After resting for a while yesterday afternoon, and viewing the Giro d'Italia stage on the box, we set out to have a look around and then find somewhere to eat. The alleyways were clogged full of people, a lot of them heading away from the centers of interest, perhaps having been to one or other of the musical concerts that are on at the moment. We eventually reached the Rialto bridge over the Grand Canal and it was absolutely chock full of sightseers. Crossing to the other side we proceeded through the city but planned to leave going to the Piazzo San Marco for tomorrow's adventure.
We wandered on and gradually lost most of the crowds finding ourselves in what appeared to be a blind alley so we thought that we would have to turn back and find a different way. Just then a middle-aged guy was walking towards us and called out that we could get through that way and he was, in fact doing just that. So we walked along with him and started chatting, discussing our interests in Venice and that we were also looking for a place for dinner.
As we walked, we were shown buildings of interest which are not on the general tourist trail, such as the Chiesa dei Miracoli (Church of miracles). He then showed us the public hospital which is a very impressive building which one would not think of as a hospital. We went inside and walked around through the ground floor rooms and also the cloisters which were built when the building (or part of it) was a Monastery. The hospital is still attached to a church and one of the cloisters belongs to the church, the other to the hospital. He also took us to the far end which had been constructed as a Lazarette during the plague years. Inside this is an imposing church frontage which has black marble columns. The central columns are in good condition but the end ones, which abut onto the brick walls, have suffered badly from the salts which have been drawn up through he bricks. Many walls of buildings show this sort of damage and it is very expensive to repair.
Earlier in our walk with Umberto, for such was his name, he had also shown us windows which had been filled in and turned into wall because the building had sunk some way. This also is quite common around Venice with many older buildings suffering the same fate.
After visiting the hospital, on coming outside we were surprised to find that it was starting to rain, if only quite lightly for the present. We continued on more quickly as Umberto was anxious to get home before getting too wet, and he gave us directions to find his restaurant recommendation. Unfortunately, when we got there we were told that they were booked out so had to find somewhere else. We didn't have to go far to find one that was of a good standard, even if the menu was in four languages (a sure sign that they are catering for the tourist trade).
As we had chatted to Umberto he divulged that he had been to Aus at least twice. He also said he had worked for Alitalia and from the extent of his travels etc we deduced that he had probably been a flight attendant who was now retired. If it hadn't been for the Trochetti strike, we would not have met Umberto or had such an interesting conversation. He gave us at least a half hour of his time and also told us of another church worth visiting (Santa Maria del Frari) which has some interesting carvIngs.
After dinner we had quite a way to walk to get back to our hotel in Santa Croce district and it was raining quite steadily. Undaunted we set off but along the way we encountered an itinerant umbrella seller and I bought one for €5 (to match the one back in the hotel room ;-).
By the time we got back we were quite wet regardless (it was about a half hour walk) so had to strip off and hang clothes in the bathroom to, hopefully, dry out.
This morning after breakfast we set out in fine weather, in much less crowded ways, heading for the Rialto bridge again and Piazza San Marco. Along the way we passed by the church of Santa Maria del Frari. The door being open, I went in and had a good look around. They had signs up prohibiting photo taking but I was able to see all of the statuary and the elaborately carved choir stalls. As I came out they were just setting up the ticket office so it seems I just walked in at the right time.
When we arrived at Piazza San Marco there were already lots of people there but we were able to see the architecture of all of the impressive buildings. After that we headed back through the city taking a different, and more meandering, path which brought us to the Piazza San Giovanni and Paolo where we stopped and had a coffee. We had to be back at he hotel to check out by noon so headed back without hurry. Along the way we passed Saturday Markets along near the Grand Canal and also passed the Fish Market (we needed no street signs to to let us know this). Almost opposite the Fish Market is the Ca' da Mosto which was at one time owned by the ancestors of Francesco da Mosto (who has done three BBC2 TV series). Apparently it now sits empty because the canal water has breached its basement.
After packing up at the hotel and checking out, we went over the bridge to Piazzale Roma to find us a taxi to take us to our next hotel in Mestre. This marks the official start of our cycle tour from Venice to Florence starting at The Hotel President in Mestre tomorrow morning. After checking in there we went out to find a Laundromat (Auto-Lavanderia) which the receptionist told us should be along a street behind the hotel. Sure enough we found it and after putting our clothes into a machine we headed along the street to find a snack bar for lunch. A nice lady toasted a panino for each of us which we had with a cold drink by which time the washing was almost done. Another half hour for drying and then back to the hotel.
Later we will head into Mestre Centro to find somewhere for dinner.
