Italy Trip - 18, Venice B

Hi, This would be our last day of touring in Venice. We decided to see some of the sights we needed to reach by vaporetto.

Our first stop was at the Rialto Bridge.

Here are two vaporettos and a gondola on the grand canal.

Even ambulances are boats.

A side canal of the Grand Canal has a church on the corner.

The Grand Canal junctions with the Canale Della Giudecca in the vicinity of St. Marks Square.

Many of the side canals emptying in to the main canals are bridged (above and two below). It was bridges like these that we lugged our luggage over to get to our hotel on our arrival.

After lunch we headed for the Jewish Museum on a street off this side canal.

On of the buildings comprising the museum once was a synagogue (above and two below).

We then continued up to the railroad station so I could take some train photos. This street performer was playing on the plaza outside the station.

The trip back to our hotel provide additional opportunities to photograph the interesting buildings.

including St. Marks Square with the Doges Palace on the right.

We enjoy markets for their color and frequent human interest.

The streets in Venice frequently are quite narrow.

We like to photograph doorways and window treatments.

A couple of more photos were taken as we wandered around Venice.

The night before we left Venice we took a vaporetto on the Grand Canal.

Thanks for looking.

Italy Trip - 17, Venice, A

Hi, Venice was the final port on our cruise in April and early May of 2016. We elected to spend three additional nights there before flying home.

We took a vaporetto (water bus) from the airport to the hub at St. Marks Square. There were a number of kiosks there selling tourist items including masks.

Walking to our hotel from here with our luggage we had to cross some foot bridges. It was a trek.

As in most European cities, flowers are used profusely to decorate windows.

A gondola serves as a ferry to cross the Grand Canal (above and below).

The white building is a theater next door to our hotel.

This was our first view of the Grand Canal.

Ruthe and I took a walk which provided numerous opportunities to photograph gondolas negotiating the canals.

We encountered this interesting door knocker.

This awning (above) protected the entrance to a building (below).

This is a typical square.

These musicians were playing for the customers of an outdoor restaurant fronting on St. Marks Square and

a street artist sketched people.

Some views from St. Marks Square (above and two below).

There were a few yachts docked along the larger waterways.

In addition to vaporettos speed boats functioned as water taxis.

We took a vaporetto on the Grand Canal and the Canalle Della Giudecca (above and below).

We found the architecture in Venice very interesting.

The next morning we explored the Grand Canal. There was a lot of commercial traffic.

To be continued. Thanks for looking.

Italy Trip - 16, Ravenna, Italy

Hi, Ravenna, Italy was the next to last stop on our cruise. The city is known for the mosaics in its religious structures.

We took a bus from the port, which the ship ran as a shore excursion, into town and then walked to one of the famous churches (above and four below).

The church we visited was the Basilica di San Vitale (above and 11 below). It is UNESCO World Heritage site, one of eight structures listed in Ravenna.

We took many photos of the mosaics. Here are some of them (above and five below). They were all over, on the ceilings, floors, and columns.

When we returned to the ship we noticed these large structures at the port with huge fishing nets. We believe they are used by commercial fishermen.

Thanks for looking.