Venice- July 31, 2024

[This is a rough draft to get started. We’ve done a lot of traveling so far, and are behind in sleep, so we’ll keep this updated as we have a chance. When this isn’t here anymore, you’ll know that we’re finished with the page!]

Chioggia is a charming fishing community steeped in its age-old seafaring traditions. It is also the gateway to Venice, famed for its wondrous patchwork of graceful piazzas, tranquil canals, artful footbridges and Gothic splendor. All things Venetian begin in St. Mark’s Square, where its elegant campanile, or bell tower, rings over the rooftops, and the Byzantine-Gothic St. Mark’s Basilica seems to preside over all. Beyond St. Mark’s and away from the crowds, Venice is a hushed and intriguing city to explore on foot, with medieval echoes marking every step.

Photos from Venice – Day 1

Video from Venice – Day 1

We ate breakfast on board and prepared to leave the ship. A couple days ago Joyce has talked to the private transport company with the help of the Viking Sea concierge staff to move our transport time up to 8 am to ensure we had time to settle in to the Hotel Rialto in Venice before our 11 am tour of the Doge’s Palace and San Marco’s Basilica.  

We gathered our backpacks from the room and headed to the port. After leaving the ship, we identified our luggage and headed out. Our driver was waiting with our last name in large letters on his phone. He showed us to his van and helped us load our luggage in the back. Alan attempted to engage in conversation but he didn’t appear to speak much English. We had about an hour ride to Venice. We parked in a very crowded small parking lot. We unloaded our bags and followed our driver to an area where water taxis were waiting.  Our driver appeared to have one in mind and he and the taxi driver loaded our luggage into the area behind the driver’s seat. The taxi had a covered area with a bench seat on each side of the boat. The doors to the area were small and the roof was low. The boat was lower than the dock and the boat was bobbing in the waves. Joyce had some trouble getting in the boat, and did not accomplish it in any semblance of a graceful manner, but she was inside! Viewing Venice from a boat  in the canal was a completely new experience. There were a lot of boats, with building the sat at the very edge of the water. Our ride to the Rialto Hotel was about 15 minutes. Alan and the taxi driver placed our luggage on the wooden pier directly outside the hotel, with was located on the right side of the Grand Canal right before the canal went under the Rialto Bridge. The street was very busy. 

We checked into the hotel and stored our luggage until check-in time. The hotel is a bit of a maze with rooms on many levels up short and longer flights of stairs. We followed the signs to the Rialto Terrace and found a terrace with cafe tables and chairs overlooking the Grand Canal and the Rialto Bridge. It was a great place to get some pictures and orient ourselves. We walked back down and onto the street. The Rialto Bridge is pretty large. It contains 3 sets of stairs crossing the canal, a center staircase with shops on both sides and outer stairs on each side. All the stairs were crowded with people walking, standing and taking selfies. Across the bridge was the Rialto fish and vegetable market. The market was closing down, but we were still able to see a good assortment of vegetable and a smaller assortment of fish. We walked around a bit looking a items we don’t often see in Indiana, such a a bin of small snails crawling all over the scoop in the bin.

It was nearing time to head to San Marco Piazza for our 11 am tour. We found our way through narrow streets and small bridges that went up and over small canals. San Marco Piazza is a very large open square surrounded with buildings. It is the only square in Venice called a piazza, noting it as special Venetians. At one end is San Marco Basilica and next to the basilica is the Doge’s Palace. Both are impressive buildings. San Marco’s Basilica is a massive basilica with several domes, towers, statues, carvings and mosaics on the exterior. To the right in front of the basilica is the clock tower (Torre dell’Orologio) dating to 1499. The piazza extends in front of the Doge Palace and on to the Venice lagoon. There were a lot of people in the square. Many were attempting to sit on stone steps of the buildings surrounding the square. There seemed to be “sitting police”, walking around the square motioning for people to get up. We found out later one could be fined for sitting and eating on the square outside of cafes. 

 Our tour began with the Doge’s Palace, which became the seat of government for the Venetian republic and the residence of the highest political leader of the republic in the 9th century. Nothing remains of the original structure due to fires and various political changes. What we saw was built in 1340, extended and modified in the following centuries. It became a museum in 1923.Through its history, the Republic of Venice was governed by its elected head of state, the doge, and the administration of the Republic was directed by various assemblies such at the Great Council, the Council of Forty, the Council of Ten and the Senate. We toured many of the government chambers. We walked up the golden staircase. The government rooms had ceilings covered with paintings in gilded frames, as well as paintings of religious and Venetian nobility throughout the rooms.  In the 16th century the palace was linked to the prison by the Bridge of Sighs. We toured the court rooms, then the passageways to the prison, over the Bridge of Signs as well as a few of the prison cells. 

After the Doge’s Palace, we were given a short break to get a drink and rest. The palace was hot with not air conditioning and the temperature in the 90’s. After climbing all the stairs we were happy for a rest. Alan found us some Gatorade so we sat on some benches in a courtyard with covered walkways and replenished our electrolytes.  

  On to San Marco’s Basilica through an entrance from the Doge’s Palace. San Marco’s domes and roofs are made of lead so the buildings retains heat, so with no air conditioning,  it was very hot. The basilica is beautiful with huge, intricate mosaic’s covering most of the wall and ceilings. Gold leaf baked into glass mosaic pieces gives them a rich glowing appearance. We also saw may statues of the apostles, St. Mark and other religious figures. The floor was intricately tiled to create pictures and well as patterns. There were so many beautiful things to look at, it was hard to know where to look next. 

Our group climbed to the balcony for an awe inspiring view of the basilica from above. We toured an exhibit showing how mosaics were repaired and then saw the original four horses, statues of horses made of impure copper. The horses have an interesting past. They are thought to have been made either in Greece in the 4th or 5th century BC or in Rome around 175 AD. The Venetians acquired them when looting Constantinople in 1204 and brought them to Venice, installing them outside on the balcony of San Marco Basilica where they remained until they were looted by Napoleon in 1797. They were returned to Venice in 1815, remaining on the basilica’s facade until 1980 when they were replaced by copies due to air pollution and moved inside the basilica. We walked out on the balcony behind the horses for great view of San Marco Piazza, and the lagoon.

After our tour, we walked back to the Hotel Rialto, finding the signs directing the way to Rialto very helpful. We were taken to our room by the porter who helped us with our luggage. We used the elevator but it only went to the second floor. From there we traveled up a flight of stairs, down a flight of stair to a small landing and then down 3 stairs to the door of our room. We were thankful for the help of the porter with our luggage! The room was classic Venice. The walls were covered with a reddish fabric with a fleur-de-lis pattern in gold. The furniture was white, trimmed in gold with painted flowers and scrolls. The bathroom contained both a toilet and a bidet, which made Alan happy.

We removed our very soaked outer outer clothing and took a nap to cool off.  We found the Olympics on the TV. The commentary was in Italian, we presume, but that wasn’t a problem. 

After resting, we were hungry as we hadn’t eaten since breakfast on the ship. We had been filling our stomachs with water or Gatorade most of the day. When we checked in we had been given a card for Trattoria Al Gazzettino, with the man at reception vouching for their food. We looked up the restaurant and found was a short distance away and on the way back to San Marco Piazza, where we had an After Hours tour at 8:30 p.m. We found the restaurant, and were heartily welcomed when we mentioned where we were staying. We were given small glasses of wine as we waited for our order. Joyce ordered gnocchi with scampi and zucchini and Alan ordered spaghetti carbonara. We shared a mixed salad and bread. We were given a complementary sampler dessert. All was very tasty. 

After dinner we headed back to San Marco Piazza for our tour of San Marco’s Basilica at night. As we walked from our meeting point to the basilica, we noticed pool of water on the stone floor of the piazza that weren’t there in the afternoon. Our guide told us pools of water often come through the stones on the piazza during high tide. The basilica was closed, but 3 groups of about 25 people were let in a side entrance by the guards. We were given one hour in the basilica, with our tour guides given permission to visit any part of the basilica. First we were shown to seats in the main nave of the basilica. When we were seated the lights were turned off. The lights were turned on a few at a time, to highlight the mosaics. The result was stunning! The gold in the mosaics glowed under the light. It was indescribably beautiful! After admiring the mosaics above and all around us, we were able to walk up on the alter and behind it to view St. Mark’s casket. We also visited the crypt below the alter. After our long day, we hadn’t been sure we wanted to go back in the evening, but we were very glad we did! This after hour’s visit was a highlight of our time in Venice!

On our way back to Hotel Rialto, we missed a sign pointing to Rialto so had to walk a little longer. The narrow streets can be confusing to people and Google maps. We soon found our way and treated ourselves to gelato when we were back on the path and knew where we were.

We were pretty tired at the end of this day. We watched some Olympics and wrote an outline instead of blogging. 

Viking’s Discover Venice video

Viking’s Venice bookstore video

11:15 am – 3 hours – Central European Summer Time

St Mark’s Basilica with Terrace Access & Doges Palace

• Confirmation NumberBR-1145285241
• Booked ThroughViator
• ProviderWalks – Italy, Spain & Greece

DEPARTURE POINT: Correr Museum. Meet under the portico just outside the entrance of the museum. Your guide will be holding a green Walks sign.

• Please arrive 15 minutes prior to the start time.
• Backpacks are prohibited inside of St. Mark’s Basilica
• Due to the religious nature of the Basilica, all individuals, regardless of gender, must cover their shoulders and knees. A scarf or shawl is acceptable.

WHAT’S INCLUDED

• Local English-speaking guide
• Skip-the-line ticket for St. Mark’s Basilica
• Headsets when necessary
• Exclusive access to the balcony of St. Mark’s Basilica
• Pre-reserved ticket to the Doge’s Palace

8:15 pm – 1 hour 30 minutes – Central European Summer Time

St Mark’s Basilica After-Hours

• Confirmation NumberBR-1145285251
• Booked ThroughViator
• ProviderWalks

MEETING POINT

Museo Correr, P.za San Marco, 52, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy

• Please arrive 15 minutes prior to the start time.
• Backpacks are prohibited inside of St. Mark’s Basilica
• Due to the religious nature of the Basilica, all individuals, regardless of gender, must cover their shoulders and knees. A scarf or shawl is acceptable.
• Occasionally St Mark’s or the Doge’s Palace are closed to the public without prior notice due to high tides or particular festivities.

WHAT’S INCLUDED

• Professional guide
• After-hours St. Mark’s Basilica tickets
• Small groups of 25 people or fewer