2015 ITALY Venice 47 - Afternoon Delight.

Upon my descent I found Mike and we just started walking. Our goal was that beautiful point on the other side of the canal. So we had to find a bridge.

We headed out the "front door" of Venice turning right along the Grand Canal and behind the New Procuratie. There were lots of little eateries and souvenir shops to our right on land and every kind of water vehicle to our left on water.

We felt we could not get too lost because we were on an island or at least a family of close knit islands. The thing about walking here is you can't really walk along the water's edge for very long, as all the primo palazzos and homes and business are snugged up to the water. You have to walk inland a bit and look down the alleyways and canals to keep your bearings with the water.

We had our map, but we still were confused most of the time. That was OK with us. We've managed this before and usually end up discovering wonderful and exciting things along the way.

The first thing we came across was the outdoor flea and antique market. Lots of vintage and designer treasures here. On this last afternoon of our trip, however, we were sorry our suitcases were already filled to the brim for the trip home. So many things for sale that would have looked fabulous in our Mediterranean-style loft were left behind.

After that we wandered though neighborhoods until we came to the Ponte de l'Academia (bridge) over the canal to our "destination." Instead of auto garages, each home had a little motor boat parked along side. This lovely home also had a very nice shaded garden attached, rare in these parts.

The bridge was very simple compared to the Rialto. Just wood steps taking you up and over and a simple handrail. As we crossed there was a nice view up and down the canal.

Once over the bridge we wandered our way to the left to see the grand Santa Maria della Salute (our lady of health) Church. In 1630, Venice endured a devastating outbreak of plague. In 14 months it killed one-third of the population. The church was built as a votive offering to deliver the city from the pestilence. The church was not open at this time, but the tall doors were impressive.

The outside is richly decorated with statues of the four apostles (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). It has two domes and two bell towers. The interior is octagonal in shape with eight radiating chapels around the outside walls. See more info at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_della_Salute.

The church  sits on the end of the point, just a few feet from the water's edge. I hope climate change is vigorously addressed soon by all nations or this and all of Venice will soon be tragically under water.

At this point, across the Grand Canal, you can see the "front porch" of Venice between the two white buildings (the lacy Doge's Palazzo and the Bibliotech Marciana), where we had visited earlier. Also see St. Mark's tower where I had taken photos. St. Mark's Cathedral domes are in the left background.

We started our journey back to the hotel at a slow pace. There was sooooo much to see and hear and experience. We passed the Peggy Guggenheim Collection Museum (of NYC museum family fame). She moved here as a retirement home in 1948 and started collecting the work of modern artists of her era such as Picasso, Georges Braque, Max Ernst, and Jackson Pollack. Works include the genres of cubism, surrealism, and abstract expressionism.

We enjoy that kind of art and thought we might go in to see the only "modern" (built in the 18th century) palazzo in Venice with its modern art. Through the artistic gates we saw a lovely garden and a long line waiting to enter. We were not in the mood for lines at that moment, so we continued down the passageway.

By then we were a bit hungry and needed to rest our feet, so we stopped at a little hidden cafe. It had a gorgeous copper caffè maker (talk about steam punk) inside the tiny crowded room. We chose outdoor seats instead and got a bonus of people watching while we waited for service.

Mike had proscuitto over melon and I had a caprese salad with the freshest mozzarella you can imagine. And wine, of course. Don''t these photos just make your mouth water!?!

Glad we had more walking to do after that meal. Lots of things to view along the way. Lovers along the canal.

From the looks of the laundry hanging from buildings and windows, we finally came across some actual homes and everyday life.

Lots of buildings are decorated with art and religious nooks.

Ruins and finished architecture are mixed to make an interesting cityscape.

Back balconies along the canals. Even a tiny window would be a pleasure to have here.

 We were lost most of the time, but every once in a while would see something we recognized on the map. When we found La Zucca (the restaurant from our second night) and knew our way home from there.

Here is a semblance of your wanderings while in Venice. Left red arrow is the train station. We took the top most orange line by vaporatto to the center red arrow which was our hotel. Take the orange line left from there just a bit to the perpendicular corner and see a small lighter red dot. That was the great restaurant we went to on our second night, La Zucca. The top black arrow is the Rialto Bridge. The light blue arrow is San Marco Square. The lower black arrow is the Ponte de l'Academia. Beyond the initial boat ride to our hotel, we walked the rest of the orange line. Hope this is not too complicated, but basically we walked all the orange line at least once.

I have no idea how far we actually traveled, but I wish we could have walked miles more. We missed seeing the Bridge of Sighs (kind of behind the Doge's Palace), named for it being the walkway from the courts to the prison. Would like to have seen the area where they make the gondolas. And inside the St Mark's, Basilica and Our Lady of Health Church and the Doge's Palace and Guggenheim Palazzo, and eaten in every trattoria. But you just can't have it all or do it all or see it all or eat it all. At least we can say we have been to Venice.

We had started our trek at 09:30 and returned to the hotel at 16:30--a total of seven hours of exploring by foot. We weren't really pooped, but our feet were sorely aching. We had to pack and get organized for an early start to the airport.

We showered, shaved, packed (no easy task with all our little souvenirs), set out clothes for the morning, and reminisced. We passed on dinner, but I ran out for a last helping of gelato. I got Mike a mango and myself a pistachio. I also picked up a small bottle of limoncello to toast the end of a fabulous, fabulous trip to Italy.