Day 2

This post is a bit behind since we've been off the map a bit. But on Wednesday we woke up leisurely, had a great breakfast at the hotel and headed up to the rooftop pool and took in what Rick Steves calls “the best view of Venice”.

We headed across the water and began an afternoon of wandering with the end goals being San Marco and Teatro la Fenice. On the walk we headed down and through the many alleys that call to your curiosity as a traveler. We found a ton of little shops and John purchased a beautiful murano glass ring with shades of blue and gold for me.

Eventually we came upon San Marco, and amazing church of mixed byzantine- gothic architecture. The exterior façade is a gorgeous white marble, candy speckled multi-colored columns of marble and other natural stone. We did not have to pay to view the inside and it would have been worth a fee. Like standing inside a precious stone miners’ cave, the walls and ceilings were dark, but still shimmered with gold, sapphire, emerald, and ruby -colored tile mosaics depicting various scenes from the bible, and interpretations of Jesus’ resurrection. The floor appeared as an ornate tapestry, with painstakingly cut, and placed marble stones. Amazing.

We grabbed a hasty bite before heading to the opera- crazy that microwave re-heated risotto with fish and prosciutto could taste as good as it did!

Teatro La Fenice is true to it’s name after being burned to the ground twice; the theater is alive and thriving with classic productions. Don Giovanni was both John’s and my first experience with opera, and while the language barrier was a bit daunting at points, we came away with a deep appreciation for the unrelenting hard work that the singers/actors put into their artform.
We ended the evening back at the hotel with a few shared cocktails on the rooftop bar staring at an incredibly still moon and sky, like a moody watercolor .

Comment from John: "Although it's 2 hours and 45 minutes into the performance, there is actually something for the guys ;) "