a local café
where Polly and Don were also eating.
After lunch it was back to the Castello for a tour. There were several uneven ramps and lots of stairs.
I did the bottom floor, then opted out. While Jack finished the tour I watched a slide show of the place
in the gift shop.
We visited the tourist office and decided to go to Palazzo Schifancia. We were told we could catch
one of three city buses to the place. After waiting for ten minutes and no bus, our bus from the ship
arrived. Jack suggested I take it (which I did) and he walked to Palazzo Schifancia on his own. Our
ship provided an hourly shuttle to and from Ferrara.
The ship was on the Po when we returned. All passengers and even part of the crew had been
required to be off the ship while the remaining crew sailed out into the Adriatic to get to the Po. As our
ship is not an ocean-going one, we couldn’t be on it for this transition.
THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015
At 8:50 a.m. we were on the bus headed for Ravenna. This trip took an hour and a half. We opted
for the Puccini Group again and were off to the main attraction in Ravenna, the Basilica di San Vitale.
An octagonal church topped by a large cupola, it contains gorgeous Byzantine mosaics and murals that
depict Justinian and Theodora with their court among other themes. Behind the basilica is the
mausoleum of Galla Pacida, who reigned halfway through the fifth century and had this small
mausoleum built. The inside is magnificent, covered with pictures in mosaic. There are countless stars
on the ceiling which served as a cover theme on our Ravenna map.
We walked to Piazza del Popolo, the town center, and those who wanted to continue touring could do
so. On the way to our next church we stopped in a shop where a lady was making small mosaic plaques
to sell that were copies of famous works. We were shown the tools that are used to make the mosaics
and just how the process was achieved.
The interior of the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo was another sight to behold. Built in the sixth
century, the mosaics of the interior constitute the largest surface area that we have inherited from
antiquity. Our guide explained how some of the mosaics were changed as various leaders fell in and out
of favor.
Most of the ship’s group went to a wine bar for lunch. As my stomach had been bothering me the
night before, Jack and I opted for an outdoor café where he had the capelleti pasta special and I had iced
tea and bread.
While I sipped my coffee, Jack ran back a couple of blocks to visit Dante’s Tomb.
There was lots of traffic on the way to Chioggia, so our trip back to the ship took longer than it should
have.
We went to the lounge for a drink upon returning to the ship and finally remembered that it was a
Pina Colada that was the drink Jack wanted. We had great seats in the front window so we could watch
our sailing from Chioggia, by the island of Pellestrina, back to Venice. When we arrived in Venice Jack
ran upstairs to take some pictures.
FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2015
We left Venice for Verona on the bus. With a bathroom stop along the way the trip took the better
part of two hours. We were dropped off near the Roman Theater, still in use today, and walked back to
cross the Adige River at Ponte di Pietra Bridge, a bridge built by the Romans.
Verona is the most picturesque of the four cities we visited and our guide was excellent. We were
taken by the Scaligere Tombs of the la Scala rulers, which are raised on elaborate posts above most
peoples’ heads so that you have to look up to acknowledge them. From the outside (it is now a
hotel/apartment) we observed Romeo’s house. Then we walked through Piazza della Erbe (market
square) and Piazza del Signore (Old Town square) to Juliet’s house to see the balcony that she and
Romeo made famous (this is not the real place) and watch people clutch the right breast of Juliet’s
statue—by so doing guaranteeing that you will have a loving marriage. We walked down the main
shopping street, Via Mazzini, to the Arena di Verona, Verona’s Roman Amphitheatre, the third largest
in Italy. We were taken inside the arena, which was now set up for a summertime open air opera season.
That was the end of our tour.
Jack and I headed back up Via Mazzini and had pasta Bolognese at a restaurant on the street. We
then visited the church of St. Fermo, one of Verona’s many churches, that happened to be handy to the
area in which we were located. The church was built in honor of the saints Fermo and Rustico, who
were tortured to death in 304. A sarcophagus with the mortal remains of the two martyrs is supposedly
under the main altar of the upper church.
We had coffee at an outdoor café in Piazza Bra while we waited for our bus. One of the men in our
Puccini group was pick pocketed when he and his wife were own their own. Someone ran a baby buggy
into him and took his wallet out of his front pocket. We climbed on the bus and left vivid Verona via
the Ponte Castelvecchio.
SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2015
We really liked all of today’s activities. Yesterday, after our tour director Agnes said that the visit to
the Bevilacqua Velvet Factory would be accompanied by a trip part way up the Grand Canal with a
commentary—we decided to go. This was on a water taxi, so it was difficult getting in and out of the
boat. It was a beautiful day and Tamara was a great guide, so we enjoyed our trip on the canal—as well
as being shown how velvet was made, which proved to be fascinating.
We returned to the River Countess at 1:00 and had lunch as our boat was pulling away from Riva
Sette Martiri. Jack and I went up on top of the boat to enjoy our northern lagoon tour towards Torcello
and Burano. Tamara was also our commentator for this trip. We could see a good bit of Burano and the
ancient church on the island of Torcello from a distance. Our ship returned to Riva Sette Martiri.
At 4:00 a water taxi came for us to do a special tour of the backwaters of Venice. Along with two
other couples our water taxi pilot gave us a fantastic two-hour tour. He took us up and down parts of the
Grand Canal, through the back alleys that were crowded thick with tourists in gondolas, and out to
Murano Island. There we went through Murano’s Grand Canal and another back alley. We returned to
Venice and went through some of the back waters in Dorsoduro, where we would be staying for the next
week and a half. That night was our Good Bye dinner, which was quite elegant.
Jack and I were impressed with our Uniworld Tour, with the personnel who bent over backwards to
make things work, with the food which was always exceptional, with not having to tip (that was
supposedly all-inclusive, and we adhered to that) every time we turned around, and with most of our
fellow passengers who were an older and fun group. We were able to do a couple of loads of laundry at
our leisure on the ship. Drinks and snacks were all included in the tour price. There were no constant
announcements on the ship. Each afternoon we met in the lounge with Agnes, the tour director, and she
told us what the next day’s activities were and what other things we might want to sign up for. At night
when our bed was turned down there would be a sheet telling of the following day’s activities and
options. There were only two optional excursions, and there was no pressure to sign up for those. Our
only two disappointments were that the wifi did not work most of the time, and that we didn’t get to go
to the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua (they didn’t call in enough time and were booked solid for the
Tuesday when we were there).
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
We had our last sumptuous breakfast in the Savoy Restaurant and were out of our room by 8:30 a.m.
At 9:30 we were taken by bus to the airport (this was Jack’s idea to scope out how we would later get
home, rather than taking a water taxi to our hotel) where Jack purchased two week passes for the
vaporetto as well as two 2-day passes. We then walked about a mile out of the airport under a plastictype tube to the airport vaporetto, Alilaguna. It took about two hours to get to our Zattere vaporetto
stop. Jack chose our hotel well as there were no obstacles between the boat and our Belle Arti Hotel.
Our room was elegant, lined in a satiny striped material with swoopy blue drapes and bedspread, a
gold sofa, and a Murano glass chandelier. There was a cute breakfast room, a great elevator, and a loggia
outside with lots of comfortable seating where we could have coffee or drinks, or even eat breakfast.
We walked over to the Grand Canal and Jack walked over the Accademia Bridge, declaring it
contained 106 steps. We then headed in the opposite direction and ate lunch at a restaurant out on the
water near the Zattere boat launch and watched the world go by. Our thrill for the afternoon was
watching two cruise liners, one the MSC Magnifica holding 3000 people, go by in the Giudecca Canal.
We had our cappuccinos and decided on gelato for dinner.
MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015
Our luck with the weather ended today—light rain all day. Great breakfast at the hotel, but crowded,
with lots of people. The hotel is full, although it’s so quiet you’d never know it.
We launched at 9:15 and went to St. Mark’s Square so that Jack could pick up two museum passes.
We boated across to Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore to see St Giorgio Maggiore, a church designed by
Palladio. Jack went up by elevator to the bell tower while I toured the church. There is an unusual
Tintoretto painting of “The Last Supper” in this church. There was also a huge wire sculpture of a
human head in the entrance to the church that is a contribution for the upcoming Biennale. From there
we visited Santissimo Redentore, a church built to keep a promise to the Redeemer during the Plague of
1575-1577. The third church we visited was Santa Maria del Rosario (Gesauti), which was located at
the Zattere vaporetto stop by our hotel. Built by the Poor Jesuits, it is an example of a convent complex
of the eighteenth century. It has a ceiling frescoed by Giambattista Tripolo.
We ate lunch at a little restaurant with lots of character and little room on the way to the Peggy
Guggenheim Museum. Rick Steves’s advice is not to visit the Guggenheim on a rainy day and that’s
good advice—because it was wet and it was mobbed. I must say there were very few pieces to which I
was attracted in her museum. There is a lovely view of the Grand Canal from several of the rooms in
her home.
When we got back to the hotel we had coffee, but I didn’t feel well so I wanted to lie down. While I
rested Jack went over to walk around the Rialto Bridge area. He was very unimpressed with what he
saw. It was drizzly, crowded, and dirty. When Jack came into our room he took a funny step and did
something to his back and the hurt didn’t go away. I went out and got us take-out sandwiches and iced
tea from a nearby restaurant for dinner, and Jack spent a miserable night trying to get comfortable. I
was envisioning all sorts of ways as to how we were going to get home and get him through that long
plane trip.
TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015
Jack’s back was still sore, but he tried using my cane and decided maybe that would help. We went
down to breakfast and Jack seemed okay, so we went to a local pharmacy where he bought two canes, a
fold-up one and a sturdy one for the shower, as well as some Ibuprofen. After that we found a bank with
an ATM right on our street.
Jack was feeling good enough that we decided to go to the St Maria dei Frari Church to see all of
their treasures. The church is constructed in the form of a Latin cross. It contains Titian’s mausoleum
and an unusual pyramid-type sculptured monument to Canova, the sculptor. The highlight of the church
in the main chapel is Titian’s “The Assumption of the Virgin.” Bellini’s “Madonna and Child with
Saints and Angels” was also lovely and looked three-dimensional. After the Frari Church we tackled the
Scuola di Rocco. There was an exceedingly healthy set of steps to get up to the second floor. The 50
plus paintings in San Rocco are often called “Tintoretto’s Sistine Chapel.” Tintoretto spent the last 20
years of his life working on the paintings. The large, colorful canvases framed in gold on the walls and
ceilings of the grand upper halls are impressive, telling the biblical history from Adam and Eve to the
Ascension of Christ. We also visited the Church of St Rocco, next door to the school, with more
Tintorettos.
We looked for the hotel in which we stayed in 1970 when we last visited Venice with Mary Lynn and
Bill, but did not find it. We had our pasta at a neat little restaurant near the churches, then went back
and boarded a vaporetto to go visit St Maria Salute Church. Dedicated to the Virgin Mary by grateful
survivors of the 1630 plague, it is a huge church with a crown-shaped dome rising over an octagonal
structure. It boasts Tintoretto’s “Marriage at Cana” in the Sacristy, and Titian’s “Pentecost” in a side
chapel.
We checked out a restaurant around the corner in case Jenn comes for dinner tomorrow, then had
coffee in the loggia at our hotel. We were going to go for ice cream, but Jack’s back was bothering him,
so we went to our room.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2015
It was a long night for both of us. The Ibuprofen helped, but Jack had trouble getting in a
comfortable position.
This morning we carried out Jack’s idea to go by vaporetto to the bus station, and from there take the
bus to the airport. It was a whole lot faster than going on the airport vaporetto. The bus took us directly
into the airport, thus avoiding what would be about a mile walk from the vaporetto drop off. We went to
the Delta desk and were successful in getting “Comfort” upgrades in seats for our trip home from
Venice to JFK. Jack also found a place to store our suitcase at a baggage place at the airport in case his
back was so bad that he wouldn’t be able to maneuver his suitcase. We could take one suitcase to the
airport and store it overnight so that we’d only have to deal with one on the day we left. The problem
was not so much two suitcases but we also had two large carry-ons which made the combinations topheavy. We also looked for an internet kiosk to back up the camera memory but no luck.
With the airport done we took the bus back to the where Jack decided he wanted to climb over the
Glass Bridge, which like the Accademia Bridge also had 106 steps. Next we rode the People Mover
tram which is supposed to get cruise passengers into town but it didn’t stop very near the cruise
terminal. We took the vaporetto to the train station where then went to see the trains. We actually ate
lunch at the train station, and then took the vaporetto back to our hotel. We had an e-mail from Jenn
Jamiloso, Bo’s ex-girlfriend whom we’d met at a family reunion and who is an exchange student in
Venice for this year, saying she’d love to join us for dinner, so Jack and I ventured forth down to the
water to see if there were alternatives for eating out there. While we were there we got to see another
cruise ship leave. The day was warm and people were out. We could only find one restaurant that might
be open until 7:30. We thought we’d give Jenn a choice of where she’d like to go for dinner. At 6:30
we went out to wait in the loggia.
Jenn arrived at 7:00. She had walked all the way from next to the train station where she lives with
her second Venetian family. We walked down to Zattere and ate at a restaurant out on the water because
Jenn said she loved the area. She told us about her experiences in Venice. She’s too old to be buddies
with the students in the classes she’s in so she really doesn’t fit. She’s in a school that emphasizes
science and math, and has quite an impressive class load, but she doesn’t have to do the homework,
which she doesn’t, and she doesn’t have to take the tests. She’s made some good friends with some of
the other exchange students and looks forward to her time together with them. She’s in Venice for two
more months, and the last two weeks she gets to tour Europe with some of the other exchange students
who are in Italy. It was a fun evening.
THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2015
We were up at 6:00 and down for breakfast before 7:00. We left the hotel around 7:30 for St. Mark’s
Square. There it took a bit of doing to find the landing where il Burchiello, our boat to Padua, would
dock. Fortunately, our guide found us. We were the only ones waiting when suddenly, a couple of
minutes before 9:00, eight people showed up. We got on the boat, and off we went on our tour of the
Brenta Canal. Crossing the lagoon to Fusina wasn’t particularly exciting, but after that the trip picked
up. We had coffee on the boat and watched the scenery go by until we got to our first stop, Villa
Malcontenta. This is the only villa in Venice designed by Andrea Palladio. It was symmetrical, which
Jack likes, and quite nice with beautiful park-like grounds and a view of the canal.
Our next stop was at Oriago for lunch, after having gone through a lock (there are three on this trip)
and a variety of Swing Bridges—all interesting and some ingenious. The captain was having some
troubles with the boat, so mechanics arrived when we stopped at Oriago. After an extended lunch while
the boat was worked on, all was declared well and we proceeded up the canal
Villa Widmann, our second villa, had seen its better days. There were fairly extensive grounds, but
those and the outbuildings did not look cared for. However, the interior did have some very nice
frescos.
The Villa Pisani at our stop in Stra was definitely the highlight of the tour. A doge’s palace, it was
decorated with enormous statues and painted inside by 18th century artists. Jack walked through the
park and gardens, which had a long reflecting pool and beautiful outbuildings, while I waited. We opted
to end our tour here in Stra rather than go on to Padua, which would have lengthened the tour and our
trip back by at least two hours.
We walked “five minutes” (more like 20) to town and caught the bus back to Venice. The driver
seemed to be in quite a hurry, the ride was exceedingly bumpy, and Jack’s back was sore by the time we
got back. From the bus station we caught the vaporetto back to our hotel and got in a little after 8:00.
We ate dinner at a cute café on a side street.
FRIDAY, MAY 1, 2015
This morning we slept in, and when we went downstairs for breakfast around 9:00 there was a line.
This prompted us to eat outside on the patio, which was very nice.
Our destination today was the Lido. When we were here in 1970 the Lido was famous for its Casino,
but that has since closed. The island is very picturesque with lots of landscaping and greenery. We
walked from the vaporetto stop straight through to the ocean. There are main facilities and eateries
where we entered. On either side of that area are beach houses/changing areas, four rows deep, that go
on and on. We didn’t think it would be much fun unless you were in front of the houses next to the
ocean—unless the whole area is one big party. The view of the ocean for the second, third and fourth
rows of beach houses are cut off by the first row. The day was overcast and no one was at the beach.
From the main area of the beach we walked a long way by the ocean, all the way to the Excelsior
Hotel, which Jack wanted to see. Fortunately for us it had just opened three days prior, so we did get to
tour it and have a couple of nine euro cappuccinos at their outside restaurant. The place is very posh,
and has its own boats and canal to ferry the guests around. However, it’s been extensively remodeled (it
had a fire on one of the upper floors a couple of years ago) and no longer has the Moorish décor for
which it was famous. Jack now equated it to a Miami Beach hotel.
We waited a long time for a bus, which finally came, and so made our way back to the vaporetto
station. We had lunch at the Hotel Laguna, one of the places Jack had considered for our last three days
in Venice. In the picture on the Internet the outside of this hotel looked rustic (because it’s painted Barn
Red), but it was quite elegant. We ate out on their patio watching the boats come and go.
We returned to the Zaccaria stop to see St. Zaccaria, but it was closed until 4:00. It started to rain so
we went to the Correr Museum and toured that facility. Situated in the ex-Royal Palace in St. Mark’s
Square, it includes a Napoleonic Wing, neoclassical rooms, and sculptures of Antonio Canova. It also
shows the city’s institutions, urban history, and daily life, as well as a collection of 16th century Venetian
paintings. We had coffee in the Museum Café, which was quite elegant. We weren’t able to outwait the
rain, so we trekked on, this time to Harry’s Bar—made famous by Hemingway. The place was full. A
couple at a table near the door told us they were leaving and gave us their table. Two Bellinis later we
were presented with a bar tab for 36 euros!
We took a very crowded vaporetto back to our hotel. Jack wanted to go to the Hilton, but the water
was very rough and the return schedule sketchy, so I nixed that. We had sandwich wraps and Jack had a
gelato at our little corner restaurant next to the Zattere stop.
SATURDAY, MAY 2, 2015
Not a good night—Jack’s back was bothering him and I slept very little, so we didn’t get up early to
go to the Accademia as planned. We walked down to the Zattere stop to see if we could see the last of
the six cruise ships that were coming into Venice today. We could see one in the distance.
We went back to the pharmacy and got more Ibuprofen for Jack and stopped at the bank for another
euro infusion, then checked out of the Belle Arti Hotel. We had coffee out in the loggia while waiting to
transfer to the Hotel Agli Alboretti, just across the street and a half block away.
Transfer made, we waited in a little reception room until our room was ready. Our room turned out
to be a Junior Suite, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Very nice, it has all sorts of amenities,
although it’ll cost as much here for three nights as it did at the Belle Arti for six. Only one person can
go in the elevator at a time, and it’s got a series of little steps that one has to maneuver.
We took a vaporetto over to one of the St. Mark’s stops and walked to the opera house, La Fenice.
There we took an audio tour of the theater, which was not overly impressive. What was fun was sitting
in the box where the royalty sat—with a great overview of the stage and theater. We got to see the
theater that is featured in a couple of the Donna Leon books.
The Church of St Moise was near the theater, so we took the opportunity to tour that. This is the
parish church for St. Mark’s. Because of the tourist crowds at the basilica, this is where the community
actually worships. It’s one of Venice’s oldest churches, dating from the 10th century. This was one of
my favorite churches because of the unique altarpiece that depicts Mount Sinai, with Moses kneeling
and receiving the two tablets with the Ten Commandments. Additionally there’s a Tintoretto, “Christ
Washing the Disciples’ Feet.” We also peeked in the modern, five-star Bauer Hotel which was next to
the church.
Packed in like sardines, we took an exceedingly crowded vaporetto back to our stop. I can’t imagine
what it must be like riding the vaporetto in the summer time when it’s hot and the crowds increase! It
was time to tour the Accademia. Luckily, one of the guys who worked at the museum, seeing Jack and
me using canes, asked if we’d like to use the elevator--of course we would! He led us through a series
of rooms and accompanied us up to the fourth floor, where we got off. Although we were both tired, we
did our duty by the museum, reading the information sheets in the various rooms and making sure we
saw all the Bellinis, Tintorettos, Titians, etc., that Rick Steves mentioned.
Today was a big day for cruise ships—six of them came in to the city and left. We made it down to
the corner restaurant by Zattere to see one of the MSC liners leave and the Norwegian Jade.
SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2015
Jack’s back was really bothering him last night. As a result, neither of us got much sleep. As his
back was hurting and because the weather was good, we packed up one of our suitcases with dirty
clothes and items we didn’t need and made a trip out to the airport via vaporetto and bus. We stowed
our bag at the baggage storage facility at the airport, then returned to the bus depot/stop.
We took a vaporetto out to Murano and walked up the main street of shops, which are dominated by
glass works. A pasta lunch in the offing, we stopped at a restaurant along the canal and watched the
boats and tourists go by. After lunch we visited a maritime church, San Pietro Martire, which featured a
Bellini “Virgin Enthroned with Mark and a Kneeling Doge.” This was the doge’s way of thanking Mary
for his position of power. Across the street from this church is a tower, built as a fire lookout in this city
of furnaces. The main church we visited was Santa Maria e San Donato Church, the architectural
highlight of Murano with unique brickwork on the Byzantine Romanesque exterior. At the base of a tall
campanile is a memorial to residents of the Veneto who have been lost fighting in all wars. This church
was built when St. Marks’ Basilica was under construction. Inside there is a mosaic above the altar
featuring Mary gliding in from heaven on a carpet, blessing the faithful. Our last stop was a tour of
Murano’s Glass Museum. One of the ladies who worked in the museum asked if we would like to use
the elevator, which we certainly did. The museum emphasizes ancient glass and glassmaking
techniques, and there were some lovely examples on display showing 500 years of Venetian
glassmaking.
We got back to Zattere early enough to see two of the MSC ships leave. One of them, the Musica,
was huge!
MONDAY, MAY 4, 2015
We were up early and over at St. Mark’s Square by 9:00 so we could ride to the top of the
Campanile. The line was minimal at that hour, so up we went to enjoy views of the city. We wanted to
go to St. Mark’s Museum, but the line there was quite long. I went up and nosed around and a woman
stopped me and said if I was using a cane they would let me and my partner right in because that’s what
they’d done for her husband. So I went and got Jack and a man let us in at the head of the line and we
went to the museum entrance. The steps were steep and there was no elevator, so I elected to go outside
and wait while Jack toured the museum and waved to me from behind the four horses. After that we had
stand-up espressos at the Café Florian so we could say we’d been there.
Next we headed for San Zaccaria, one of the three basilicas in Venice, and did our tour. Back in the
ninth century before there was a St. Mark’s Basilica a stone church and convent stood here. Doges
worshipped here and sacred relics were kept. Today’s structure is from the 15th century. The body of
Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, is here in the chapel. Paintings in the church are “Madonna
and Child with Saints”, one of Bellini’s last paintings, and Tintoretto’s “Birth of John the Baptist.” The
five gold thrones in the church were once seats for the doges.
We took a vaporetto all the way around to the Hospital stop to visit another basilica, Basilica dei
Santi Giovanni e Paolo. One of the most impressive medieval religious buildings in Venice it has a
façade with a series of Gothic arches, numerous chapels, and works of art, and it was the first major
church in Venice. It is considered the Pantheon of Venice for its numerous funerary monuments of
Doges and other figures. We ate lunch next to the church, gazing at its façade and at an equestrian
statue of man who wanted this statue to be placed in St. Mark’s Square, which didn’t happen. Next we
visited the small Miracoli church which has been completely restored. It is called the ‘Jewel Box’ and is
a popular site for weddings.
We walked over to the Rialto Bridge area. The bridge is being worked on and has scaffolding around
it, not the picture we always see in ads. The right side of the façade at St. Mark’s Cathedral was also
covered with scaffolding, but most of the attractions were free of scaffolding. We caught the vaporetto
to Ca' Rezzonico, the only palazzo on the Grand Canal that we got to visit. Once again we got to ride
the elevator to the fourth floor, which was devoted to an art collection, and there we began our tour.
This museum displays furnishings and decorations and major paintings by Venetian artists of the 18th
century. Owned by the wealthy Rezzonico family, it is the best place in Venice to experience the
luxurious, decadent spirit of the city in the 1700s.
After our tour we headed straight down to Zattere because we knew a cruise ship was leaving, and we
had our last coffee and gelato at our little corner café while we watched yet another ship dominate the
landscape on its way out of the city.
The River Countess was docked where we were when we arrived on Sunday, April 18th, so we
walked down to check it out. It was docked at the San Basilio terminal which was busy with boarding
for two small luxury ships. There was one more church to visit, but it was closed. We wanted to go
over to the Hilton and we had the time, but once again it was too bumpy with no secure holds or way
that we could see to get on their ship. So we opted for pasta at our cute restaurant in the alley and called
it a night. We got everything packed in the second suitcase so that tomorrow should be smooth going.
TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2015
We were up early, had breakfast in our hotel, and checked out.
Our vaporetto ride from Zattere to P. Roma, the bus station, took only a half hour. The bus ride to
the airport wasn’t crowded either—so we were at the airport in a little over an hour. We picked up our
suitcase in the baggage storage facility and went into the airport. An airport rep told us where to check
in. There was very little seating, but I spotted two pull-down airline seats on the wall for
handicapped/seniors and we used them while we wrote e-mails on Jack’s Samsung to Heather and Al.
Venice is very considerate of seniors. There are special seats at the front of all the vaporettos for
handicapped or seniors over the age of 70. Museums often offer seniors the use of elevators. If there
are a group of people sitting and a senior comes along, someone will invariably get up and offer the
senior a seat.
Checking in through Delta was a breeze—although everything, including shoes, had to come off for
security. However, very few passengers were there and it was no inconvenience. Having an hour and a
half before we boarded, we stopped at a café for coffee.
Our Venice to JFK trip was great! Originally I was to sit next to a large lady with a six-month old
baby, and Jack had a window seat, both in the bulkhead. The stewardess came up and asked the lady
with the baby if she’d like to sit another bulkhead where a bassinet was set up and she could have all
three of the center seats to herself. She took that offer, so Jack ended up sitting next to me on the aisle
in the bulkhead, and Mary Ann Brulee from Mobile, Alabama, was on my other side. That nine-hour
flight worked out great and Jack had no back problems with extra Ibuprofen.
Having to mess with our bags and go through customs in New York was a mess. A custom’s man
pulled Jack and myself over, asked us some questions, and for some reason took us to the front of the
line so we could go on through. We still had to go to the Delta counter and check our bags in once
again. The security lines were long, and it turns out the walk to our gate was at least a mile and a half.
Luckily, one of the guys pushing a wheelchair told Jack to flag down one of the carts with a driver,
which we did, and who should be in it but Mary Ann and her niece! It was great riding over a mile on
the cart.
We only had to wait about a half hour before we boarded our flight for SFO. Jack and I had aisle
seats across from one another in a plane with three seats on each side of a main aisle configuration.
There was enough leg room even for Jack, but being on the aisle meant getting up and down for the
other two people in your row. Sleep was out of the question, but we did get home an hour early.
We grabbed a cab and paid $148 for a ride that should have been $98, but because we’re beyond the
zone, the fare was 50% more. It was good to be home where everything was intact and we had a
wonderful trip on which to reflect.
There were no fat Italians in Venice. The Venetians, like the Milanese, are thin and dress up in a chic
manner. All the women and many of the men wear scarves. Skinny jeans were the trend for both
women and men, making the feet sticking out at the bottom look even larger. Lots of the younger men
wore these pompadour-type hairdos and they look effeminate. You don’t see many large, burly types.
Lots of people still smoke. It’s fun to be out in the early morning when you see boats engaged in all
sorts of activities, picking up laundry, which is taken out of the city to be washed, boats doing garbage
pick up, delivering goods to the dock to be distributed. On our vaporetto trip to the airport a group of
postmen got on at one stop with their mail pushcarts, and proceeded to get off at various stops that were
apparently their routes. Wherever we ate the food was consistently good and there was never any
pressure for us to hurry or leave. All the Italians with whom we spoke knew a lot more English than we
knew Italian. Considering the mobs of tourists with which the natives have to put up, we were treated
with warmth and consideration. This trip will leave us with good memories.
VENICE-VENETO 2015
JACK & GLORIA
SAT-APR 18
Flight Out
Ride Norman
SFO-DTW-AMS-VCE
SUN-APR 19
Uniworld
River Countess
Cruise to Giardini
MON-APR 20
Ducal Palace
Castello Walk
St Pietro
St Marks
TUE-APR 21
Cruise to Chioggia
Padua by Bus
Prato della Valle
St Antonio
Padua University
Palazzo Ragione
Café Pedrocchi
WED-APR 22
Ferrara by Bus
Castello Estense
Cathedral Ferrara
Palazzo Schifancia
Cruise the Po
THR-APR 23
Ravenna by Bus
St Vitale
Galla Pacida
St Apollinaire Nouvo
Dante's Tomb
Cruise to San Basilio
FRI-APR 24
Verona by Bus
Piazzi della Erbe
Scaliger Tombs
Arena de Verona
St Fermo
Ponte Castelvecchio
Cruise to Giardini
SAT-APR 25
Velvet Water Taxi Tour
Cruise to Burano
Canal WaterTaxi Tour
Cruise to San Basilio
SUN-APR 26
End Cruise
Bus to Airport
Buy Vapo Pass
Alilaguna Transfer
Belle Arti Hotel
Accademia Bridge
Ships at Zattere
MON-APR 27
Buy Museum Pass
St Giorgio Maggiore
Redentore
Gesauti
Guggenheim
Rialto Walk
Back Pain
TUE-APR 28
Cane & Pills
St Maria dei Frari
St Rocco
Escula St Rocco
St Maria Salute
Ships at Zattere
WED-APR 29
Bus to Airport
Upgrade Flight
Glass Bridge
People Mover
Jenn Dinner
Ships at Zattere
THR-APR 30
Cruise to Fusina
Brenta Canal
Villa Malcontenta
Villa Widmann
Villa Pisani
Bus to Venice
FRI-MAY 1
Lido
Excelsior Visit
Correr Museum
Harry's Bar
Sardine Vaporetto
SAT-MAY 2
More Pills
Alboretti Hotel
La Fenice Opera
St Moise
Accademy
Ships at Zattere
SUN-MAY 3
Bag to Airport
Murano
St Martire
St Maria Donato
Glass Museum
Ships at Zattere
MON-MAY 4
Campanile
Café Florian
St Marks Museum
St Zaccaria
St Giovanni e Paolo
St Maria Miracoli
St Crisotomo
Rialto Bridge
Ca'Rezzonico
Ships at Zattere
Check-In App
TUE-MAY 5
Flight Home
VCE-JFK-SFO
Cab Home
NEXT TIME
Scrovegni Chapel-Padua
St Apollinaire in Classe-Ravenna
St Zeno-Verona
St Anastasia-Verona
Cathedral-Verona
St Maria Dell'Asunta-Torcello
Cortina-Dolomites
Miramar Castle-Trieste
Clock Tower Tour-Venice
Sirmione-Lake Garda
Mose Exhibit-Venice
TRAVEL
5 Flights
33 Vaporatto
3 Water Taxi
17 Bus Rides