Very nice in Venice

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Everything we hoped for

Our arrival in Venice begin exceedingly early with our first glide onto the lagoon at about 5.15 am!  The good news for us is that we're both early risers so by 5.20 am we were on our balcony, mugs of tea in hand watching our favourite city come into view.  It's just like toy town for grown ups - every turn you make gives you another glorious view to feast your eyes on and it never disappoints.  This year we were moored in the cruiser terminal which is on the outskirts of Venice so a water shuttle bus carried us from the ship right into St Marks Square.

We planned 3 things for today: the Doge's Palace, St Marks Cathedral and a gondola ride.  The day began well because we arrived at the Doge's Palace just as they opened its doors.  I last visited this fantastic palace as a 12-year old child and had forgotten how stunning it is.  Each room you visit is better than the previous room and is filled with more and more glorious treasures: furniture, paintings, carved ceilings and amazing Venetian glass chandeliers. Until you move over the Bridge of Sighs and into the prison.  Seems to be a distinct lack of chandeliers here, or paintings or furniture.  Six to a cell with no toilet or washing facility - in the heat of Venice.  Guess this is one place you really don't want to fall off the straight and narrow!  We've been under the Bridge before, on a gondola, but never walked across it until today.  As you gaze out of the carved window, you can easily imagine prisoners sighing as they took their last glimpse of the beautiful Grand Canal and freedom.  It well and truly earns its name!

After the Palace, St Marks Cathedral.  But only just!  One of the guards kicked Richard out for wearing inappropriate clothing.  His crime was that of wearing shorts but when we looked round we could see loads of other guys wearing shorts so we waited until the guard turned his back and then sneaked in along with a crowd of other people.  Inside you can see what the rich people in Venice did with their gold - they gave it to the church (no doubt in the hope it would buy them favours with Him upstairs at some point in the future). The roof is completely covered in the most amazing gold mosaics.  But - and I'm sorry if this sounds a bit prissy - it really could do with a clean.  A bit of Mr Muscle wouldn't go amiss now.  I'm not convinced anyone has cleaned it in the 40 odd years since I was here last!

And then came the highlight of our day: a trip on a gondola.  Last night we planned our budget for this part of the day as we knew it would be a lot of money.  So we mulled over costs, trying to remember and guess what the going rate was.  And then when we were 'negotiating' with the gondolier, all our plans went out the window and we agreed to pay double what we'd planned!  But it was so worth it.  We had an hour long trip and went all the way from St Marks Square down the Grand Canal and under both the Academy Bridge and the Rialto Bridge before disappearing into a maze of quiet backwater canals.  Our gondolier kept us entertained with his commentary of all we were passing plus several outbursts of singing.  He was charming.  The boat was charming.  Venice is charming.  And even the weather was charming.

Then back on board for a romantic sail away past the Grand Canal and all its majesty to the sound of some magnificent music.  Then dressing up tonight for formal dinner and boy do we scrub up OK!  We've made friends with a couple of really lovely ladies on this cruise and have fallen into a very relaxed dinner together every evening often followed by either the show in the theatre or a game of Mah Jongg.  

We really are a pair of complete cruise junkies.  Montenegro tomorrow but not until mid-day so plenty of time for a slow and gradual start to our day.

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