Venice Again - Day 6

 Random photos from our 5th day in this old, beautiful, incomparable city . . .

Primavera by Lilla Tabasso.  Milano 2019.  Flamed Murano glass, hand-blown and modelled.

Masks for Il Carnavale,

Golden mosaics at the Basilica di San Marco.  We were there at the noon hour when the lights are lit, and the gold mosaics shine as brightly as the sun.  The gold mosaics were, indeed, chosen to represent the light of God.  On our previous visit we explored the basilica at length, so this time we just stopped in to pay our respects to the patriarch of this ancient city.

Marble bench inside the basilica eroded by water.  Acqua Alta has taken its toll on most buildings in Venice.

Gondola ride:  Check.  Last time we rode the gondola at night, so this time we tried a daytime trip.

A charming young artist named Daniele pointed out that Venice is a city meant to be painted vertically.

Daniele is an apprentice in the studio of Ugo Barraco, an artist that works in mixed media, primarily etchings on zinc, and acquatinta.  He helpfully lightened the weight of my wallet. I'll show you what I bought as soon as I have it framed.  Right now, it's sitting at the bottom of our suitcase, safely encased in a cardboard tube.

We had lunch at Hotel Pensione Wildner-Venezia.  Paccheri Pasta with Beef Ragoût au Gratin, for my husband . . .

And Beef Tagliata with seasonal vegetables for me . . .

Bridge of Sighs, connecting the Doge's interrogation rooms in the Palace to the New Prisons.

After another exhausting and wonder-filled day, we turned in for the night.  The days are going by so fast!

Murano

I haven't gotten Venice out of my system yet.  We went in October, but the memories are so vivid, it's as though we came back yesterday - despite the craziness of the Christmas holiday season!

So, if you don't mind, I'd like to go back to last October, and reminisce a little more about our wonderful trip to La Serenissima, the Most Serene Republic, as it used to be known.

On our first full day in Venice, we headed over to Murano, an island in the Venetian lagoon, known for its glassworks.  They truly have elevated glass making to its highest manifestation.

Here I am, in one of many boat rides that I would be taking in the days to come.  This one was a private boat that took us to Murano, at no charge, in the hopes that we would drop a pretty penny on the island. First, we visited a glass museum and saw a demonstration of the art of glass blowing.

The work is hot . . . and meticulous . . .

 Here, the artist was creating a glass horse . . .

And if our eyes wondered on occasion . . .

We had THIS view to entertain us!

Aren't these chandeliers magnificent?  I don't know if these were special orders waiting to be delivered, or if they were just there to wow the tourists . . .

Check out the delicacy of these goblets . . .

Ours for a mere pittance . . . NOT!  The simplest of those goblets could easily go for €350 or more!

This green reminds me of the color of the Venetian lagoon . . . 

Can you stand a few more pictures of glass?

It was all so beautiful!

Check out that magnificent pink goblet!  It could be yours for a mere €350!

"Conteria" - tiny glass beads strung together to make these fabulous necklaces . . . Lee actually bought me one of these!  I'll post a picture of it at a later date.

And here is Murano.  It's hard to believe that this sleepy façade hides such magnificent work!

The tower of the Church of Santa Maria E Donato, the island church.

Webster's defines Venetian blue as a strong blue, similar to cobalt blue.  I think Venetian blue should be this beautiful aquamarine, like the waters of its lagoon.

A Dream Realized

I went to Venice earlier this month.  A simple sentence that encompasses a world of happiness.  I talked about my wish to see Venice in this post way back in 2010, and all the longing, all the planning, all the years of reading about it and storing images on Pinterest, became a dream realized when my husband and I landed at Marco Polo Airport on Sunday, October 5.

And it didn't disappoint!  Reality doesn't often measure up to our fantasies.  This time, however, it was so much more than I could have ever imagined.  Let me show you the Venice I saw . . .

Here are our first images of Venice, as we traveled by vaporetto on the Grand Canal, on the way to our hotel.

Our first view of the Rialto Bridge, one of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal, Venice's main waterway . . .

Venetian palaces crowded every inch of the Grand Canal . . . 

We stayed at the charming Hotel Flora, privately owned by the Romanelli Family.  I read about it first in the book “1,000 Places to See Before You Die” then on Rick Steves’ “Venice.”  The name kept cropping up in my research, so I think we were fated to stay here . . . 

Here's my husband, Lee, standing at the entrance of Calle dei Bergamaschi, the street - yes, street - in which Hotel Flora is located; that's the entrance at the rear of the street.  In Chicago, we'd call this an alley and wouldn't be caught dead in it after dark, but here, the narrow street was not at all unusual, and we felt very safe at all times.

And that window next to him?  It was pure eye candy, displaying a lovely Bulgari handbag.  Pricetag:  €2,100 - that's roughly $2,600, a mere pittance . . . 

 

Calle dei Bergamaschi opened up to Calle Larga XXII Marzo, one of the most important streets for high-fashion shopping, home to stores like Venice, Gucci, Ferragamo, Bulgari, Prada, Hermès . . . It's the Venetian Rodeo Drive . . .

Take a look at the old-fashioned keys at Hotel Flora - they weighed a ton, too!  No sterile, magnetized key cards for these folks!
 

The rooms are furnished with antiques - not reproductions - so each room is unique; the walls were covered in silk fabric . . . We were given Room #20, overlooking the courtyard.  It was lovely and quite comfortable; we had all the modern amenities, too, including Wi-Fi.

And when we looked up, we found this gorgeous Murano glass chandelier gracing the ceiling!

There was much to explore in the days to come, but first, I was going to follow the Romanelli's advice:  Enjoy and Relax!