Denver to Venice

Our trip started with a 3 AM alarm, followed by a 4:10 pickup. We got on a United flight to Newark, and tried to sleep.

 In Newark, Sandi used her United Club passes. I had never been in an airline club, and was surprised with the free food and free drinks. There was good wifi, and a sense of quiet. A good call on Sandi's part.

The flight to Venice was long, but uneventful. We arrived Thursday morning, and waited 45 minutes for Sandi's bag. Apparently the Venice airport is known for slow baggage. After some confusion due to lack of signs, we found  the dock, and bought a ticket to Venice. What could be more appropriate than arriving in Venice by boat?

Elisabetta was waiting for us at the Guglie dock, and took us to a lovely apartment. We ate lunch at the cafe next door, very nice. 

We were very tired, so we took a nap after lunch.  We bought a chip and data for Richard's phone. We took a lengthy walk through the Cannaregio neighborhood, and got away from the tourist area. We had dinner near the apartment. 

Friday morning we woke up early, and took a walk to San Marco plaza. There  was already a long line for the church, so we had a nice buffet breakfast in a fancy hotel. 

Richard was fascinated by the garbage system, which was running nearby while we were eating. The garbage is collected by handcarts. The worker pulls the cart to the dock. The garbage scow has a small crane, which picks up the cart and puts it on a dumping station. The bottom of the cart drops, and the garbage is then pushed and compressed by a ram.  The crane sets the empty cart back on the dock. The garbage is picked up daily by an army of men pushing handcarts. There are handcarts everywhere, delivering everything. 

We went to the Doge palace, which was sensory and opulence overload, with huge halls filled with decoration and paintings.  Amazing.   We also visited the prison, a stark contrast. 

After that we decided that we did not want to see another museum, so we took a boat back to our apartment, stopping at the Rialto market to buy vegetables. After a nap, we got on the first boat and found  ourselves at dusk on a boat to Murano, where we had a nice dinner. The system of water buses is extensive, and we bought a week pass. 

Saturday we rode the boat to the cemetary island, where we found the graves of Stravinsky and Ezra Pound. Then we rode the boat to Burano, the island famous for lace. Burano has very colorfull houses, absurdly picturesque is what I called them. We had lunch, and then went to the lace museum. 

Sandi in Burano

It was sunny and nice in Burano, But headed back in deteriorating weather. A big storm blew in, with horizontal rain. We got wet even inside the boat.