After a slow start we set off about 9 to find breakfast. We got about 200m down the canal and were in front of the Doge's palace - and there were no queues - a miracle. So rather than getting breakfast we did a spur of the moment entry & were glad we did. Yesterday the queue to get in was about 100m long, but today the place seemed half deserted.
The palace is set up with a recommended walking tour to see things in context - across 3 stories - up & down steps. It is impossible to describe the grandeur of the place, but of equal impressiveness was the civil, administrative and political system they had in place. It was a unique form of participatory decision making - but not a democracy. The Doge was the emperor, but he did not have absolute power. The aristocratic families ruled through a series of councils. There were a series of room where the administration of this vast empire occurred. It is also here that the separation of administrative courts between civil and criminal issues arose.
There is also a place where they describe a time when they extended part of the palace & they wanted an impressive art work. So they published a brief of what they wanted and called for tenders - i.e. scale models of art works. And then they awarded the contract to one of the applicants. Sounds so much like how our governments of today go about getting things done & here it was common practise 600 years ago!
After about 2 hours in the palace we decided it was time to find brunch & knew where we wanted to go - which was across St Marks Square. As we came out of the Doge's palace the people in the square all seemed to be gathered in clumps & then we saw why. The square was about 40% flooded & people were making their way along elevated duckboards. The going was so slow that after surveying the situation for about a minute Rhonda and I decided to off with the shoes and wade through the water. Rhonda had sandals and 3/4 length pants on - so she was fine. I had to take off shoes & socks and roll up my jeans to get across dry. It was great to do. And the speed at which people on the duck board were moving we would have been there forever.
So after a light brunch it was off for more.... shopping. (yey - not). We're at the stage where we are looking to identify things that we will jettison at the airport tomorrow if our luggage is too heavy. I have a sacrificial pair of shoes, a few polos, a book & a bit of other stuff & Rhonda has her stuff separated out for possible disposal.
We did a loop through a hundred back alleys and somehow navigated back to our hotel without going back onto the grand canal to get directions - for those of you who have been here you'll know that this is quite an achievement.
Given that it was just after 1pm we decided to try to contact home via Skype & got lucky. We couldn't get Lainie Skype to Skype to I bought Eu10 of Skype credit & called her mobile. Having made contact we then used S2S to talk for about 40 minutes. Jai came home while we were talking so we got to talk to him too - man of few words that he is. But it was good to talk rather than just rely on emails as we had to on the cruise.
We then decided to head east again - where we were last night in the Castello region. We found where the Venice Biennale is primarily held as well as wandering through a park. It was so nice to be amongst greenery after the cruise and the closed in feeling of "downtown" Venice. We also checked out holiday rental places in real estate windows. We know how we will do this next time we are here! We found places that sleep 4 (though 2 are on a fold out) for Eu700 a week. That is so cheap that even if you only stayed 3 days it would be cheaper than the hotel we're in. We'd need to come with an empty suitcase and a big bank account.
Rhonda is gobsmacked by the leather products - some as low as 20% the price for similar goods back home - and the choice in the goods as well - it is amazing. And then there is the quality - so spectacular & yet reasonably priced. Likewise - of course glassware and there are many other products that could easily find their way into the case.
On our way back home we wandered into yet another amazing corner store - about 10 square metres & more produce than you could imagine. Rhonda wanted to try some local bubbly, so after a lovely broken Italian/English conversation Rhonda managed to buy a bottle of what the store keeper said was his favourite prosecco for Eu8,50. It was the perfect pre-dinner drink on our balcony.
We decided to ask the advice of the hotel staff regarding where to go for dinner. There is always a risk in doing this regarding price or quality or both. Truth be told there was a price risk with the Osteria ae Spezie - but it was worth it. We basically left it to our waiter to deliver a seafood dinner for us. We had razor clams - amazing; pasta with prawns & truffles - wow, and then a whole monkfish with olives, tomato and potatoes - far out. We couldn't eat any more, but did try some interesting liquors. Rhonda had a drink made with fresh peaches & sparkling white wine. It was a beautiful concoction which we may try to replicate at home this summer.
It was all in all a wonderful evening to cap off a couple of extraordinary days. We know we'll be back!
It was all in all a wonderful evening to cap off a couple of extraordinary days. We know we'll be back!
Unfortunately our all too brief Venice visit is over. Due to some late changes in our travel arrangements brought about by a cancelled flight, what was meant to be our 3rd day in Venice has now become a transit day. So tomorrow we leave early to go by train to Milan, then fly to Toulouse via Lyon - taking up most of the day. Not our original plan, but it does get us lined up to see Carcassonne on Saturday before driving up to the house near Bergerac for a week or R&R.
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