After playing with pigeons we decide to check out the Ducale Palace since the line was short. The entrance puts you into an open courtyard which is connected to the Basilica San Marco. The domed steeples, statues and ornate design is mind blowing and stunning. The Palazzo Ducale, Ducale Palace or Doge’s Palace, was the seat of the government of Venice for centuries. As well as being the home of the Doge (the elected ruler of Venice) it was the venue for its law, courts, civil administration and bureaucracy and the city jail. We were not suppose to take pictures inside the palace so we don not have much to show how amazing it was. Although we did sneak a couple shots. The sizes of the rooms and the detailed paintings, molding and sculptures on the ... read more

This entry is just about the Frari Church. If your interested in the history of the church and artwork, read below. Otherwise by pass and go check out the pictures of this interesting church. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (Church of the Frari) known simply as "Frari," this immense 13th- to 14th-century Gothic church built by the Franciscans (frari is a dialectal distortion of "frati," or brothers), it is the largest church in Venice after the Basilica of San Marco. The churche's campanile (bell tower) is the second tallest in the city after that of San Marco, was completed in 1396. As with many Venetian churches, the exterior is rather plain. The imposing Frari is built of brick in the Italian Gothic style. The exterior is deliberately plain in accordance with the Franciscan emphasis on ... read more

After a couple hour nap, the sun has set and we are now ready for dinner. It is about 8:00pm as we start out to look for somewhere to eat. We stroll along the calle's which are all now with out the many tourist and very quiet. We spend some time looking in the windows of which now we have time to peer into. The calle's are so narrow and busy during the day it makes it hard to look in some of the window displays. We stroll along the Grand Canal and check out the Rialto Bridge at night. There are still a few tourist and locals trying to sell their song and flowers to the romantic strollers going across the bridge. We came upon a lone gondolier and starting some small talk and before ... read more

After settling into our room, our Host gives us our keys and that was the last we saw or heard of him or anyone in our B&B. The key to our room is one of those big metal old fashion keys. I should have taken a picture of it. We set out to see Venice. We are a bit jet lagged, but too excited to spend our time sleeping so we set out to find some coffee and lunch. We just walk around the calle's around our B&B and find a little cafe. Bill orders a double espresso and I a cappuccino. Bill's little espresso is basically a shot glass of caffeine in a tiny little coffee cup. I thought it tasted disgusting, but Bill loved it. They serve coffee luke warm so it took a ... read more

Our flight from San Diego to Washington DC seemed quick and painless we took some really cool pictures from the window of the plane over the San Diego coast and the amazing clouds we flew into. Our flight arrived in DC on time and we had a decent lay over. There was a nice little wine cafe and bistro right next to our gate, so we enjoyed a good glass a wine and some small talk with others waiting for their flight. We ended up buying a bottle of wine for our long flight across the Atlantic. We enjoyed the wine, but it did not make the flight any more bearable. The flight to Frankfurt was long and painful. We arrived around 7:30am Frankfurt time Friday, Sept 21. Our flight ended up arriving late and only ... read more