MORE ADVENTURES IN VENICE

I'm going to combine the next few days since we were in Venice the whole time.
Doesn't Frank look cute! He bought me this beautiful umbrella to keep me out of the bright sun. It was made in Torcello, one of the nearby islands. What a great way to start the day. I love presents!



I was in Venice the first time in 1985 during Carnivale with a group of photographers but I was without Frank. That made me very sad. Nevertheless, I had a wonderful time and got a lot accomplished. Several of my photographs from that trip were published! This is now Frank's and my third trip together to Venice and it just keeps getting better and better.
We got up early (around 8:00 a.m.), cleaned up and went downstairs for breakfast. We decided to eat outside since the weather was so beautiful. As I have said before, the veranda is the perfect spot for people watching which is one of our favorite pastimes.


Unfortunately my back had started to bother me. We only made it as far as the Piazza San Marco and I had to sit down for a while. Frank found me some new Italian friends to keep me company.

The tide was in and the Piazza was flooded in the middle, so there were huge crowds of people around the edges. Before I saw the flooded area, I kept seeing people with their shoes off and that seemed odd to me. But ... once I saw the water I understood why. This had never happened when we were there before.

It seems that some people, young and old, could not resist wading in the water. Guess we're all still children at heart!

This little boy was determined that his dog needed to get his feet wet even though the dog objected. It was great fun to watch them.

We made our way across the Piazza and decided to have a Compari and soda again. The waiters were busy as bees and we watched them as they managed to balance trays and also keep their feet dry.

After we finished our drinks, we wound our way through the crowd and went to the Cafe Florian where we listened to the music.

It first opened as Floriano Francesconi in 1720 under the name Venezia Trionfante. A bulk of it's beauty is adorned with paintings, high mirrors, and naked wood equipped areas which come from the year 1859.

Marble tables and cushioned chairs are under the arcades and outside on the piazza where an orchestra plays in the late afternoon. It's delightful! It wouldn't be a trip to Venice without a visit to the Florian.

We worked our way back through the crowd and returned to our hotel.

I neglected to mention yesterday that we were greeted when we checked in our hotel with a bottle of champagne and fresh fruit.

The lobby was beautifully appointed. We also spent some time in the hotel library reading about the history of Venice.

There was Murano glass everywhere and it was exquisite. This chandelier was no exception.

We had Venetian Calf Liver for dinner which Venice is famous for. It was served with grilled polenta and we didn't leave a morsel!

After dinner we strolled on the Grand Canal in front of our hotel, enjoyed some gelato and watched the clouds as they floated by.

The moon would peek through the clouds from time to time and it was truly a magical evening. This is one of my favorite photographs that I took that night. It has a very mysterious feel to it.

When we returned to our room we were surprised with another gift ... a box of toiletries for Frank which were made by Hermes! What an unexpected treat!

The next day was another special treat as we took a ride in a gondola. The Gondoliers were waiting for us when we arrived.
They looked so cute in their straw hats and white sailor shirts!

This has been one of the things that I'd always wanted to do when we were there but could never seem to find the time.

We were with a large group of gondolas and we had accordion music along with a man singing opera and all the old familiar Italian songs. It was delightful!

The sights from this perspective were awesome. Wish you could have been there with us!

Tomorrow we will board the Holland America Oosterdam and be on our way for this Mediterranean adventure. I can't wait!

XOXO, Pcasso