Sunday – November 6, 2011
Everyone in Venice walks on water!! I love to watch the gondoliers work their long paddles through the water, moving back and forth near the rear of the gondola, silently moving the boat forward, they appear to be walking on water…… Today’s higher “alta aqua” forced everyone to walk on the long platforms above the water and everyone was walking on water!!
Sunday Morning in Front of St. Mark’s
Tourists and Venetians seemed to take the higher water level in stride. Local police stood in the water keeping the walkers quickly moving through the square. No photos; just keep moving! “Avanti!!”
Walking On Water
The water seemed to recede fairly quickly and before we realized it, the alta aqua was gone. The pigeons and the tourists slowly moved in and took over the square again.
Post-Alta Aqua
We walked out to the harbor to see the tide. The water gently lapped over the edge. The high tide elevated the boats to the same level as the people on the quay.
Gondolas
We walked around the small alleyways avoiding the flooded ones and marveled at Mother Nature and the resiliency of the Venetians. It was Sunday morning and the tourists were out in full force. It seemed that the locals had receded with the tide.
Sunday Brunch at the Venice Hard Rock Cafe
The rain started again and we had a snack at Le Chat qui Rit which is a utilitarian cafeteria near the Hard Rock Cafe. We just felt like having a bowl of soup and some good Italian bread on this damp, rainy, chilly day. Then we rode the vaporetto to Gallerie dell’Accademia located on the Grand Canal to visit the famous museum of art.
First Room at L’Accademia
The Gallerie dell’Accademia, which was originally created as an art school in 1750, gave a warm and glowing welcome. It contains masterpieces of Venetian painting up to the 18th century. The collection was generally arranged chronologically starting in the first room from approximately the 14th century. Some of the most famous artists include: Canaletto, Tiepolo, Tintoretto, Titian, Veronese, and there was even one drawing by Leonardo da Vinci.
Main Gallery
It had stopped raining when we left L’Accademia so we walked in the direction away from the Grand Canal to the rear of the building. We wanted to explore the Zattere in the Dorsoduro district of Venice. The Zattere was built in 1519 as a landing dock for the delivery of timber for ship construction. The wide quay is a spacious promenade lined with inviting restaurants and cafes that runs along the entire southern shore.
After walking a while, we took the vaporetto back to St. Marks’s Square and returned to the hotel to rest up for dinner. We wanted to try a restaurant not too far from the hotel, so we walked to the end of the street and chose a homey place. Jeff had pizza and I had ravioli. It was ok, but we learned not to trust “tourist” restaurants.
After dinner, since it wasn’t raining, we walked around to see the lights of Venice at night and went to our local gelato store. There are actually two gelaterias across the street from each other. It was fun to compare gelato flavors!