Day 2 venice contd. Yet again!

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Firstly thanks all for your messages its great to get them , it doesn't make me feel so far away hearing frm u (where r u brenden?)
After our breakfast we caught water bus to area of venice at mouth of grand canal called san marco.this is where 2 of venices biggest sites are, st marks basilica (very big church) built as a tomb to saint mark and the Doges palace.there were lots of doges and they were the rulers of venice. We had to queue up for bout half hr to get in, lots of tour groups frm 5 cruise ships that were in port (mostly american), but apparently that's nothing compared to the summer mths. The basilica was amazing, lots of different coloured, carved, huge marble columns, gold mosaics, frescoes and some beautiful christian artefacts,(mick, u b suprised how much max and i enjoying the churches! Maybe the st christopher chain my brother gave me to ensure safe travel is working!)
Nxt was Doges Palace which was huge & contained it all.ornate and ostentatious was maxs description but what a place!
Carved, gold gilded and frescoed ceilings, as if they just couldn get enough decoration up there! Massive rooms, statues, courtyards,ballrooms, meeting rooms, courts and even its own prison. It also contains rooms full of armoury, one of worlds biggest collections, lots of swords, daggers, shields, pistols and suits of armour.very interesting. So much wealth and power is evidenced in both this place and the church, it seems if they wanted something they got it no matter what it took.
These 2 places take a lot of walking so we decided to go back and have lunch (see previous entry re calves liver) and go see a place called ca resonnica which used to b the home of an important venetian family. This was lovely mainly due to its frescoed ceilings in light, pastel colours rather than the dark, forebod ing tones used in the doges palace. It had huge, venetian glass chandeliers and lots of carved furniture, also big art collection. Late afternoon now so we once again meandered along the lanes of venice, admiring the gorgeous shops filled with masks, glassware, jewellry and clothes. Even watched a bootmaker in his tiny shop for a while. We have loved doing this. Back to hotel with couple bottles beer, cheese, olives and that be our dinner tonight!

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Comments

[kim harley]

dont go religi on us !!!
hey cuz, all sounds too fab. the way u r writing makes it feel as though we r there ( bet u r glad we r not ha ha ). Told ma about the lobster sauce . Where will u be on ur b'day and wedding ann. Thanks for keeping us in ur travels. Keep enjoying Love Kim xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx