Steps today: 27 986 / 18.45 km
No day trips or trains today - for the first time on the trip so far, we stayed put!
I had a few items on my "to see" list, and we set out to do them today. We slept in a bit (our version of that) and got to Venice by about 9AM
First on my list was to see Canova's pyramid tomb in the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari church. Frank insists we've seen it before and he's probably right. I looked though my pictures of previous trips and found nothing, but perhaps pictures were not allowed and I was being illegal this time.
Next, after a coffee break, was the San Pantalon Church to see the incredible ceiling.
Next, the Squero di San Trovaso - where gondolas are made and maintained
After this, we walked aimlessly for an hour just soaking in the beautiful sights...
Around 11:30, it was Aperol Spritz O'clock!
Once relaxed, refueled and recharged, it was off to explore to find a place for lunch.
After lunch, it was back on the trail of sights I wanted to see. First was the Contarini del Bovolo staircase which we had seen before but was closed to renovations so we could not climb up.
This time we were lucky and were able to take advantage of the views.
By about 4, the sun was back out, and we kept going. Up for a sail? LOL
There is a patch of rare greenery in Venice towards the east - we didn't explore much of it, but we did walk around a bit - I never found an angle to take a nice picture. Too bad.
The Arsenale was next, or rather just the entrance - neither one of us was in 'Museum Mood'
Next: Libreria Acqua Alta which is as original as claimed, but I am not a book-person and I went there to see the resident cats... there were none. So that means no pictures.
Instead - here's a picture of a typical building front along the canals nearby. Crumbling façade, exposed brick along the bottom, front door that leads right into the water, green algae along the waterline.
Last on my list for the day was the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo to specifically see the Tomb of Doge Pietro Mocenigo. Because of it's placement, I couldn't see many of the details, but it was still stunning, as are just about all Italian churches! Filled to the brim with eye candy!
It was about 5:30 by then, and there were a few places to eat in the piazza outside the church - perfect! Too cold to eat outside, but we had a drink first, then moved inside to eat.
As usual, it was about 7ish when we were done. Roughly a 30-minute walk back to the train, and back to the hotel around 8 to shower and CRASH!
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