Italy - Venice Tour Day 9

There was a bitter-sweet feeling about this historic city. We were so happy to be here but there was a sadness knowing that time was taking a toll on its fate. It was as though its citizens were trying to hold back the sea from reclaiming her and that the only real thing keeping it alive were tourists like us who came to visit.

We had a sense that everything seemed vertical in Venice. While walking through narrow alleys and over narrow canals and bridges we felt like we were in a maze of tall walls all around us. We took the advice from our guide Dave and "got lost" in Venice. We enjoyed the sights and stopping at shops along the way.

We had a morning walking tour of Venice than we were free all day to discover Venice on our own.

Part of the fun in getting lost in Venice is that you'll never know what's around the next turn. Here's a shop that creates a magnificent display of peppers.

Window shopping in Venice was a lot of fun. The only regret is not buying this little guy and giving him a nice home with us in America.

The Realto bridge in all its splendor is the oldest bridge (1591) across the canal.

There are shops all over Venice which specialize in the masks worn during the festival. The masks can be simple to elaborately magnificent. Just look at the one in the center. That's Karen wishing she was dressed for the festival.

The feast of Carnival starts around two weeks before Ash Wednesday and ends the day before Ash Wednesday.

Question: Will Karen be able to resist?

Answer - No. She had a pastry in her sights from the moment we arrived in Italy.

There's something very special about the colors in Venice. Many of the buildings not maintained look artistic.

From Realto, we made our way to San Marco and decided to tour the museum of the Doges Palace. (It was once home to the governing body of Venice). This is a photo of the once-main entrance and to us it'll always be remembered because of the two statues that Rick Steves described as "Paul Newman" and the "nearly naked Moses".

The weather got better as the day went on until the sky was blue once again. The evening was perfect and we thanked our tour guide Dave for arranging a full moon while we took a gondola ride. The end of another perfect day. Buona sera.

This wooden facility on the left is the place that builds and maintains the gondolas seen all over Venice.

Suddenly a cruise ship pulled into port and towered the buildings.

It was like a clash of the past and the present.

Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square). We'll come back in the evening to meet with our group and take a gondola ride. After that we'll enjoy some wine while listening to the "dueling orchestras" entertain the tourist who come to feel the amore of this city. We couldn't help but to have a romantic dance in the street.

The Doges Palace (to the right of the bell tower) is another place we'll spend time today.

There's an obvious mixture of architectural styles in Venice, no doubt, a result of this ancient city once being a center of commerce between east and west.

OK, so Venice may be a tourist town but there's no denying that it's a GREAT tourist town. There's something for everyone here from glitz to history; from tacky to elegant from corny to absolute romance.