March 25, 2003 - 9:00 p.m.

Venice Part Two

Saturday was, for all intents and purposes, our last day in Venice. We left Sunday, but didn't have time to do anything but have breakfast, check out of our hotel, and catch the ferry to the airport.

Anyway, on Saturday, Derek decided to sleep in a bit, so I headed to the main island first on my own. I checked out a couple more churches, including the one in which my favorite sculptor, Canova, is entombed, and visited a museum dedicated to life in Venice in the 18th century. The museum was in another lovely palazzo and had amazing, ornate furniture, beautiful examples of period clothing, and such.

Then Derek and I met in the square of San Marco to visit the Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace). For centuries, the doge was the highest official of the Venetian republic, and the palace definitely reflects the prestige of the position.

The palace housed not only the doge's living quarters, but the meeting rooms for the Senate and various councils, as well. All of them were covered in carving, panelling, and frescoes. Now the palace also holds an extensive collection of weapons and armor. We saw everything from ceremonial spears, hefty broadswords, and cannons from Venetian galleys to huge crossbows, elaborately carved shields, and primitive guns. As with almost everything in Venice, many of the weapons were beautifully decorated and the craftsmanship was impressive. We also got to visit the palace's prisons, which were housed in a maze of dark, rough, stone corridors. Below is a photo of a courtyard in the prison area where you can see the barred windows and Derek's back (he's a little camera shy).

After that we had lunch (gnocchi - mmm) then took a vaporetto to the nearby island of Murano, which is famous for its glass artisans. The glassware there ranges from colorful beads and kitschy knick knacks to graceful vases and stemware. We got watch a glassblower in action as he made a vase and then a dolphin (below).

Before going our separate ways again, we had some gelato. I had amaretto and caramel this time - so yummy! I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the sections of Venice I hadn't been in yet. I didn't get to go inside, but the exterior of the enormous church of Santa Maria della Salute (built in thanksgiving for deliverance of Venice from the plague of 1630) was impressive enough for me.

Before heading back to the Lido for dinner, I strolled though the public gardens that look at over the lagoon and watched the sunset.

We had dinner in a wonderful trattoria. We had salad, delicious Italian cheeses, an excellent fish stew (me), and salt cod with polenta (Derek). We shared a caraffe of white wine and just enjoyed the food and ambiance on our last night in Italy.

Sunday we headed to the airport to go home. To our surpirse, due to an overfull flight, we got upgraded to first class for the trans-Atlantic flight. That was awesome! We had a multiple course lunch with wine, comfy seats, and individual video screens on which you could watch movies or play games (including trivia and Tetris!). It made the eight and a half hour flight much more pleasant, and the food was actually excellent!

Phew! What a trip. It may sound insane that we went to Venice for what was essentially a long weekend, but it was a great trip. I loved learning about the history of the city and the styles of art and architecture. it was also great to spend some real quality time with my brother. He's really an awesome guy, and we don't get enough time together. I am really enjoying the closer relationship he and I have formed over the past couple of years. (side note: I am not sure how he ended up ranked in the competition, but he didn't make it to the second day. He seemed relatively content with his performance, but unsure whether he wants to go to another international tournament.)

today's project: watching the kids practice on their pogo sticks

musing about: the simple joys of spring: sun and sprouts

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flutter back - fly ahead