Third Stop: Venice, Italy-Part Three

I forgot to show you this huge bell tower in St. Mark's Square yesterday. I believe that it is called, The Campanile di San Marco. (But don't quote me on that.)




After walking around St. Mark's Square, shopping, and getting gelato all over my face, Melissa and I walked around to get a better look at Venice.

I took a picture of this "delivery boat." It was delivering drinks and other supplies to a local restaurant.



This next picture lets you see what the sidewalks are like in Venice. And notice the gondolas in the canal.



Here is a picture of a Best Western hotel. People who were staying at the hotel would watch the gondolas go by. It was so charming and surreal....It really is so perfect, that it seems a lot like a movie set.



You can see just how narrow most of the canals are.



Notice in this next picture how little room the gondolas have to fit through when there is other traffic in the canals. These canals are busy during the day in the same way that our streets are busy during the day in America. That's why we were very glad that we had our gondola ride in the evening; it was much more peaceful.



I think of all of my photos in Venice, that this one is the prettiest. This little bridge adorned with the bright red flowers was so charming.



Melissa and I both loved Venice so much.....But, as you know, all good things must come to an end, so we had to take the ferry and return to the ship. We were looking forward to it though, because there was going to be a masquerade party as we were pulling out of Venice. We each bought masks to wear. Melissa's was blue, and mine was pink.

When we got to our cabin, we got ready for the party out on the Lido Deck. Once out there, we saw someone that we knew. We asked him if he would take our picture in our masks. He said, "Sure!"........



Nice, huh?

But Melissa and I are not girls who give up easily, so we just asked someone else....



There were so many people in all different kinds of masks, that it was a little bit on the creepy side, but it was still fun.

As we were pulling out of the port in Venice, I got some really nice shots of the city.



Notice how blue the sky looks compared with the green of the water.



Do you see the green dome?......It's the same green dome in my painting. (I know, I've already told you that, but it is still very exciting to me.)



I loved this outdoor restaurant eating area; what a view for dinner!



Here is what St. Mark's Square looks like from the water.



If you look closely in this next picture, you will see that two of the towers are leaning.



We were told that happened sometime after construction, because the people who built the towers did not have a good understanding of the foundation that they were building on.

I really enjoyed my time in Venice so much!
It is just such a unique place. Everyone should add "Seeing Venice" to their bucket list.

I'm just saying is all.

After taking 867 so many pictures, both of our camera batteries died. So we had to charge them during dinner.

You will just have to trust me when I tell you all that Melissa and I looked very stunning while we ate all kinds of food fit for a queen.

When we returned to our cabin after dinner, we were greeted by another disgusting towel animal.



What can I say? Frogs always seem to find me.

Third Stop: Venice, Italy-Part Two

After a great night of sleep, Melissa and I were both so excited to be heading back to Venice for some more fun!

(Again, just ignore us. Thanks!)



Even though Melissa and I were on holiday (I just love saying that), it was just another work day for the people who live and work in Venice.
The Grand Canal was full of traffic.....but a much different kind of traffic than in America.



I loved this shot of some sea gulls. What a place God gave them to live...amen?



Although Venice at sunset was definitely something to see, it was even more lovely in the day time. I loved how blue the gondola covers were; they looked so beautiful all lined up with the sun shining on them. Can you imagine getting to see this view every day?



This next picture is of two very large columns. When you get to these columns, you are entering St. Mark's Square.



It is a busy place with so many people bustling about. And there were a lot of pigeons.....everywhere. This man and woman were letting the pigeons land on them.

It was interesting to see, but I did not join in the fun.



All of the pigeon activity that you just saw took place right in front of this amazing building. I think that it is called The Doge's Palace.



Here is a picture of St. Mark's Basilica (or Cathedral). It is the most beautiful building. I simply do not have words to describe it.



There is not a spot on it that is not covered with something ornate and beautiful.



Here is a picture Melissa took of me standing in front of the Cathedral. Do you notice the art work that is up in the arches on the front of the building?



Here are a couple of shots that I took of those arches. I zoomed in so that you could see some of the detail. The art work on this building is incredible!



And these pictures are just on the outside of St. Mark's Basilica.....Can you imagine the beauty and details on the inside?



Melissa and I did not get to go inside St. Mark's Basilica, but some of the people that were in our group did, and they said it was simply breathtaking.

This clock tower, besides displaying the time, also shows the phases of the sun and moon and the movement of the sun through the signs of the zodiac.



I loved the dark blue and gold colors together. In the sunlight it was quite stunning. My son, Matthew, said that this tower was described in detail in a book that he recently read, so he was excited to see the real thing.

However, I did not trust that the time on this clock was correct for even one minute.



I'm just saying is all.

I will have more to show you from our day in Venice tomorrow, but for now I will end with this.

Before we left for Italy, so many people told us, "You have to eat some gelato while you are there!" And since we are both reasonable adults.....eat gelato we did.

Everywhere.

And Venice was no exception.

Gelato is very, very goooood!



I have told you in previous posts that I am extremely somewhat messy. This picture is just one of many examples of my messiness. Notice Melissa's mouth is free and clear of any gelato....

Where as mine looks like a "Got Milk?" "Got Gelato?" add.