We slept in a bit this morning. Not much, but a little bit. Breakfast was once again provided in the hotel lobby. After packing up and checking out, we headed out into Venice for a few last hours of exploring before we had to catch the train at 4:20pm. The hotel was kind enough to keep our bags until afternoon.
I think one of the things Brandon enjoyed most in Venice was chasing pigeons.
Our first destination this morning was the Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa Dei Frari. The Franciscan friars were called 'frari' in Italian. They arrived in Venice in 1222. They began building the church in 1340. It was reconstructed in the 15th century to look as it does today. According to Rick Steve's, the church is an 'art experience in the setting for which it was designed.' The church is home of works by Donatello, Bellini nd Titian. We spent quite a bit of time just sitting on the pews looking at all the amazing works of art.
Next stop, the Ca Resaro Gallery of Modern Art. It took us awhile and a few wrong turns to find this one. Once there, we were impressed with some amazing artwork. The piece that suprised and left me amazed, The Thinker by Auguste Rodin. I have seen pictures, paper weights and all sorts of copies, but here in Venice was the original sculpture! For some reason this was the highlight of all the art I have seen so far. We spent a couple of hours working our way through the museo before deciding we should get some lunch.
Lunch today, at another bar. Italian sandwiches for Katrina and I. Hot dog for Brandon.
This is how the trash is collected in Venice.
We slowly made our way back to the hotel. When we reached one square, Katrina and I disagreed on which way to turn, so we each took the way we thought was correct to see who would get to the hotel quicker. Its so easy to get turned around in Venice. Brandon decided to go with me. He asked me who would win and I told him we would for one simple reason. Even if Katrina was right, she would stop and take lots of pictures along the way, slowing her progress. Brandon and I took the right way. We beat Katrina, so we grabbed our bags. Katrina met us as we were exiting out the door.
We made our way slowly towards the Rialto Bridge again. This time with a bag of goodies, Katrina's camera bag, a backpack and one suitcase. Its fairly common to see people walking through Venice with luggage in tow. We stopped on the other side of the Rialto for one last gelato before heading to the train station. As if we won't see gelato ever again....Ha!
Sights on the way to the train station. Brandon's cat Lollipop even posed for a last minute picture before leavin Venice.
We caught the train at 4:20. This time we had reserved seats. We needed them after four days of walking around Venice. We all kind of zoned out on the ride to Milano, watching the scenery and just relaxing. Once we arrived in Milano we had to switch trains. We had about a 20 min layover before taking the commuter train into Monza. Next step, to catch bus z221 back to Matteotti, our street. We arrived home tired and ready to relax some more. Unfortunately for Katrina, she had a couple hours of work to do before going to bed.
Venice, a great city to visit. Its full of beautiful architecture, great food, canals, and history. We loved it.
I'm enjoying your Venice commentary...Great place isn't it? Obviously, with a tour we didn't get to see as much as you are getting to, but something to look forward to, huh?
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