Enchanting Venice

Venice was pleasantly warm today, and thankfully we were able to avoid the masses. On more than one occasion Libby and I have remarked to each other concerning the great degree to which Venice would become unbearable during the Summer. Not only would it be a good 20-30 degrees warmer, there would be thousands more people being brought in by the cruise ship-load (~2k additional people). In the immortal words of Jane-millenial, we couldn't even. Not even. 

We decided to get up around 6 this morning to finish off the previous nights blog and to get an early jump on the day. I (Tommy) wanted to go to the Accademia (art museum), and maybe one......or two other museums. We also wanted to go to San Giorgio Maggiore, and I had my eye on Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute because the outside looked so beautiful. I couldn't help but want to see what it was like inside. 

We bought a 24hr vaparetto pass so we could make good use of a mode of transportation that did not require as much one-foot-in-front-of-the-othering (though this later because a mistake in my estimation), and got a great view of the buildings along the Grand Canal on the way to The Accademia. 

Rialto Bridge before the crowds line the rail

Breakfast of champions

The Accademia specializes in art made in Venice or by Venitians between the late Middle Ages and the 19th century. I was struck with how close you were allowed to get to the paintings. A good amount of them had no rope barrier, and were at my eye level. This allowed me to get a lot closer to the pieces than I have been accustomed to in other art museums. The audio guide was meh to bad, but it was somewhat informative. It was a really good time for me, and not as bad as it could have been for Libby I think. I asked her how I did time-wise and she said I didn't do that bad. 

We left The Accademia and took another vaparetto to Isola di S. Giorgio Maggiore. The part of the church that is accessible to the public isn't vast, so after looking around a bit we headed for the ticket booth to take the lift to the top of the tower. The trip to the island, and up the left were worth it. The views of Venice were stunning, and we both grabbed a few panorama shots.

Before dragging Libby to one more art museum, the Museo Correr, we stopped for a gelato pick-me-up.  After a rather quick jaunt through the Correr Museum we headed across the canal to visit the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute. The outside of this church is jawdropping, and while pretty, the inside isn't as exciting in my opinion, I think I'm use to much larger and imposing churches. 

This church was built by the survivors of the 1630 plague 

Tomorrow we leave enchanting Venice for the busy and equally historic Milan. I use the word enchanting without pretense or exaggeration. Over and over I've turned a corner, or pushed through a crowd to be faced with something that doesn't quite look real. There's an ethereal feeling to Venice that will follow me home. We've been blessed with some great weather, and that's impacted our experience greatly. I'm sure if it were raining the whole time I wouldn't feel as strongly, but I'm convinced it is the unique, tension filled marriage of natural beauty, and marvelous architecture that draws people here.