Wet but no flood

Venice is still wet, but not under water.

 

Wednesday, Venice did not flood. It was very cold, with lots of rain, but no flooding. Corstiaan decided, out of the blue (or should I say gray?) to take a gondola tour this afternoon.

 

So, with Marco at the helm (or whatever the back of the gondola is called) we took off for our properly negotiated canal tour. The cold and drizzle made Venice even more romantic. During the hour plus tour we glided by the home of Marco Polo, the apartment of Casanova and even the homes of Elton John and Madonna. Marco had 25 years of gondoleering experience and knew more then his share of useless information including one funny tidbit. Madonna’s first video (like a virgin) was filmed in part in Venice and she sang while in a gondola going under the famous bridge of Sighs. We were also told that you must kiss your lover while passing under the Bridge of Sighs for good luck. As we passed under the bridge and I leaned in for my romantic lucky smooch Marco broke out into his best Madonna “like a Virgin” imitation. Not what I expected after hearing him whistle and even sing a few bars of what sounded like a romantic Italian song.

 

After a bit of shopping, a yummy lunch of Prosecco and pizza we headed to the church of St. Mark, the centerpiece of Piazza San Marco. The entire ceiling of Byzantine mosaics (described as decorating a football field with contact lens) and the floor that reflected the waves of the Adriatic was an amazing place to see.

 

Yes, we’ve been in plenty of churches on this trip. Again, if only Rosemary’s mother had the Internet!

 

Can’t say that Ro hasn’t contributed to the Venetian economy, but only with little tiny, easy to tote purchases. Once she realized the Yahtzee dice were forgotten in Grapevine she was thrilled to find yes, Venetian dice.  We will be so stylish tossing our dice in France this summer!

 

Tomorrow we hope for better weather, but considering the entire “boot” of Italy is under a huge cloud that may not happen until Friday.

 

Enjoy the pics! In every church we pray for sun in Tuscany. Under the Tuscan sun? Hope so!