Venice--A Church On Every Corner

The Grand Canal
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You will never see as many old churches per square foot as you will in Venice. And not just “church buildings,” but ornate structures, beautifully decorated with museum quality sculptures, and eye-popping marble work. We couldn’t get over the fact that around nearly every corner and in all the quarters in the commune of Venezia church buildings abound. The sad thing is that today most of them have either been turned into performance centers, museums or abandoned completely. Eric suggested that their existence may stem from the fact that when the plague devastated Europe in the Middle Ages it did not touch Venice. Venice is an island and therefore much easier to protect. So the people may have been so grateful for the protection of the Lord that all these monuments you see today are a result of their deep gratitude to Him.

Kathy and her pigeons at San Marco
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We arrived Thurs. eve. at our lovely Bed and Breakfast near the Marco Polo Airport that was out in the country. We quickly unpacked and hopped a free shuttle to Venice from a nearby casino. We walked to San Marco through many narrow winding streets. Eric has been here several times and has an uncanny sense of direction, so we never got lost and were able to see most of the city including much of it by night. On the way we stopped to eat dinner at an outdoor café next to a hotel where Eric had stayed on a previous visit. It was next to the famous Academia Bridge. After a pizza dinner we continued to see the city by night. When we reached Piazza San Marco it was all lit up and was a spectacular sight. Around every corner we found some old charming—yet crumbling—residences, restful cafés, lovely canal scenes with gondolas moving gracefully under the little bridges—there is something to please every taste in this place. And there are many tastes to please. People are everywhere. We haven’t seen crowds like this anywhere else. Everyone, it seems, wants to visit Venice. You can easily walk your shoes to shreds visiting this place. We hopped aboard a water bus that we shared with about a hundred and fifty others, tightly squeezed together. However, the next day we were ALL walking because the waterbus personnel went on strike. The narrow streets were jammed.

You can easily walk your shoes to shreds visiting this place.

The atmosphere of Venice!
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On Friday morning the B & B served our breakfast out on the back lawn under large umbrellas. A typical breakfast consists of rolls, jelly, yogurt, cold cereal, coffee, tea, juice, and plenty of Nutella (Eric’s favorite!). We spent the day wandering all over Venice. Even Eric, at 25, finally said his legs couldn’t take it any more, so we limped home. Kathy had to stop and buy gifts and band-aids for her feet. (Her good gym shoes are in the lost bag! UGH!)

We returned to our B & B to rest our feet before heading off to a nearby restaurant for a late dinner (9:30 p.m.). The restaurant was named “La Posada” and served Mexican and Italian food. We ate Italian, of course! We can eat Mexican anytime.

You can do this too, for only $150 per boat!
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Before heading to Austria the next morning, we made a stop at Marco Polo Airport to check on our lost luggage (if British Air had found it they were instructed to send it there by Saturday). No success, so we are going to have to finish our trip without it.

--Bud and Kathy