Day Two (Sunday)

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Usually the first night spent in Europe leaves me all screwed-up because of jetlag. But this night I slept like a rock. Having my own single room while Gail and her Mom occupied a double meant I got many full nights of sleep on this vacation. Jurgen kept us pretty busy the day before so I was exhausted when 10:30 rolled around.

We "slept-in" until 8:00 then headed for breakfast at 8:30. Jim was already in the breakfast room serving coffee and gabbing with the waitress when I showed-up. Back home I don't eat much of a breakfast. Usually a couple vitamins and a muffin see me through until lunch. But when I'm in Europe I get very caught-up in the breakfast culture of Germany and Austria where huge breakfasts of rolls, cheese, meat, eggs and hot cereal are usually offered.

Unfortunately I'm not as impressed by the breakfasts in France, Spain and Italy. The breakfast at the Oasi is typical - a couple choices of cold cereal, bland (by European standards) bread, apples, marmalades that look disgusting and watered down orange juice. I settled for a slice of bread and butter washed-down by orange scented water.

Since we are returning back to the Oasi after our visit to Venice we don't have to lug our suitcases out to the bus. As a portend of many good days to come, everyone shows up on time. And even better, all the kids head for the back of the bus and leave us adults with the front seats.

This will be our fourth one day visit to Venice in the last 5 years. I know Venice lovers would tell me that we're missing so much not spending the night in town but the place doesn't thrill me enough to want to come back and spend more time. I've found too many places elsewhere that I would prefer to revisit. But as long as I am on a tour that visits a bunch of other places I really like then I can put up with a day in Venice. In my opinion it's on par with Disney World - it's a rather entertaining but artificially created tourist spot. It isn't the real Italy.

When we've stayed in Lido de Jesolo we took a bus ride to the other end of the island to catch our boat to Venice. We came into Venice from the East. Our first view of the city was usually right where our boat landed - just a bridge or two from St. Mark's Square.

This time we were staying North of Venice. It took us about 45 minutes to get to our boat in Mestre. Before we could park the bus Salvatore had to stop at a kiosk and pay a couple hundred Euros for parking privileges. This practice is common throughout Italy. Ostensibly this is to control the amount of pollution the buses spew into the old Italian cities but it's also a huge moneymaker for the local government.

By ten o’clock we were parked and ready to head on to our boat that would ferry us into Venice. Walking on the docks toward our boat I was grossed-out by the rotting smell everywhere and the tons of trash bobbing in the surf. I had often heard people comment on how filthy Venice was but on my previous visits I hadn’t seen much garbage at all. The tides must push all of Venice’s refuse to Mestre.

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Photos

Arriving in Venice from Mestre
Our little ferry boat took us through the middle of the mooring area for a number of huge ocean-going cruise ships then past the backside of Venice. Finally we rounded a bend in a rather run-down section of the city and saw the Venice we tourists were supposed to see. Using the Disney World analogy again this was like being behind all the false facades on Main Street USA then suddenly emerging on to the phoney, touristy little world of gift shops and rides.
I think this photo gives an idea of just how choppy the water was on our little cruise.

A quiet Sunday Morning in Venice
This view of Venice would change dramatically in a few hours when all the tourists would start showing up.
Once our boat landed we headed toward Piazza San Marco.

Entrance to Piazza San Marco
This is the area where pirates and traitors were hanged. In the recent movie, Cassanova, this is where Heath Ledger escapes the Inquisitor.

Astrological clock in Piazza San Marco
The Basilica of San Marco (St. Mark's) is an odd combination of European and Turkish architecture. Since the Venetian's trade routes stretched throughout the Mediterranean they incorporated elements from all over their empire. The white statue at the top of the tower is the winged lion that symbolizes St. Mark.

The old glass-blowing tour
Our first official order of business in Venice was to take the obligatory glass-blowers' tour. This was the fourth time I've been on it but it's still pretty cool to see the artists create prancing glass horses from a glowing red blob.

Time to buy
Of course the object of the little demonstartion we watched was to get a few of us to part with a couple hundred Euros for some of the beautiful vases, cups, pitchers, plates and statues they create here. The salesman in the picture must've done a pretty good job because some of the kids spent a wad of their parents' money on some gorgeous, expensive glassware.
We didn't buy anything. There are much cheaper places on the other side of the Grand Canal and in the back alleys. The best thing about this particular spot is the great air conditioning in a city with very little of it and some very clean bathrooms.
Check out the exquisite chandeliers. They started at a couple thousand Euros apiece.

Back in Piazza San Marco
We didn't get a chance to go in the Basilica this trip because of Sunday services.

Bird Brain
On our previous trips to Venice we had seen many nutty tourists allowing the disgusting pigeons to land on them but up until now, most everyone in Gail's EF groups was scared to death of the winged rats. Anytime a pigeon even came close our kids would scream and run the opposite way - not crazy Paulina. She had them eating out of her hands. And later when she found a dieing pigeon laying helpless in the Square, she picked it up and moved it away from the other pigeons trying to peck it to death. I'm an animal lover too, but you'd have to pay me then spray me to touch these revolting creatures.

Bridge of Sighs
After leaving the glass factory we reassembled to take a short walking tour of Venice. A local guide led us over bridge after bridge crossing the canals. Even though it was before noon the temperature was in the mid-90's.
Our first stop was just off St. Mark's Square. The Bridge of Sighs links the Doges' Palace to the prison block. During the height of Venice's power the city rulers (Doges) dispensed justice from their ornate palace then conveniently dismissed the condemned to the nearby prison. Crossing this bridge with it's tiny windows looking on to the canal offered the last view of freedom that many prisoners enjoyed. Knowing this they let out a last sigh. Or so Lord Byron claimed.

Campo San Giovanni e Paolo Venice
This quaint old square afforded us a break from the heat while we did our walking tour. From what I can remember there was a church right behind us where many of Venice's leading citizens were interred. I was more impressed by the colors of this building.

Heading off into another hidden Piazza
Once you get away from the ultra-touristy Piazza San Marco and its nearby shopping district you find yourself navigating a labyrinth of narrow passageways and tiny bridges. Just when you think you are totally lost and about to end up in a dark blind alley you suddenly emerge into sunlight and on to a big town square. Most of them featured a church in the center.

Dell’Accademia Bridge - one of only three crossing the Grand Canal
When our walking tour ended I was ready for lunch. However, with this being our first full day of the trip Gail had a number of duties to perform. Everything was still new to these junior and senior high school age kids. They were a bit nervous about going off on their own. Gail had to direct a few to bank machines, oooh and aaah over some of their purchases from the glass factory and remind others that we were meeting up again at the gondola slip at 1:00. Finally we were able to head off on our own.
Last summer Gail and I ate at a little pizzeria recommended by a poster on Fodors.com. We had a great meal at an outdoor table just below the Accademia Bridge.

Cheeses!!! That
Once we crossed the Accademia Bridge we were surprised to find construction fences and cement mixers sitting where we had enjoyed our al fresco lunch last summer. The restaurant was shut down while new pilings and a stronger embankment were being constructed. We wandered aimlessly away from the bridge not really knowing what to do next. I was really just looking for a place to sit and consult a map when we came to the opposite shore of this island. All along the quayside were little Trattoria and Pizzerias. We liked the looks of the prices on the menuboard for "Alle Zattere". Tyler and I got pizzas with pepperoni (8.50 Euro) while Gen, Gail and her mom got the plain Margherite (8.00 Euro).

The biggest shock of the trip!!
Tyler ordered a liter of beer. I was so proud.

I can live without living statues
We had to make a quick break from the restaurant in order to get Tyler and Gen back over to the main island to catch their 1:00 gondola ride.
As we crossed over the Accademia Bridge we entered another of those picturesque little squares. This one must have been a hotbed for tourists. Where London and Paris subways are populated with buskers trying to earn a living by performing down in the tunnels, most Italian tourist spots feature wackos that paint themselves in white, gold or silver then pretend they are statues. Once you drop money in their coinbox they perform some sort of inane pantomime routine. I was able to catch three of these knuckleheads taking a shortbreak from the incessant heat.

Not more food!
As we trotted back toward Piazza San Marco we ambled past this enticing little snack shop. Maybe the best food bargain in all Venice.

Tyler and Gen doing the tourist thing
We made it back to the gondola area in time. Gail and I decided we didn't want to waste $60 on another gondola ride so we watched everyone head off toward the Grand Canal.

On second thought....
The last gondola was leaving and there was extra room on board. Jurgen directed us on even though we hadn't paid. The whole trip I was waiting for the gondolier to tell us we owed him 50 Euro. We ended up getting a free ride. Very enjoyable.

Rialto Bridge
Our gondola ride briefly took us out into the Grand Canal. It was full of highly polished wooden motorboats, gondolas and water buses.

Along the Grand Canal
This is a better example of those all wooden motorboats.

View from the Doges' Palace
As soon as we got off the gondolas we headed back to St. Merk's Square and the Doges' Palace. In the past we had taken escorted tours through the Palace but today we had our own tickets. We were able to proceed through at our own pace. Last year we were allowed to mtake photos inside. This year we weren't. I was able to snap this shot of Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore. We had hoped to take a vaporetto (water bus) over there but once again we ran out of time.

Standing atop the Rialto Bridge
The tour of the Doges' Palace actually gave us a brief respite from the heat. We sat for 45 minutes in the huge common hall where a stiff breeze blew in from the sea. Then we headed over to the dungeons. When we found them to be humid and stuffy we decided to head back outside for some gelato and drinks.
Gail's Mom and I grabbed cones right below the Rialto Bridge. Of course I got a nice blob of chocolate on my shorts.
Remembering that there was an active farmer's market on Sundays I led the group up, up and over the Rialto Bridge. On the opposite side most of the farmers were gone but there were plenty of arts and crafts, silk ties, cheap T-shirts (got a Leonardo Di Vinci one), fruit and the Italian Slurpee called a "granita" (I got a cola one). I had to resist the urge to grab some of the ice cubes the fruitmongers used to keep their chunks of pineapple and coconut fresh.

Bye Bye Venice - I'm sure we'll be back sooner than I'd like
At 6:00 we had to meet back at the boat docks to catch our ride back to Mestre. At 6:00 hundreds of students on similar educational tours converge on this area to return to their cheapp accomodations miles outside Venice. Although our morning ride into Venice was quite comfortable, on our ride back we were crammed like sardines on to our rickety old boat. I kind of dozed off while Gail yakked away with some kids from another tour.
Back at the hotel our rooms were actually cold since the a/c had been allowed to run all day. It was fantastic. We had another delicious dinner at the Spaghetti Club. Most of the adults started loosening up with each other. This was to be the first of many nights we sampled the cheap wines of the region we were visiting. I stuck with beer. I developed a real liking for Nastro Azzuro (blue ribbon) beer.