Gram's Birthday in Venice by Gram

We got up pretty earlly today so that we could get to the Doge Palace before the crowds got heavy. After a quick breakfast of fresh fruit, we hopped on the vaporetto to San Marco. Truly there was nto a line yet.

Doge means "duke" ; this ducal palace, built in 810, was the home of Venice dukes until the mid 1500s. Designed to show off the power and wealth of the republic, it is typical Venetian Gothic style on the bottom, but the top is kind of Islamic looking. From the Courtyard, visitors to the Doge climbed the grand staircase to the palace. We tromped up the Golden Staircase to the state apartments with richly carved ceilings, maps,and many paintings by Tintoretto, Titian, Donatello, and others. Papa says the government was a "democratic dictatorship." Cathy says, "No way, shape or form was there anything democratic about it; it was all about blood lines." The Council of 10 were the big honchos and they doled out the punishment. The became secretive like the CIA. Gradually they became the biggest power. The Senators, annually elected, ruled along with the Council of 10, the Doge, and the Grand Council. We saw an awful but enormous display of military weapons of the time. The Bridge of Sighs led to the prisons which seemed to go on forever -- most depressing.

After lunch, we wnet to La Chiesa dei Frari, a church built by Franciscan brothers, that was eclectic, combining art and architecture from multiple periods and styles. My favorite here included the high altar and Titian's piece, the Assumption of Mary.

Time for gelato. We ambled through the market on the way to the Realto Bridge -- the fruit looked wonderful. We bought T-shirts for the grandkids (Cole, Jake, and Emma); the girls bought some gifts for friends and they also bought some awful yet wonderful marshmallow-like stuff to eat. A perfect end to our trip to Venice. On to the Dolomites -- demani!

Venice by H

Today we went to the tower on St. Mark's square and we viewed the city from above. Then we had an early lunch at a really cool cafe. We had toast (bread without crust, filled with cheese, and then toasted). We also had a fruit juice drink that was made from fresh fruit. Then we headed to Murano island to see the glass there. We watched some glass blowers and it was very interesting. Then we had gelato, stopped and bought groceries and headed to our apartment to relax and fix dinner. Soon, we are heading out to catch a night-time gondola ride around the city.

Here are some facts that I have learned about Venice:

In every square in Italy the square slopes down into the middle towards the well. This is because in the 9th century Venetians devised a way to collect rainwater by usings town squares for a catchment system. The rain would fall into the square and flow through the pavement and onto or into the clay tub. Venice's population began to grow with safe drinking water. When an aqueduct was built, there was no need for wells anymore so they capped them all and now they just sit in the middle of each square.

In 1965, Venice's population was more than 150,000. Since the flood of 1966, the population has shrunk to 65,000.

The Grand Canal is Venice's main street. It is two miles long. It is nearly 150 feet wide and 15 feet deep.

Venice was built on the marshy islands of the former delta sittting on pilelings -- nearly 15 feet into the clay.

We went on the gondola ride around 9:00 PM tonight. It was awesome!

Venice by T

Once everyone woke up Daddy, H, and I headed for the restaurant car. On the way we stopped at Gram and Papa's "room" on the train. They told us about their sleep. It was a lot better than all of those in our car, but that might have been because their bed included an extra mattress. H stayed and chatted with them while Daddy and I headed to order water from the restaurant car. I ordered six waters in Italian, but the lady only gave me one. Then I said "sei" and she gave us them but spoke to us in English, she also rolled her eyes at me. Anyway, we headed back to Gram and Papa's car, picked up H, and went back to our car. Soon our stop arrived and we were in Venice!! We got off the train and lugged our luggage to the boats (the equivalent of buses or metros in Venice). Gram got the tickets and we were off. Well not really because the lines were long, but you get my point.

Our next stop in Venice was the place we were staying. Upon our arrival, we met up with Angelita and she told us in English that our rooms would be ready in fifteeen minutes but that we could go up to put our junk down. We all changed and Daddy took a shower but then we were off. Our first stop on the tour of Venice was San Marco square, and that was when we were bombarded with pigeons. We all dislike pigeons, but it seems that all the pigeons like Mommy because she kept getting peed on. Our second stop was San Marco Basilica. We all went in without waiting in the lines, thanks to a hint from Rick Steves, and stopped to look at the mosaics on the ceiling in awe. While Gram and Papa sat down, Mommy, Daddy, H, and I went into the treasury. Besides all of the wonderful gold, silver, gems, and stones, there were also displays of bones and brains of the saints. At first Daddy, Mommy, H and I didn't know they were bones but then we saw the hand, all shriveled and dry, and we then saw that the entire room consisted of containers of bones. We left the treasury and met up with Gram and Papa and Mommy joined them to wait for us while Daddy, H, and I climbed to the top of the basilica and saw the view below -- tons of pigeons, some alive some dead, and beyond that the waterways of Venice. We took pictures of Gram, Mommy, and Papa and they took pictures of us.

Once together again, we headed for the Peggy Guggenheim collection. Daddy, H and I walked in and I spoke Italian for the tickets. I asked for 4 adults and two students. Then the lady asked what age are the students and I said 12. Then she spoke English to make sure she understood, and I left. Daddy told me that she said that I spoke very good Italian and so she handed him an Italian Peggy Guggenheim book for me.

The Peggy Guggenheim collection was pretty and there was quite a variety of interesting pieces of art. Some famous artists in the collection were: Wassily Kandinsky, Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Piet Mondrian and Max Ernst. After walking through the collection, we moved to another section with modern art. Some of these works included: animal fat with felt, a sled made out of felt and wood, and a video with a man lowering himself into petroleum jelly. More specifics on the video: this sman filmed it himself; he had himself strapped to the ceiling by leather; he was naked and he (literally) lowered himself into petroleum jelly. Maybe this work of art will be like Picasso's or Monet's and become famous at some time but I doubt that everyone will think that it's wonderful and should be put in the Louvre.

After we left the Peggy Guggenheim museum we took a boat to a restaurant Rick Steves recommended. It was like fast food but Italian style. I asked for pasta marinara. Mommy got the same thing. H got ravioli and Daddy got ravioli and pasta with white sauce. After we finished, we went to find gelato. We walked around Venice and eventually found a place for gelato. Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as we had hoped. Mommy had limone. So did I. H had strawberry and chocolate. Gram had limone. Papa had mixed berry and Daddy had mixed and chocolate.

We went back to our apartment and after some conversation about plans for the next few days, we all went to bed and fell asleep in an instant.

Getting Ready

We only have a few weeks before we leave on our trip. We're starting to pack. Check back in a few weeks and we'll let you know how we're doing!