Back to Basics

Basilica San Marco & a little restoration work underway

Ah yes, a bit of a wait...

Venice, Italy.  Getting busy, indeed.

The end of our stay was drawing near and we had yet to take on the challenge of the daily queue for the Basilica San Marco.  An early arrival did little to ensure a place at the head of the line.  Furthermore, it strayed, like a procession of lost souls, into the portico of the Doge’s Palace.  However, as it moved reasonably quickly, we stayed put, with only a little grumbling…  

Finally we made the entrance where we were met by a large bouncer (a relative of the hulk I suspect) who divided us into groups: “ok, pass”, “must cover up” (no knees or shoulders in church please!) and “no bags”.  Oh nooooo!  So, following a vague wave of a chunky hand, we set off to find the well-hidden cloakroom, 2 blocks over.  Then it was back to begin a chummy conga line shuffle through St Marks.  Shuffle, shuffle, look up, two three, look down!  Despite being free to enter the Basilica, there was a fee to visit the Treasury and the Pala d’Oro (or even more dark & mysterious areas) but we were empty-handed – no bags!  So, back to the conga line party until we shot out the exit; all of 10 minutes worth of viewing.  What did we see?  Can’t remember…  Not happy, Jan….

Oh look, another queue for the Campanile!

The Campanile (Bell Tower) was a similar routine, although a shorter line and we were able to hold onto our bags.  An elevator delivered us to the top of the tower where we shuffled round to enjoy the panorama of Venice from the top.  It was from this vantage point that Galileo demonstrated the power of his invention, a telescope, to the Doge.  We saw the spiral staircase – for slender Venetians only, and 5 huge bronze bells.  One in particular was used in days gone by to announce an imminent execution.  At about a 1€ per minute of viewing time, we figured this too was a huge money-spinner for the city coffers. 

View over Piazza San Marco from the Campanile

Thoroughly disillusioned (well, almost!), we made for a coffee shop to discuss our next move.  No, we were not tempted by the smart waiters at the Florian Café, which has been operating since 1720 with a guest list that makes your eyes water.  So do the prices.  Further down in one of the Church squares (campo) we found that “caffe latte” means hot milk with coffee waved over it and “americano” gets you that shocked “this is Italy, sir” look.  Revived though, we decided on visiting the fresh food markets.

Inside the Florian
(while the waiters weren't looking)

Yes, where better than a stroll over the Rialto Bridge, centre of the commercial hub of Venice for eons (think Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice)!  From there we walked into the markets brimming with fresh and fantastic quality fruit, vege, meat, deli and fish.  This is where the real Venetians & foodies come each day to buy amazing goodies.

Market Stall in Rialto area

Having scratched most things off our “must visit” list, it was back to the vaporetto and down the Grand Canal to see the famed Peggy Guggenheim modern art collection.  But it was Tuesday and closed.  (Gosh, the Cap’n seemed so disappointed...)  It was all too easy then to sit on board until our Sant Elena stop with a lazy recovery afternoon in mind…the best kind! 

So why haven't we got a spa pool on board?  A lagoon charter on our dock.