Monday, June 23, 2008

Third Stop: Venice, Italy

Today's post is about Venice, Italy. I looooooved Venice!

This is a picture I took of the city just as the ship was pulling into the port area of Venice.
Do you notice the green domed roof over on the left side of the picture?



It is the same roof that was in "my painting." It's hard to tell from this picture, but the domed roof that you see is green in "my painting."



This picture is of me just as I got off of the ship in Venice.
(I will probably use the word Venice numerous times....I apologize...It was just so surreal to actually be in Venice.)



Melissa and I were VERY excited to be going to Venice for our gondola ride; so excited that we were having a lot of fun on the ferry ride into Venice.
(Just ignore us in this next picture. Thanks!)




The sun was just setting when we arrived in Venice for our gondola ride.



It was so beautiful!



Did I mention that we were excited to be in Venice?

We had just gotten in the gondola when this next picture was taken. We were pinching ourselves. Melissa looked at me and said, "We are in a gondola in Venice!" And I would look at her and say, "I know! Can you believe it?"



Here we are starting off with our gondola ride. It was unbelievable. The sun had just set, and the weather was perfect.



The couple that you see in the picture with us were so lovely. They were from New Zealand, and they told us they were on holiday. Doesn't "on holiday" sound so much nicer than "on vacation?" (I loved how they talked; they had the most beautiful accents.)

Riding through the different canals in Venice was like something out of a movie. The gondoliers sang to us as we peeked in windows that we would float by. We saw restaurants, stores, and people in their houses. Some of the people would wave at us as we floated by.

The gondoliers had the most amazing voices. Since they sang in Italian we had absolutely no idea "what" they were singing, but it didn't matter because it "sounded" so beautiful. They could have been singing about the algae growing on the bottom of the boats, and it wouldn't have mattered. It was very romantic! I wished so much that Shannon could have been with us. He would have loved it.

For the first part of the ride through Venice we were in very narrow canals, so the gondolas were in single file order. But towards the end of the ride we came out into the Grand Canal, and they put our gondola beside four or five others. So we were all side by side for a little while, and the gondoliers played music and sang some more songs for us. Their harmony was unbelievable. They were just standing in the gondolas singing to us.

I am completely somewhat clumsy, so I could not imagine the balance that it took to stand up in a moving gondola. I had a lot a little bit of trouble just getting in the gondola, so I cannot imagine having to stand the whole time....much less sing or play a musical instrument. Let me just say that if I had to stand up in the gondola, we would have all been in the water.

Well, after our gondola ride, we took another ferry back to the ship.
It was the most amazing night! It was everything that Melissa and I had hoped it would be.

When we entered our cabin for the night, we were greeted by these towel animals...Aren't they cute? Do you know "what" they are?...We weren't exactly sure; we thought maybe they were walruses.



We also spent the next day in Venice, and I will tell you more about that next time.

13 comments:

sa061545@bellsouth.net said...

Amy, those pictures are just awesome! I had forgotten about those gondoliers being dressed in the white shirts and the striped insert and the hat with a ribbon! How unreal that must have been!!!!
It's amazing too that the picture you took back in the winter contained what you would actually get to see!! I'm so glad you saw such beauty!
Love you,
MOM :)

valerie said...

That is so neat that you got a picture of the building with the green roof....just like in your picture back when.

All I can say is "Wow!" How incredibly beautiful.

I am very thrilled God showed you two so much favor.

VBS starts this morning and I'm a helper and here I sit. I need to get ready.

Thanks for sharing.

Love,
Val

Laura said...

Hi, Amy! I'm catching up...just read about your arthritis. Bless you! It sounds a little scary, maybe a lot. I will pray for healing for you, dear one!
This post is so glorious and I am still in awe of this amazing opportunity you have had! I am enjoying going through it with you so much!

Liz Harrell said...

Oh my. This was just what I needed on a drab Monday morning!

Paula V said...

wonderful, wise, and witty words: here are mine. haha (I see you changed your comments link.)

You and Melissa have such bright beautiful blue eyes!!!

Yes, indeed, those pupsters are walruses...I can see their long hoof or teeth or whatever those long horney things are!

I too love that accent and the use of the word "holiday." I want to go on holiday!
Smiles,
Paula

Gina said...

What beautiful photos!! How amazing to ride in a gondola at sunset. I love the italian language as well. It sounds so romantic. I can't wait to see tomorrow's post! :)

Gina

Mia said...

Thank you for taking us to VENICE today! LOL Maybe you should look for a painting for your house?
I hope you are still on the road to recovery?
Amy? whose Amy? LOL!!

Tina said...

OH my! How wonderful! I want to do that so bad!! :)

Thou shalt not be jealous...that is a commandment, right? haha

Denise said...

Oh, Amy, Venice sounds great. I love Venice too, now. I feel like I'm there while I'm reading. The pictures are so lovely. I, too, think the towels are walruses or walri. Not sure about the plural of walrus {giggle}.
Denise

Tracey said...

YES DEFINITELY WALRUSES! I can't believe you were in VENICE....the closest I ever got to VENICE was in Vegas! LOVE THIS SO FAR!

Anonymous said...

I can't believe you were in Venice

How lucky you are!! And it's so beautiful.

And those towels....definitely walruses!!

Kellan said...

What a great cruise to VENICE!!! I've been on a lot of cruises, but none as fabulous as that - you are a lucky girl!

Hope you had a good day - see you - Kellan

Jamie said...

Beautiful! The gondola ride looks perfect. I would love to do that some day.