We were invited to watch the Pacific Princess’ entry into Venice from a terrace in the front of the ship by friends with a suite up front. I was unable to make it but Frances was there with her camera as we steamed into the Grand Canal and up the Giudecca Canal and into the cruise ship dock.
We began the day with a tour. First we caught a shuttle up the Giudecca Canal to the Grand Canal and across to Saint Mark’s Square. From the point that our shuttle docked we walked along the Grand Canal crossing four bridges. At the fourth bridge it was pointed out that we could get a picture of the “Bridge of Sighs” from this point.
Next we toured the Doge’s Palace. The Doge of Venice was not royalty. Venice was a republic and, therefore, he was elected by upper class of Venice and served for life. It was pointed out by our guide that the Venetians were very jealous of their republic and, therefore, the Doge was watched very carefully and the watchers of the Doge were watched very carefully and the watchers of the watchers of the Doge were watched very closely and so on. Because they wanted to make sure that no Doge amassed too much power, they tended to elect very old men as Doge. Thus limiting their terms. In one room of the palace there are pictures of all of the Doges except one. In his place there is only a black curtain. This is because this Doge was accused of attempting to gather too much power to himself. Therefore he was arrested and executed. As a warning to future Doges the black curtain was placed over his portrait. At the end of our tour of the Palace we were taken over the “Bridge of Sighs” which is a covered bridge from the Palace to the Venetian prison. It is called the “Bridge of Sighs” because it is said that the two small windows on the bridge provide the last look that prisoners would ever have of the City of Venice …
After the palace and the prison, we toured St. Mark’s Basilica. The Basilica is decorated with beautiful paintings, statuary and carved reliefs. Unfortunately photography is not allowed.
Next we walked out onto St. Mark’s Square to view the exterior of the Basilica and the Bell tower. This was the end of our tour but, instead of returning to the ship, Frances and I opted to remain in the square and take photographs. Saint Mark’s Square was crowded with children and we soon found out that schools traditionally make student trips to Venice in March and April and there are student discounts on museums and other attractions on Tuesday and Thursday.
Next, we headed toward the Gallerie dell’Accademia. Along the way we found a promising looking Ristorante and had a very nice lunch (Frances had some local fish and I had spaghetti with mussels).
Finally, after crossing the Grand Canal via the Accademia Bridge, we bought tickets for the Gallerie. The Gallerie traces the development of Venetian art and includes paintings by Bellini, Titian, Veronese and Canaletto and others. They also had an exhibit on the restoration of three paintings by Hieronymus Bosch.
After the Gallerie, we decided to go for a gondola ride. We traveled down the Grand Canal and some of the narrow side canals. On the Grand Canal we floated past Sir Elton John’s place. He wasn’t in evidence …
After our ride, we found our way back through the narrow streets and alleyways of Venice and through Saint Mark’s Square to our shuttle back to the ship.