Gondolas are lined up in front of Doge's Palace.  The duke [or doge] of Venice held his office in this building, constructed sometime between 1309 and 1424.  At the rear of the building is the Bridge of Sighs connecting Doge's Palace, and its interrogation rooms, with a prison.  The bridge got its name from Lord Byron who expected that prisoners probably sighed at their last view of Venice on that bridge before going to the dungeons of the prison.

  We took an hour-long gondola ride through some of the smaller canals, all of which eventually connect to the Grand Canal.

We glided under the Rialto Bridge, over the Grand Canal, connects Rialto and San Marco islands. Built between 1588 and 1591, it consists of a single marble arch and has arcades lined with shops.

  Our gondolier learned the trade from his father and has been working the canals for more than 25 years.  He could maneuver his craft better than anyone I've seen operate a boat, motorized or none.  He gave us plenty of information as we coursed quietly through the city.

  The police and ambulance use boats to get where they need to go, just like everyone else.

  As we traveled, tourists would often lean over the bridges and wave to us or take our photograph.  Stars, we were, yes.

  The canals sometimes get congested, especially as you near Doge's Palace.

  On the Rialto Bridge.

We left Venice in late afternoon and drove through Trieste where we got sidetracked somehow.  By the time we got into Slovenia, the fog was so thick, we couldn't see 100' ahead of us.  So we stopped at a motel, built in the 50s, I suspect.  The manager on-duty insisted we look at the rooms before we agreed to stay.  We weren't expecting much and were not disappointed.  The rooms were clean and had a good shower.  That's all we wanted.  We had a good dinner and a typical breakfast [cheese, bread, and cold cuts] before heading down the Adriatic Coast to Kosinj, Croatia.

Day 7

Home