Rialto Bridge, over the Grand Canal
Rialto market
Tomatoes at the market
Garbage boat
Police men at the San Marco Basilica
San Marco Basilica details
Me and San Marco Basilica
The San Marco Piazza
The domes of San Marco Basilica
Doges Palace, people and café from Campanile
Café and people on the Piazza San Marco view from Campanile
Me and Doges Palace
Doges Palace
A stairway ceiling at Doges Palace
The prison at Doges Palace
The Sigh Bridge, linking the court to the prison
Venetian canal
2 windows
Teatro Malibran
The evening's schedule
Venitian houses and bridge
At the center of every Campo, a water well
Ca' D'Oro
The only bridge without a parapet wall
Taking wedding photos
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At 7h the phone rang in the hotel room to wake me up. But I was already a bit awake. And indeed I now had a cold. My nose was runny and my throat was sore. I got ready and at 7h35 was downstairs for the breakfast buffet which was included in the price of the room. I had a bread roll with Nutella, a croissant, cereal and some orange juice. Then I headed out! I had read somewhere that to avoid crowds touring the sights early was the key. That's what I did! I took the Vaporetto boat from San Marco to Rialto, which took about 20 minutes. There I saw the second of the two bridges that cross the Grand Canal. I crossed the bridge and in the San Polo neighbourhood I found the Rialto Market. It was nice because it was not crowded with tourists... there was just a few of us. Mostly to be found were locals doing their grocery shopping (fish, vegetables and fruit). I bought some strawberries and they were delicious! After the market I found a pharmacy and bought Benagol for my sore throat. I forgot the paracetemol (kind of like Tylenol) though! I crossed the bridge back and went on walking back towards the Piazza San Marco using the yellow signs "Per San Marco". They give the tourist route to San Marco which is useful if you want to get somewhere and don't want to use a map. On the way I saw the garbage boat collecting garbage! I bought a souvenir, a letter seal with a C for Christelle and gold wax. I always wanted one of these... I found it for 16 Euros. Later I saw in other shops the same seal for 20 or 22 Euros!
At the Piazza San Marco I stood in line about 10-15 minutes to enter the San Marco Basilica. It was quite big inside. What surprised me the most was how crooked the floor was everywhere. And beautiful floor mosaic, almost as nice as the ceiling. I paid the 1.50 Euros to see the Pala d'Oro which was a huge piece covered in precious jewels. It was worth the money, plus it helps with keeping the church in order. After the church I went to the Correr museum with my Venice Card so it was free. It had some old Venetian objets/paintings and the Archeological part of the museum also. It was a lot of walking and I was tired so I skipped a few rooms. Then it was time to go up in the Campanile. 98.50m high it offered a nice view on the city and it's main attractions/sights.
After all of this I was a bit cold and tired so I headed back towards the hotel. I went a bit further West where I bought some lunch. A piece of bread with inside lots of nice tomatoe and ham warmed up, with a Fanta orange to drink. I also stopped by another pharmacy to buy paracetemol as I was out of Tylenol. After eating at my hotel I took a warm shower and had a nap. At about 15h I felt rested again and headed back out to Piazza San Marco to visit the rest of the attractions. I went to Doges Palace the ticket price which was included with my Venice Card. The Palace was huge. And I loved the interior court area. My favorite though at the Doges Palace was not the highly decorated rooms or the painted ceiling of the governement/institutional rooms... It was the prison! I enjoyed the labyrith walk through the prison, imagining how it was for the prisoners. They were condemned to prison time in the magnificient Doges Palace and went accross to the prison using the Sigh Bridge. There they had to look out to see the beautiful Venice one last time which must have made it even more difficult to stay in the little prison cells.
After that I walked going North towards the Teatro Malibran. I wanted to locate it before the evening's show. I passed by Campo Santa Maria Formosa walking along cute venetian streets and canals. The theatre was quite difficult to find, nestled in between houses following a tiny street. Now I knew where it was so I could come back around 19h to pick up my ticket. Then I continued walking North, Campo dei Santi Apostoli, Stada Nova (ugly shopping street), etc. I went to see the Ca' D'Oro, a palace, from the Grand Canal but didn't go inside. Then I continued on. I saw the only bridge in Venice without a parapet wall. And then I sat at a quiet Campo where boats went by on the canal. At one point a newly married couple came by and took some photographs on the bridge nearby and in front of the church. It's funny how people have to carry furniture/things around. There are canals sure but these do not go everywhere. I saw a lot of people with the two-wheeled carts pushing furniture around or deliveries to shops being made the same way.
Then I walked back to go get my ticket at the ticket office of the theater. And then I had dinner near the theatre. I found a cheap pizza place and got a pizza, salad and drink. The only nice thing was the drink. The salad was bland and the pizza dry. But I had a cold and didn't feel like fussing around trying to find a place to eat so I guess I got what I bargainned for! After dinner there was still some time to spare before the show and I was bored walking around. That evening I went to the Teatro Malibran for a symphonic orchestra concert. I noticed there were firemen present. They inspected a bit around before the show started and then were standby, one near the balcony where I was. I wondered why... I was sitting on my own and some Italian man passed by saying "Ciao" and I nodded hello. And then he wanted to take me out for coffee after the show. I told him I had a cold and wanted to go back to my hotel and sleep. The show itself was nice. The lady sitting next to me though was a bit annoying during the first half of the show. She had many metal bracelets on and every time she moved it would add tinker noises to the beautiful music. At one point I gestured that the bracelets on the arms and then she was careful not to make them cling together anymore. The show was good. Only the second part had piano which I could barely hear... The best part was the fourth (and last). It was the first time I saw it done that way... They took 4 musicians as soloists (1 violin, 1 flute, 1 weird flute and 1 cello) and put them front centre. The conductor was then behind them with the orchestra. It was beautiful. After the show I took the Vaporetto boat from Rialto to San Marco. There were so many gondolas everywhere. At the hotel I went to bed and got much needed rest.
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