Water water everywhere!
One our most memborable events in Venice happened the day we were to visit the Accademia Gallery.
We were to meet our guides at the museum in the morning and then have the rest of the day to ourselves.
Unfortunately, when we arrived we discovered that the museum was having plumbing problems; the sign on the door said it was closed and would reopen later that day.
Not to worry - Sarah to the rescue! Without skipping a beat, she and the local guides who had been hired for the morning switched to "plan b".
Instead of a guided tour of the Accademia, we were brought to the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (aka "I Frari"), a church built in the 1300's and dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. The thing you need to know about the churches in Italy is that they all have an amazing history. Without a guide, I don't know that we would have taken the time to find out about the art, tombs and stories associated with each - and the guides that were provided for our tour were excellent because they made us want to know more!
After the Frari Church, we went back to the Accademia to find it was still closed; although this time the note on the door stated it would open in an hour. We used that time to visit the nearby Santa Maria della Salute (aka "la Salute") church on our own. This church had been on our 'bucket list' of things to do from the moment we saw it from the Grand Canal on our first day.
When we arrived back at the Accademia, Sarah was waiting with our tickets. The doors were open and we were free to meander the beautiful pieces of art inside.
The day was saved because of the expertise of Sarah and the local guides; we were all very grateful and very impressed!
Venice
As was suggested, we arrived in Venice a full day before the tour started. We followed the directions provided in the tour package and easily found our way to the Hotel La Fenice via the water taxi.
Entering Venice via the Grand Canal was the perfect start to this vacation .. highly recommend it!
When we arrived at the hotel, we left our bags with the concierge, grabbed a map, our Rick Steves guidebook, and headed out on our first exploration of this beautiful city.
In case I didn't mention it earlier, I was traveling with "Type A" personalities. I let them handle the maps and I followed; it was a great arrangement. I'm sure we got lost once or twice but, as I was reminded, Venice isn't that large - It's really kind of impossible to get totally lost.
The weather was perfect and everyone we met was very friendly. That first night could have gone on forever, if it hadn't been for the jet lag that caught up with us around 8 pm. So, while having dinner, we admitted we were done for the day.
The next day, we did more wandering on our own, bought tickets for the Museum Correr and, after a late lunch, met with our tour group for the first time.
Sarah and Amy, our guides, were very welcoming. Everyone was smiling, laughing and ready to spend the next ten days doing the same.
Venice may be small but it has a rich and long history. There is so much to see! Here are just some of the things we managed to do in three days:
We saw many churches, which, naturally, included the majestic St. Mark's Basilica; we visited The Doge Palace, Museum Correr and, the islands of Torcello and Burano; we experienced an evening gondola ride, a mild occurrence of Aqua Alta, and a Vivaldi concert!
A Night on the Town
On our third night in Venice, we finally attended the Interpreti Veneziani concert. We'd been looking forward to listening to this ensemble orchestra perform since our arrival in Venice and we were not disappointed!
The venue, Chiesa San Vidal, was beautiful; and we loved hearing the music of Vivaldi the way the composer had intended.
