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| Erin's Venice Journal #2 4-02-02 The next day we got up to find out what to see. San Marco square, which we'd found the night before by accident, is this immense space in front of the huge, ornate Basilica di San Marco and the Doge's Palace. The surrounding 3 sides of the square house numerous shops and cafes, a couple of which had live music playing for their guests in the form of 5-part orchestral groups. And in the middle of the square, there were hundreds of pigeons. There were several vendors who were just selling bird food, and many people gleefully enjoying just that. (It was especially fun watching the kids try it!) We spent the first half of Tuesday wandering near San Marco square, checking out the available city tours (we'd seen many of the walking tours pass us in the narrow streets) and other attractions. After finding an afternoon snack, we went inside the Doge's Palace or Palazzo Ducale, to view the many rich decorations that still exist on the walls and in the courtyard. The Doge was an elected official serving as the 'royalty' of the city, supported by various administrative and advisory groups made up of other members of the noble families of Venice, so there are many different eras that make up the feel of the Doge's palace. You'll see an immense, walk-in fireplace made of beautiful peach marble in one of the ducal apartments donated by one family while their representative served as Doge, and in the next room you'll see the ceiling fresco showing another family's coat of arms surrounded by representations of the gods and their cherubs. All in all, the courtyard was my favorite spot, with its 3-story marble wall filled with sculptures and a huge clock (not working), all framed in the background by the immense domes and spires of the basilica beyond. After the palace, we went out in the square and I begged a Euro from Glenn to get pigeon food. These birds are so spoiled and tame! As soon as they saw I really had food and wasn't just pretending (I'd tried that earlier), they flew right up on my hand to eat. One in particular hung on and pecked all the other birds away, so I started feeding from both hands. It got crazy from there...picture me standing there, both arms out, with 3 pigeons on my left arm/hand, one on each shoulder, 4 birds on the right arm/hand, and one on my head!!! It was really fun - I had a stupid grin on my face the whole time, and even other tourists were taking pictures of me! *The best part - not even one pooped on me!* After that we saw some more great shops and found a late dinner, deciding to do the gondola tour another night. I'm getting used to spending a little more time on my meal than usual. I think that night we sat at the table for about 2 hours, and the next we were there for even a little longer. It didn't seem to bother the staff of the restaurants, but Glenn hasn't quite mastered the art of sitting and relaxing. He is doing a great job of hiding his impatience though! :) |
| The Birth of Venus, the city's namesake. |
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| Pigeon adventures in San Marco Square |