Letters from the Lighthouse: Travel Edition: Best of Venice Tour

My tour was set for this afternoon, so I had a leisurely stroll again to St. Mark's Square and found some of what I call "typical Venetian" things.

There were several shops selling handmade paper products. In the back of one of those shops they
actually had the paper making stuff set up.

Lots and lots and lots of shops selling festival / carnival masks. I bought this one for
149 euros because there are several places on this mask that have music on it, and it's a genuine
paper mache mask, which was important to me.

The Paglia Bridge on a rainy Venice day. More umbrellas here than in Seattle.

Never did find the cafe, but I did see the sign. This was a little store selling Hard Rock Cafe Venice products.

Of course, every store sells Murano glass. You just have to be careful that you don't buy cheap imitations.

Gondeliers taking a break, waiting for customers. No, I did not take a gondola ride. Too expensive.

How would you like your front step to be under water? I even saw a hotel like this.

I was told that the garbage was collected every day, but here's somebody who is storing their
garbage in plastic bags in a planter outside their window.

I loved the houses who took the time to put flowers in their window boxes. Where else are they going to find green space?

I almost walked by, but not quite, the world famous Venice Opera House - L Teatro Fenice. So glad I didn't miss it and so glad I had time to take the audio guided tour.

First of all, really cool theatre seats! Second, each one has a vent under the seat that can be adjusted for the
correct amount of heat or cooling - each and every seat.

Love at first sight! I have never been is such a glamorous opera house.

Gorgeous ceiling. Love the chandelier.

La Traviata was showing so I think this was one of the sets.

Box seats

The VIP box - gorgeous!

Orchestra pit has a floor that lowers and rises depending on whether it's an opera or a symphony concert.

One of the gallery rooms for special concerts. Used to be used for receptions after a performance.

The phoenix rising from the ashes is symbolic of this opera house that has burned down twice and been rebuilt both times.

The unassuming facade of the world famous opera house

Loved all the chandeliers in the foyer.

On to the tour for the day - The Best of Venice Tour. It was a small group, semi-private tour which I really enjoyed. We did a ton of walking and then an hour on the Grand Canal. The only bummer about the whole thing was that it was raining. A group of people taking umbrellas down a small alley is actually kind of funny. And the boat ride on the Grand Canal was not that enjoyable. Oh well, can't control Mother Nature. First up, St. Mark's Basilica. This church has a ton of mosaic work. I took pictures of some of it, but the pictures just don't do it justice. And as I was snapping away, a woman reproved me and pointed to a sign that said "no photos." I was taking the pictures right in front of our tour guide and she didn't say anything, so I kept taking them, with the rest of the people in our group.

This is all done in mosaic

All mosaic

And more mosaic

Beautiful mosaic

The Horses of Saint Mark, also known as the Triumphal Quadriga, is a set of Roman bronze statues of four horses, originally part of a monument depicting a quadriga (a four-horse carriage used for chariot racing). The horses were placed on the facade, on the loggia above the porch of St. Mark's Basilica after the sack of Constantinople in 1204. They remained there until looted by Napoleon in 1797 but were returned in 1815. The sculptures have been removed from the facade and placed in the interior of St Mark's for conservation purposes, with replicas in their position on the loggia. The horses above are the originals. The sculptures date from classical antiquity and have been implausibly attributed to the 4th century BC Greek sculptor Lysippos.

This picture of St. Mark's Square was taken from the "fake" horses on St. Mark's Basilica

These full-size sculptures actually move and clang the bell.

Beautiful architectural detail in the nooks, on the walls, and capping pillars.

The tour continued to wind around the streets and alleys of Venice with our guide filling us in on some of the history of the city, and how the Venetians dealt with the fresh water issue - cisterns.

Paved courtyards were designed to drain through sand into cisterns.
Allegedly filtered by the sand, the water was potable.

I love this little hotel with its steps under water!

Like I mentioned earlier, the boat tour on the Grand Canal was a bust. BUT, the next day, the day I was leaving Venice, I awoke to beautiful blue skies and bright sunshine! Then I made a mistake that paid off greatly.

Remember I got so lost trying to find my hotel the evening I arrived in Venice? I found the ferry pick up that was much closer to the hotel and walked directly there. And of course I hopped on the ferry going the wrong direction. But the reward was an entire boat trip of the Grand Canal on a gorgeous day!!