Kim: Our first night was spent at an agriturismo outside of Venice. Agriturismo's are basically working farms that accomodate guests in order to help themselves survive financially. That night the owners mother Lugina made us dinner consisting of raw prosciutto and salami, and meatballs and spinach. The meatballs and spinach were pretty good but the raw ham was disgusting. I swear I could taste the hay that they had the fed the dead animal. Gross!! After a bite or two we rolled the ham into the smallest ball we could so it would look like we had eaten more than we actually did. I wonder if she noticed? haha
We were supposed to stay there the entire 4 days but it ended up being further out of the city than we wanted so we found an apartment in the city and moved in. So glad we did. We had to take a valporetto to our apartment. Water taxis...so cool. We were able to find an apartment right around the corner from St. Mark's Square. We could see gondolas and hear the gondoliers singing from our window. Awesome! That night we walked around St. Marks square and listened to the dueling orchestras. We also walked across the Rialto Bridge and watched gondolas float by. Truly a sight to see.
The next day we toured St. Marks Basilica. I still can't believe the entire decor is done in mosaic. Imagine an area the size of a football field decorated with pieces the size of a contact lense. Insane! It was so pretty though. It was all done in gold leafing so the ceilings and walls looked like they were glowing. St. Mark's remains have allegedly been here since A.D. 830. We also saw the Frari Church. This church houses the tomb of Titian and also contains some amazing statues and art pieces (and of course more reliquaries, see pic below)
Darren: Kim's notes are almost identical to mine when it comes to Venice. All I can add are a few little memories. I remember getting two of the best pizza slices EVER in Venice. Also, I remember sitting out by the main canal on two the of nights we were there on some benches. There was a man playing an achordian and it made Kim and I think of mom and dad playing. I remember people feeding the pigeons in St. mark's Square and letting their kids hold handfuls of seeds for the birds. It was a mixture of kids giggling, laughing, screeming and crying that filled the square. I remember Kim ordering some produce, in Italian, at a market in the street. She did great. And I remember going to an internet cafe to check our emails and we found out that Lecia had had her baby, Hendrix, and that all was well.
Kim: One night we attended an opera, La Traviatta, in an old palace. We circulated from room to room as the opera was performed. Other than the singers/actors being oddly matched, it was a fun experience. The craziest experience was trying to get to the palace on time. It had been raining like crazy for a couple of days and when we left the apt to go the performance, St. Marks Square was flooded. Like way past my ankles flooded. The flooding would have been enough of an obstacle by itself, but add to that the twisted, maze-like streets of Venice and it was quite the ordeal. Darren did a great job at navigating and got us there with time to spare.
The night before we left, Darren took me on a gondola ride. Very romantic. We even kissed under the Bridge of Sighs in order to assure us eternal love (although we already have that :) It was just like a dream. How many movies have I seen? How many stories have I heard? And then...here I am. Riding in a gondola with the man I love down the watery streets of Venice. Absolutely perfect!! After the gondola ride we went back to St. Mark's Square to listen to the dueling orchestras one more time. We danced and made fools of ourselves. What a perfectly fun evening. :)
We were supposed to stay there the entire 4 days but it ended up being further out of the city than we wanted so we found an apartment in the city and moved in. So glad we did. We had to take a valporetto to our apartment. Water taxis...so cool. We were able to find an apartment right around the corner from St. Mark's Square. We could see gondolas and hear the gondoliers singing from our window. Awesome! That night we walked around St. Marks square and listened to the dueling orchestras. We also walked across the Rialto Bridge and watched gondolas float by. Truly a sight to see.
The next day we toured St. Marks Basilica. I still can't believe the entire decor is done in mosaic. Imagine an area the size of a football field decorated with pieces the size of a contact lense. Insane! It was so pretty though. It was all done in gold leafing so the ceilings and walls looked like they were glowing. St. Mark's remains have allegedly been here since A.D. 830. We also saw the Frari Church. This church houses the tomb of Titian and also contains some amazing statues and art pieces (and of course more reliquaries, see pic below)
Darren: Kim's notes are almost identical to mine when it comes to Venice. All I can add are a few little memories. I remember getting two of the best pizza slices EVER in Venice. Also, I remember sitting out by the main canal on two the of nights we were there on some benches. There was a man playing an achordian and it made Kim and I think of mom and dad playing. I remember people feeding the pigeons in St. mark's Square and letting their kids hold handfuls of seeds for the birds. It was a mixture of kids giggling, laughing, screeming and crying that filled the square. I remember Kim ordering some produce, in Italian, at a market in the street. She did great. And I remember going to an internet cafe to check our emails and we found out that Lecia had had her baby, Hendrix, and that all was well.
Kim: One night we attended an opera, La Traviatta, in an old palace. We circulated from room to room as the opera was performed. Other than the singers/actors being oddly matched, it was a fun experience. The craziest experience was trying to get to the palace on time. It had been raining like crazy for a couple of days and when we left the apt to go the performance, St. Marks Square was flooded. Like way past my ankles flooded. The flooding would have been enough of an obstacle by itself, but add to that the twisted, maze-like streets of Venice and it was quite the ordeal. Darren did a great job at navigating and got us there with time to spare.
The night before we left, Darren took me on a gondola ride. Very romantic. We even kissed under the Bridge of Sighs in order to assure us eternal love (although we already have that :) It was just like a dream. How many movies have I seen? How many stories have I heard? And then...here I am. Riding in a gondola with the man I love down the watery streets of Venice. Absolutely perfect!! After the gondola ride we went back to St. Mark's Square to listen to the dueling orchestras one more time. We danced and made fools of ourselves. What a perfectly fun evening. :)