Our last adventure in Italy began Thursday night upon arriving in Venice. We checked into our hotel that was adorned throughout with Venetian glass chandeliers. Since there has been no new construction in Venice for hundreds of years, I imagined this hotel had once been a palazzo for a rich Venetian merchant.

Maurizio volunteered to walk with us and make dinner recommendations. His favorites were off the beaten path, and lent themselves to more of the local flavor. By now, the sun had just set, and Venice was lighting up for the evening. I couldn’t believe the pictures I took. Every time we crossed a bridge or turned a corner, the views seemed more spectacular than ones we’d just seen. Restaurants dotted the canals with outdoor seating at the water’s edge. We were one of the last to choose a restaurant. While the ambiance was incredible,  I must say the meal was one of the more disappointing experiences of our trip. The service seemed poor, and we mentioned it Maurizio the following day. As I said before, these restaurants thrive on tour recommendations, so he made note to speak to the owner before leaving.

We rested and rose early for our last Gate 1 partnership encounter. We boarded a bus ferry to transport us to the glass blowing island of Murano. The boat ride circled most of the city, and served as a great introduction for the day of sightseeing. In Murano we were ushered into the factory to see a demonstration of the glass blowing process. The craftsman easily created a horse and a vase that he probably produces ten to twenty times a day for touring groups just like ours. Please don’t read me as cynical, but this is quite an industry in Venice and there are probably a dozen more factories and showrooms on the island just like ours. Before coming to Italy, Janet and I had purposed to buy a work of Venetian glass. As we toured the showrooms with our sales guide always ten feet away, we saw incredible works that costs thousands of euros. We found one more to our liking in the low hundreds of euros, and were pleased to take it with us.

 

Our boat ferried us back to St. Mark’s square which was the hub of the city. The Doge’s palace, St. Mark’s Cathedral, and the bell tower are dominant features of the only square in Venice. Our formal tours included St. Marks and the Doge’s palace.  We met Sylvia, our guide while in line to see the palace. Seeing the size and movement of the line, she led us to St. Marks to visit first. As before, no pictures were allowed inside. St. Mark’s had a different feel than other churches we’d visited. There seemed a more eastern influence with its massive domed ceilings covered in gold mosaics. It reminded me of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis in St. Louis, MO which boasts one of the largest number of mosaics in the western hemisphere. The church was somewhat dimly lit, and a mass was being conducted as visitors quietly filed by.

Following St. Marks, we were able to proceed into the Doge’s palace pretty quickly. I mentioned in Florence, that one could experience a tipping point of how much art and history someone could absorb in a short amount of time. I think the Doge’s palace was the ultimate limit of our endurance. Maybe because we’re not as familiar with Venetian artists, or the culture of Venice was not something I’d researched much, I found it hard to connect to this new information. The palace was ornate, but most of the paintings were of the doge’s (rulers) themselves, which I found less than impressive. The most interesting aspect of the tour was crossing the bridge of sighs where convicted prisoners would look out the window and sigh at their last glimpse of the beautiful city.

We said ciao to Sylvia and were on our own for lunch. Janet and I found a nice, albeit touristy restaurant in the St. Marks area and enjoyed our last lunch in Italy. Before meeting Maurizio for our serenaded gondola ride, Janet and I explored the shops and admired the glass works on display. We fell in love with a beautiful giraffe until we noticed it was priced at 20,000 euros. The square was not only filled with pigeons, artists, and tourists, but a university graduation was being held in the open air. I can only imagine the memories one would have of graduating in that beautiful place.

A highlight of the Gate 1 Italy tour is the gondola ride. Musicians are hired for the 30 minute ride, which draws attention to your boats and makes you the subject of many pictures. Our gondoliers took us through quiet canals, and masterfully navigated past other boats and obstacles never bumping or touching another object. From this vantage, we could see hotels that enter and exit right on the canal. We even passed the house of the famous opera diva, Maria Callas.  It may be touristy, and a little corny, but how can you go to Venice without riding a gondola?

Maurizio led us on an extended walk through some of the less traveled parts of the city. I love seeing the parts where real people live. Sylvia had explained to us that the population is decreasing yearly due to the ever rising cost of living there. She said the population is down to around 40,000 people, and that most of the places you see are hotels and bed and breakfasts. The reason Maurizio led us this path was to show us the artwork of Lorenzo Quinn, son of the actor Anthony Quinn. The piece is made up of two white hands emerging from the Grand Canal to support the buildings that are slowly sinking, due to climate change, and the heavy use of cruise ships in the area. Another highlight of the walk was crossing the Ponte Rialto, probably the most famous bridge in Venice.  We must have crossed over 50 bridges on our way back to the hotel. But it was the perfect ending of our adventure.

 

That evening we ate a farewell dinner at the hotel. And made our preparations for leaving the next day. Maurizio was really an outstanding tour director. Throughout the week, he kept popping up with surprises like the gelato at Trevi fountain, a token coin from a Roman celebration, a cheesy rice ball, a Pinnochio toy, or a paper map of Italy. He spent time getting to know each of us, and working to meet our needs so that we had the best trip possible. We were really thankful to have him, and would certainly recommend his services to anyone.

Our final morning, I woke early and walked out of the hotel to stand atop the third of our Grand Canal bridges, Ponte degli Scalzi. You know I love to take pictures of the sunrise, and I wanted to take one here, as I believed it would be fabulous.  The streets were quiet, and my mood was joyful and sad at the same time. Boats motored in and out of the Grand Canal beneath me, delivering goods to the local stores. Out of nowhere, two girls came bursting down the street playing music as loud as possible and perched themselves next to me to take a picture.  I asked them to turn the music down, but they ignored me. Fortunately they were gone in a matter of seconds, and I could once again reflect on my good fortune of being able to visit this amazing place, and enjoy the beautiful sunrise.

Our trip to the airport was by water taxi. I have to say, it was the best airport shuttle I’ve ever taken. Before boarding the taxi, we said ciao to Maurizio who kept yelling ciao as we motored down the canal. It seemed like the perfect way to leave Italy, by boat and then by plane. A Gate 1 representative greeted us at the airport and stayed with us until we passed through security. When the plane took off, it circled the Venice lagoon, and we could see the city all tied together with its canals and bridges. We changed planes in Paris, and then on to Boston.  While over the Atlantic, I found a Netflix series called  Medicis: The Masters of Florence, and watched the three episodes offered. Things in the show began to help make sense of the things I’d seen. I couldn’t believe my luck in finding this series of a place I’d just been to and learned so much about.

It may be awhile before we return, but we threw our coins in the fountain and we know we’ll be back. We have so many other things to see and do!  So until next time when we’re living in New England like a tourist……Ciao!

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller