Italy 6: Venice 3

Instead of walking, which is probably faster, we take the vaporetto from Rialto Bridge to Piazza San Marco. The weather's great and a classic view of La Salute emerges as we near the end of Grand Canal.

View of Doge's Palace from the water

Doge's Palace

Basilica di San Marco: today we are visiting the cathedral. What, is this a long line even for people who have a reservation for "skip the line" entrance? At least it gives us time to examine the exterior mosaic at one of the entrances depicting two Venetian merchants taking the body of St. Mark from Alexandria, Egypt to Venice.

St. Mark's Basilica: the interior is rich with gold mosaics, a distinct Byzantine flavor. 

Pala d'Oro, St. Mark's Basilica: why would any one not pay two Euros for the privilege to see this gem? Complying with the no-photo policy here, I settle for a snapshot of the video we watch about this absolutely amazing gold altar piece. A small detail shown here is accompanied by the list of precious stones which make up the piece along with plenty of gold. Like many other items here, however, basically this is material looted from Constantinople. 

St. Mark's Basilica: like the golden altar, the museum inside the cathedral is definitely worth the price of admission. Here you have a fine view of Piazza San Marco.

St Mark's Basilica Museum: priceless items (again, mostly taken from Constantinople) include the Portrait of Tetrarchs (four Roman emperors) from the third/fourth century and the next item which is casting shadows  (right)

St Mark's Basilica Museum: this is the original set of bronze horses from antiquity (taken from Hippodrome in Constantinople), a copy of which is on the facade of the cathedral. 

St Mark's Basilica seen from the museum. Pentecost Dome in view.

Visiting St. Mark's Basilica takes longer than expected and we have late lunch at a simple inexpensive trattoria a few block from Piazza San Marco. Gnocchi al ragu is ok.

Walking to a vaporetto stop on the east side to visit outlying islands

San Michele: the first stop is this cemetery island. Unfortunately most of the famous tombs are inaccessible today, such as Stravinsky, Ezra Pound and Diaghilev. Well, we did visit the Stravinsky grave last time and it looks like he is still here.

Murano: this island is of course known for its glass making, which has a long and interesting history. The canal here is lined with glass shops. 

Murano: one of the fancy glassware show rooms

Murano: glass on display

Murano

Approaching Burano. Trying to keep the horizon straight in order to show that the tower is indeed leaning.

Burano: this little island is known for lace

Burano: off the main drag, you can find some quiet canals.

Burano

Burano

Burano: a local couple on the bridge

Burano: we are skipping Torcello, the sleepy island where Venetians originally settled, and heading back to Venice.

San Michele: the sun has set by the time we return to Venice.

Venice: passing by a bit of a gondola jam on our way from F. te Nove vaporetto stop to the restaurant where we have a dinner reservation

An elderly man we see at the door, apparently one of the servers, cannot find my name in the notebook containing scribble.  He is not helpful and in fact almost rude until I show him the email confirmation from a lady. He shouts, "Tomorrow I will send her to Rialto Bridge to jump off!" They finally manage to find a table for us after some loud debate with an older woman who could be his wife. This is starting off quite strangely but actually the man provides pretty good service throughout the meal after all. 

To our surprise it turns out he is the chef owner! Why is he spending most of his time serving in the dining room then? Judging from the website, professional e-mail exchange, excellent reviews, and its proximity to Piazza San Marco, I was expecting a modern chic restaurant infused with young energy, but it turns out this is basically an Italian mom-and-pop place which has managed to elevate its cuisine to international levels. Quite interesting.

Il Ridotto, Venice: after some initial commotion, we settle down to a nice meal, starting sharply with a "sardine sandwich" where the sardines are the bookends with vegetables and cheese inside.

Il Ridotto: artisan pasta from Abruzzo

Il Ridotto: the chef owner has a Bengalese partner, whose influence is felt in the Indian music in the background and one of the mignardises, "tandoori apple" (right).

passing by Guggenheim Museum on the way back to the hotel

A night scene on Grand Canal before reaching Rialto

Next visit to Venice should be... for the Carnival...