We arrived very late to our hotel on the mainland of Venizia; The hotel was the best we have had so far, something you would find in LA for maybe $200 per night or more. We woke up and headed to the metro with our group it's like a light rail or trolley. We arrived at the terminal and saw our first river and a large bridge. So far it didn't look too spectacular and Sergio and I even commented to each other that perhaps it was hyped up because it looked like any other place.
We made our way up the large bridge and down to a dock where we were picked up by our private motorskiff. We slowly made our way towards the famous Piazza San Marco. It was like when Dorothy opens the door to her home and says to Toto that she's not in Kansas anymore. The buildings that line the outer parts of the island, as well as the Grand Canal, are the most lavish of all the homes that were ever built in Venice. So the first views you get are of the most magnificent structures.
We were dropped off and after instructions from our tour manager we were introduced to our local tour guide. We had a brief explanation as to how Venice came to be and she explained the symbol of Venice which is a lion with wings, which is everywhere you turn. Then we began walking and we realized that it could be very easy to get lost here. The streets are very narrow and there are many small bridges that must be crossed over. It's a beautiful maze that I would have loved to wonder around in.
After our tour we headed to our glass demonstration by a master glass blower. He made a vase with a beautiful and delicate handle in a few minutes. Then we we were shown the different colors available and we learned about the order in which they were discovered and the element used to make the glass that color. For example, the red glass is made by adding gold and another element, making the most expensive colored glass available. Sergio bought for me a beautiful necklace and earrings made of tiny glass beads. Thank you baby!
After that we were shown a lace making demonstration, which emphasized on the method developed on a small island off Venice, called needle point lace. There are 7 different types of stitches and one item is made with a group of experts, each one an expert in one type of stitch, it can take 6 months to create one coffee table sized doily, crazy!! So this stuff is rare and expensive.
After our demos we headed to the Piazza San Marco, which was beginning to flood and got in line to enter Basilica of Saint Mark. It took 500 years to complete the decor. The interior is completely covered with gold leaf and mosaics. All of the floor is also made up of mosaics.The floor is warped because of the soggy foundation it sits on, I suppose. It was pretty wild. After this we headed to the Academia Museum of Venice (which we found only due to Sergio's great navigation skills). If you like art you will LOVE this museum. It has some Bernini, Caravaggio, and more.
Finally came the moment we had been waiting for, the gondolas. We were to be seated with Jon, Jenise, Jax, and Matt. We had earlier stopped at a small grocer and got some salami and pecorino cheese because we had agreed to buy 3 bottles of Bellini from the gondola company. But they switched gondola companies on us and we had 2 bottles of prosseco instead. It doesn't matter if it would have been Bud Light, this was an experience of a lifetime that I will never forget. It was beautiful, just perfect.
I forget if I mentioned this already or not. The day of our Tuscan dinner in Florence, our tour manager Laura gave the 3 couples on a honeymoon a lock and key with their names written on it. We were really surprised because we had just asked the tour guide that day about the locks we kept seeing. So, when we got off Sergio noticed a covered well with a few of those locks and he asked me if I had the lock on me, and I did. So we decided to go ahead and place our lock on this well cover, everyone was snapping pictures it was really cute. Then we took a couple steps and tossed our keys into the river we had just finished cruising on our first gondola ride ever. Now that was a super romantic ending to a great day but it wasn't over yet!
We headed to our last group dinner, which was right at the water front. We had a pasta marinara and a lasagna canole stuffed with spinach and cheese. Then we had a beef and mushroom dish and finally a yogurt flavored dessert. When we got back to the hotel the reality of having to say goodbye to our new friends kicked in. We went on a mission to get a beer and then said goodbye to those we wouldn't see in the morning.
Goodbye Venezia!
We made our way up the large bridge and down to a dock where we were picked up by our private motorskiff. We slowly made our way towards the famous Piazza San Marco. It was like when Dorothy opens the door to her home and says to Toto that she's not in Kansas anymore. The buildings that line the outer parts of the island, as well as the Grand Canal, are the most lavish of all the homes that were ever built in Venice. So the first views you get are of the most magnificent structures.
We were dropped off and after instructions from our tour manager we were introduced to our local tour guide. We had a brief explanation as to how Venice came to be and she explained the symbol of Venice which is a lion with wings, which is everywhere you turn. Then we began walking and we realized that it could be very easy to get lost here. The streets are very narrow and there are many small bridges that must be crossed over. It's a beautiful maze that I would have loved to wonder around in.
After our tour we headed to our glass demonstration by a master glass blower. He made a vase with a beautiful and delicate handle in a few minutes. Then we we were shown the different colors available and we learned about the order in which they were discovered and the element used to make the glass that color. For example, the red glass is made by adding gold and another element, making the most expensive colored glass available. Sergio bought for me a beautiful necklace and earrings made of tiny glass beads. Thank you baby!
After that we were shown a lace making demonstration, which emphasized on the method developed on a small island off Venice, called needle point lace. There are 7 different types of stitches and one item is made with a group of experts, each one an expert in one type of stitch, it can take 6 months to create one coffee table sized doily, crazy!! So this stuff is rare and expensive.
After our demos we headed to the Piazza San Marco, which was beginning to flood and got in line to enter Basilica of Saint Mark. It took 500 years to complete the decor. The interior is completely covered with gold leaf and mosaics. All of the floor is also made up of mosaics.The floor is warped because of the soggy foundation it sits on, I suppose. It was pretty wild. After this we headed to the Academia Museum of Venice (which we found only due to Sergio's great navigation skills). If you like art you will LOVE this museum. It has some Bernini, Caravaggio, and more.
Finally came the moment we had been waiting for, the gondolas. We were to be seated with Jon, Jenise, Jax, and Matt. We had earlier stopped at a small grocer and got some salami and pecorino cheese because we had agreed to buy 3 bottles of Bellini from the gondola company. But they switched gondola companies on us and we had 2 bottles of prosseco instead. It doesn't matter if it would have been Bud Light, this was an experience of a lifetime that I will never forget. It was beautiful, just perfect.
I forget if I mentioned this already or not. The day of our Tuscan dinner in Florence, our tour manager Laura gave the 3 couples on a honeymoon a lock and key with their names written on it. We were really surprised because we had just asked the tour guide that day about the locks we kept seeing. So, when we got off Sergio noticed a covered well with a few of those locks and he asked me if I had the lock on me, and I did. So we decided to go ahead and place our lock on this well cover, everyone was snapping pictures it was really cute. Then we took a couple steps and tossed our keys into the river we had just finished cruising on our first gondola ride ever. Now that was a super romantic ending to a great day but it wasn't over yet!
We headed to our last group dinner, which was right at the water front. We had a pasta marinara and a lasagna canole stuffed with spinach and cheese. Then we had a beef and mushroom dish and finally a yogurt flavored dessert. When we got back to the hotel the reality of having to say goodbye to our new friends kicked in. We went on a mission to get a beer and then said goodbye to those we wouldn't see in the morning.
Goodbye Venezia!
Sounds so dreamy, you two!!! Such an amazingly unforgettable experience...Thanks for sharing!!!
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