This weekend we drove about 3 hours so we could tour Venice with the other senior couples in the mission. We left about 1 pm on Thursday and stopped on the way to a little touristy town on Lake Garda, called Sirmione. We had a late lunch and toured the town, including a castle, then went to an old city, called Treviso, We went there instead of to Venice. The hotels in Venice are several hundred dollars a night, even bad ones, and the one we stayed at in Treviso, is only 85 euros and includes a very nice breakfast. We walked over to the train station (about 5 minutes) and a ticket was only 3.35, and it took about a half hour to get to Venice. The trains are very clean and nice and don't go clickity clack like they used to. We went together as a group of 16 senior missionaries in our white shirts and sorelle dresses and name tags, which people always stare at. There are, of course, many people from all over the world in Venice and there are no cars, you either walk or ride boats (water taxis are about 20, water busses, we bought a one day pass for 20, and gondolas, which start at about 80.
This is the only way to get into the city, only one car (this one a Porsche) at a time. Most people just park and walk over. Sister Salatino wears a bracelet that counts her steps and puts it in miles. We walked about 6 to 10 miles each day, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and about 4 on Sunday as we walked from our hotel to (LDS) church and back. Of course, you see a lot of cool things walking.
Inside the city, me getting a drink from the city well. The water was cold and good. The castle, where the king (of this city) once lived, in the background. We didn't go in because of time.
This is lake water around the edges of town.
We were studying the menu in this pix; we had the young elders who work in Treviso with us. It's like going to dinner with 16 grandparents--fun!
First of 120 churches in Venice. Of course, there are tourists milling around all the churches with their cameras (many churches won't let you take pix inside), and there are off-limit places within the churches. Sadly, for me, we didn't go in all 120, but our tour guide told us there are 120 still functioning churches in Venice, and many which have been turned into museums. There are also many synagogues in the Jewish Ghetto of Venice.
In Venice all the streets are waterways, some famous, and some not so famous, like this one where the folks hang their laundry and take their little boats to where they want to go. Of course, there are no cars or other vehicles in Venice.
This guy was our tour guide. There are many like him, and they are free. They take you on about a three or four hour walking tour, and let you stop in the middle for a rest and meal, and at the end they say they get paid in tips, so they probably make more this way than by advertising up front. We gave him 15 euros, and others gave less or more, but we really liked him. He is Italian and speaks really good English and has lived near Venice all of his life. His specialty is he takes you through the back alleys and tells you things you could only learn about if you read many books.
You walk on sidewalks and cross bridges to get to the other side of the street.
This is the only one without sides.
Other groups crossing the street in gondolas.
There are, of course, many shops selling different things to the tourists. I went in this one and bought an apron, so when I cook with my white shirt and tie on I don't get it dirty. She was writing, free hand with the sewing machine Giovanni (John). This is the only touristy thing I bought all day.
We have crossed a bridge so you can see the Grand Canal, with St. Mark's, the duomo or cathedral, in the background. Our guide left us here at the end of four hours.
Anziano and Sorella Hoopes in front of St Mark's. This cathedral was built as a replica of St Sophia in Constandanople (Istanbull) because that is who was ruling Venice at the time. We were not allowed to take pix inside St Mark's, and we had to pay to get in. We also paid to climb the stairs (4) to the roof, where we could see the entire square including the graduation ceremony going on at the other end of the square.
Up on the roof of St Mark's showing the 6 famous horses, which were brought back as booty during the Crusades from the middle east. Actually, these are replicas of the bronze horses, the real ones are inside and it costs (again 4) to see them, which we did. We also paid 4 to see behind the alter, which is pure gold, about 10 feet by 8 feet with lots of jewels, called the pala d'oro.
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