A Day in Venice

Greetings from Taormina, Sicily! The satellite Internet on our ship has been so slow that I have not been able to post.  I may only be able to do so I have Wi-Fi onshore.

Accounts vary but it is generally thought that the islands comprising Venice were first settled in the 5th century when inhabitants of Northern Italy fled to the relative safety of the islands to escape marauders.  Our trans-Atlantic cruise to Ft. Lauderdale on Royal Princess began in Venice following an overnight onboard stay there.  We had an opportunity to visit some of the city’s most significant and historic sites.  Here are some of our favorite photos from that visit.  Enjoy!

Enjoy!

We first saw our ship as we flew into Venice.

                                                                     

We caught some of our best views of Venice as we sailed out of town. Here are
St. Mark's Square and the Doges Palace, which date from the 1400s.

Another view of the Square from our ship.

                     

Here the Grand Canal (top) meets the larger Canala Della Giudecca.

Another view as we sail out from Venice.

Our Captain snaked our way out of Venice through the city's canal system.  Considering
Royal Princess weighs in at 141,000 tons and more than 1,000 feet in length, that cant' be easy.

The Rialto Bridge spanning the Grand Canal is a must-see in Venice.

Here is a gondola loading point.

This is a somewhat disturbing, armless, pink, inflatable sculpture at a very visible location

 

Not sure what to say about this.

 

We stopped for Pizza at a restaurant located on the Grand Canal.





Kathie surveys the Grand Canal.

 

Another view of the Rialto Bridge as a gondola approaches to discharge passengers.

 

The busy two-mile Grand Canal of Venice.

Venice is not just canals - there are also busy streets and pedestrian corridors.

 

A view of St. Mark's Square - the Piazza San Marco.  It's much like the version
at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas - only bigger.
 

Another view of St. Marks Square.

 

A canal view with a procession of gondolas.

And another scenic canal view.

A view of our ship from the water shuttle we rode to St. Mark's Square.

Royal Princess as seen from the air.