Sunday, 3 May 2009. Ocean Village Two crawls almost imperceptably into the lagoon at Venice. We were up at the ship's rail on Deck 14, as the crew had all said that we shouldn't miss the entry into Venice.
The ship would sail right past St Mark's Square and the Doges Palace. And it may well have done but we were booked into the Spa for a massage at 10 o'clock. We did have time to see these beautiful sunrays hitting the waters of the Adriatic before we entered the Lagoon.
The first little bit of Venice comes and we round the corner to keep to its shoreline, heading up towards the heart of the city.
There's a hint of early morning mist hanging about, muting the colours of buildings and green spaces. Then, tanalisingly, just as the best bits came in sight we had to leave the rail to the amazement of all the crowds pressed behind us and leg it!
The massage was very relaxing and afterwards we got a couple of tickets for the shuttle boat that was ferrying passengers from the ship's berth to the waterfront in Venice.
It was cruise ship reunited day. MSC Musica was moored behind us, looking huge as we pass round it on the single-deck water bus. Costa Serena at our side against the opposite quay.
Just round the corner was P&O's Regatta, seen here being passed by one of Venice's many tugboats. Also on this stretch of canal was one of the most beautiful motor yachts I've ever seen. More of that in a later entry, because the shuttle boat has already moved on and we're approaching bits of Venice I recognise.
The church of S. Maria del Rosario, built in 1726-1736 by the Dominican order of friars.
The smaller church to the left of the photo to the right is the Church of S. Maria della Visitazione which belonged to the Jesuit order.
There is, of course, a large number of churches in Venice and the most famous of them is coming into sight as we pass the entrance to the Grand Canal and sail onwards towards the Londra Palace Hotel opposite which we will disembark.
First though is a sail past the most famous sights in Venice. The Doges Palace (Doge is Italian for Duke) held the courts where prisoners were tried. If found guilty they were transferred to the gaol next door by way of an enclosed bridge over the canal. Lord Byron imagined that they would take a last look at the Lagoon from its barred windows...and sigh for their lost freedom. The bridge became known as the Bridge of Sighs.
In that inevitable way that you know in any major city, something is going to be hidden by scaffolding... Yup! It's the turn of the Bridge of Sighs... Gondolas do a roaring trade at around £75 (2009 prices) for a half-hour trip along the canals. It's the price for the gondola regardless of how many people are in it. Hence only lovers can afford (or are desperate enough) to go only two to a boat...
The last time we went in one, on a previous visit, we had the most grumpy gondolier imaginable. Fran was convinced he was going to swamp us and he spent the entire time steering with one hand whilst having an argument on his phone... I asked him if he sang and thought for a moment he was going to actually shout at me!
In the next entry we'll have a closer look at the most famous square in Venice - the only square in Venice, but I'll tell you why in the next article!
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