Venice, Second Evening

I returned to the hotel after the Doge's Palace, where my wife took advantage to sneak off to the Geusati church. I got a little shuteye in before the kids woke up and my wife returned. We all had a snack and then headed out for more adventures. We wandered through many streets in Venice.

Mommy and Jacob on some random bridge

Lucy hangs out by a canal

The family with the Ponte dell'Accademia

We saw a sign that was funny to me, mostly because it was in English and not Italian. Somehow, I think it was written for Americans.

That ledge is pretty small for sitting on

We enjoyed seeing various boats on the water.

Kayaking? Uncle Nate would be at home!

This boat seemed inaccessible to us

We were worried they would have to duck

The kids found a fresh water fountain that another girl was playing with and they couldn't resist getting in on the action.

Water, water everywhere AND some drops to drink!

We also saw a building undergoing major renovation.

The Gritti Palace, soon to be less gritty

Another big boat caught our attention, mostly because it had tug boats on the front and the back of it.

The tug that pulls

The tug that pushes?

And we saw the safest spot to stop on the Vaporetto.

Seems a little cheeky to name a dock after the Holy Spirit

Our ultimate destination turned out to be Santa Maria Della Salute, the Basilica of Good Health. Presumably she is set out at the end of the city as a comfort to arriving travelers, be they merchants, homeward-bound warriors, or pilgrims. The church is rather spectacular looking by Venetian standards, since it sits in a spot easily seen from many directions by land and by sea.

More on this church in a later post (we made it inside the next day!)

Finally, we returned to a restaurant near our hotel. Being Friday, we parents had fish while the kids enjoyed carbonara. I had gnocci for my first course and fried scampi for my second course. The shrimp were just split down the middle, so I ate them while they looked back at me with a "how could you?!?" look in their eyes. Lucy was very curious and asked lots of questions. My wife had seafood linguine and then a fried eel that did not look like an eel. She didn't have the issues that I had. The meal was quite pleasant.

Eventually, the children's patience wore out and they started climbing on the fake wall between us and the bar. It didn't fall down or anything but there were some close calls. My wife took the children outside while I paid the bill.

After dinner was done, we headed out for Lucy's last pre-bedtime request: Ice cream. We had another round of gelato. Jacob got a cookie. We ate our gelato on a nearby bench while Jacob entertained us and passers-by with his rendition of the Beatles' I Am the Walrus. It was very dramatic and ranged all over the small piazza.

We finally went back up to our rooms for a good night's sleep before the next day, when we'd travel to Verona.