And then the rain came...

It had been raining most of the time since we arrived in Venice but then it started to pour and the " high water", the " acqua alta" came early this year.

Since Venice is located on and below sea level it is prone to flooding especially in the late autumn and winter when the tides are high and there is a lot of rain which is what happened this week.

This was the walkway outside of our place.

Here was one of the alleyways...

And this was St Mark's Square which is one of the lowest points of land in Venice.

 

We think that all the people we saw walking around with these type of boot covers were from the cruise ships, they came prepared.

But we couldn't let the weather keep us in too long so we were up to have breakfast and then out for another adventure.

Here was my favourite breakfast...fresh mushrooms, fresh basil and northern Italian cheese, taleggio, made only in the autumn and fall from milk from tired cows! Served on toast it tasted like an Italian breakfast.

One day we decided to visit two of the islands in the lagoon, Murano and Burano. It took us almost an hour and a half on the boats one way with a stop on both islands.

Don checking out the sights.

It was a choppy day on the water, we had to wait awhile to catch the boat as service was suspended because of high tides.

 

Murano is know for its famous glass and is an island full of glass workshops and stores selling all manner of glass produced there.

The mandatory visit to the glass blowing factory

Many glass shops

Beautiful glass chandeliers

Stained glass windows

Even a glass sculpture in the town square

Burano was a very cute town that is known for its lace making and brightly colored houses. It was very small but beautiful and we said it was an Italian version of the streets of St. John's.

Even though it started out as a wet day the weather held and we really enjoyed the day.

 

Sometimes when we travel it is nice to take some time for yourself which is what I did when I visited the Peggy Guggenheim Art Collection. She was an American heiress who developed a huge modern art collection and some of it is displayed in her huge palazzo on the Grand Canal. Here are a few of my favourites...

And no I don't know what it is!

This is a close up of one of Jackson Pollock's paintings. He was an American painter who worked on huge canvases. There was a full room of his work there and I thought they were great.

There was a sculpture garden and I liked this shot of an art class and their teacher through one of Henry Moore's pieces...

Finally there was an Impressionist exhibit and this was my favourite by Monet,the colours were amazing!

Oh yes, Don enjoyed his time by not visiting the collection.

We also visited a number of other churches as they are everywhere in Venice and so many are masterpieces in themselves.

Santa Maria della Salute stands out in the skyine as a massive structure... It too was built as a thank you for surviving the plaque and to the fortune of good health.

It is a rather plain church compared to others we have seen here.

Don lighting a candle for everyone's good health.

 

 

We also visited the Doge's Palace which stands at the entrance to St Mark's Square and was built to house the Doge and the Halls of Justice. The Doge and his council were the supreme rulers of the Republic of Venice and this building is testament to their power

 

It is attached to the Basilica which can be seen in the inner courtyard as the Doge had his own chapel inside the structure,

The building has many spectacular pieces of art work throughout its different halls of justice.

This is the greatest hall and at the time it was built it was the largest room in Europe. The ceilings are amazing but unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take pictures. The noblemen of the time around 1000 or so would gather here every Sunday to deal with matters of justice whether they be who to send to the prisons below or how to deal with a foreign enemy. It seemed the Republic of Venice was far advanced in matters of government.

A view to the Grand Canal from one of the windows, this is the area where the vaporetti dock to unload and load passengers. As you can see it is a very busy spot.

We spent many days walking and boating around this city often fortified with a cold or hot drink and our guide book in hand. Though we were quick to realize that a map was useless just lose yourself in the many alleyways and canals of Venice.

We are glad that we visited the city and wished for better weather but that was out of our control. It is a city like no other, simply by the fact that it is built on water and that gives it a very special feel. We found the people very friendly and we believe they must be an hardy bunch to live here with the challenges that the city faces. Would we visit again? Probably not. Would we recommend that others visit? Definitely.

So here's to the City of Water, Water... everywhere!

 

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