Gondola Ride

This morning we took the vaporetti to the Rialto Bridge - the photo is of both of us on the bridge, because Dave said it was beginning to look as if Aidan took the trip by herself, he wanted a photo with me in it. So this photo is for Dave. The Rialto Bridge is cool - a lot of steps up and down so the bridge is high enough for significant boat traffic, and two rows of shops facing the middle walkway, with additional walkways on both outside edges.The Grand Canal is very busy in the area of the Rialto Bridge.

After crossing the bridge we went to the Rialto market, and wandered through the stands selling fresh vegetables and fruit and seafood. All very colourful and interesting, although the seafood did emit that fishy smell.

After the market we stopped and had our morning cappuchino/chocolate. Aidan says she has to learn how to make hot chocolate like the Italians when she gets home, because she likes it so much better. Then we wandered around a bit more and came out at the gondola stand we had seen from the bridge.

The fancy red gondola on the left was available, the morning was bright and sunny, so today was the day for Aidan and I to take our gondola ride.The gondolas seats are covered in brocade, tassels hang here and there, there are gold details painted on the black - very ornate. [They should be, at the prices they charge!] Anyway, the gondolier took us out into the Grand Canal and under the Rialto Bridge (where he told us to make a wish).

Then we went off to the right into some little canals. Some places they had round mirrors set up to help them see around the corner, and in other blind spots the gondolier would call out to see if there was another gondala approaching.

Above is a photo of us passing another gondola, and about to go under a bridge (we had waited for them to pass before proceeding - this was a place the gondolier called out). And below is a photo of us in the round mirror.

So we have now had the Venetian experience of a gondola ride. After the ride we walked to Ca' d'Oro, an old palazza that is now an art gallery. We got lost and hungry on the way, so stopped and shared a pizza and asked where we were. We were right where we meant to be, so carried on. Ca' d'Oro is a lovely building, but would be more fun if it were furnished and restored as a residence. We had to try to imagine the rooms with appropriate furniture, and the art hung differently.

We took the vaporetto back to St Marks, down the Grand Canal (some of the buildings are sinking right in - the "ground" floor must be unusable. We were off on another exploration, and passed a gondola basin with a lot of parked gondolas, and a couple of gondoliers taking a break. None of these gondolas appear to be as fancy as the one we rode in.

We purchased a ticket at a theatre for a perfomance tonight. Maybe I'll write an update later!