Monday, October 13, Venice, Italy. Cruise day 9

It was absolutely thrilling to sail on our cruise ship up the canal past St. Marks Square as the mist rose over the city of Venice at dawn. The cruise line offered a vaporetto to St. Marks Square, but we opted to walk the approximately 20-25 minutes to the train station where we purchased a map, then walked about 40 minutes more to reach Piazza San Marco, taking pictures of pasta carts and markets, and marveling at Venetian life as we wandered through the narrow streets and over small bridges and canals.

St Marks was crowded, as usual, but not as bad as in the summer. It is ringed with hundreds of shops and stylish boutiques-there was no shortage of ways to spend money: jewelry, elegant hand painted masks, clothing, shoes, glass, art, and much more. But the day was beautiful and we bypassed most of the shops and took lots of pictures.

The purchase of a Museum Pass allowed entry to the Doges Palace and one other museum (without long waits) and then entered the Doges, the palace where "mayors" of Venice once lived and ruled with absolute authority. The building was a visual feast of fine art, gold staircases, carved, gilded ceilings, and art treasures everywhere. From there, we wandered across the Bridge of Sighs and descended into the former dungeons-a stark contrast to the lavish rooms above.

Exiting the Doges, we wandered past the 3-masted Italian naval training ship and through more picturesque streets and canals. Eventually we rested our aching feet by stopping at a small outdoor ristaurante, had pasta, and fed the pigeons. Recharged, we limped back to the ship about 12 hours after we'd left it, grateful to be off our feet. There was no theater show that evening.

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