Vacation in Italy - Venice - Gondolas and Canal Sights

Venice is sliced into several areas by the Grand Canal which snakes through it. There are only a handful of bridges that cross it. There are also countless small canals crisscrossing through the city, providing access to business and homes. It seemed that everywhere we turned there was something photo-worthy, especially considering Kathy's fascination (obsession? ;-) with gondolas. Of course, we also took a wonderful, relaxing and romantic gondola ride one evening.

Click on any of these thumbnail images to see a larger version...

(I can't decide between the two.)

Kathy near some gondola docs, next to San Marco's, with Santa Maria della Salute in the background (see below)

Santa Maria della Salute was built in 1631, fulfilling a pledge made a year earlier, vowing that a church in honor of the Virgin would be built should she deliver Venice from a plague that had claimed 45,000 lives (1/3 of the city). We never got over to that side of the canal to see the inside of it, but by then we had seen so many churches, we were fairly "churched out".

We were also pretty tired of museums by the time we got to Venice, so we didn't go into the Accademia (above) either.

More gondolas on the Grand Canal.

One of the many smaller canals, taken from a footbridge that crosses it.

A close-up of that "mystery" building again. I wish we could remember!

More gondolas on the Grand Canal.

More of the Grand Canal.

I'm not sure, but I think this was a hotel.

These next pictures are all from the gondola ride we took one evening...

Me, Kathy and our gondola non-singing driver We should have asked if he would before we got on board. Oh well. It was still a nice ride.

Marco Polo's house...or at least that's what the driver told us.

Shops lit up along the side of one of the smaller canals.

A restaurant. I think this is where we ended up having dinner.

Just another restaurant, but I like the lights and the reflections in the water.

A large group (two gondolas) of people going for a ride getting a rather elaborate serenadewith a guitar and a accordian. (Usually they just sing.)

The Grand Canal...and a gondola, of course.

I wish one of us could remember what this is!

Me and Kathy in the Gondola we rode in. And no, we didn't plan on matching; it was purely a coincidence.

We were walking along and happened upon this cat just sitting there...and of course there was a gondola too.

Being tired of museums by the time we got to Venice, this was the only one we both wanted to visit, but we never did! I thought Kathy was tired of museums and visa-versa and neither of us told the other we were interested in it. :-( Anyhow, it is full of modern art by Peggy Guggenheim.