DAY 3: 10,000+ Steps, Casanova, Vecchi Amicis & Naked People

Quote of the day:  "I don't understand why these Italians were so into naked people."-- EM upon viewing a statue at the Guggenheim Museum of a very anatomically correct and excited man on a horse.

Venetians clearly love dogs, but they're not overly thrilled
about sharing them with others. Luckily, Vanessa's
owner was not like others we met along the way.

VM:  We started our day trying to figure out how to get across the Grand Canal.  Our apartment is on one side, the Piazza di San Marco and the Doge's Palace (which is where we were trying to go) was on the other. Clearly we couldn't swim across, but we also were reluctant to take the Vaporetto (water ferry) because it was LITERALLY across the way. That's where the 10,000+ steps came in. We just decided to huff it and ended up doing so all day. As Venice is a labyrinth of canals with pedestrian bridges it was a great way to get somewhat "lost" without ever being lost at all.

Morning traffic jam in Venice.

A beautiful morning for walking.

Upon the recommendation of another fellow traveler geek (shout out to Ryan Glidden!), we started our day with a behind-the-scenes tour at the Doge's Palace (literally the duke's palace). Originally built in the 1200s, this spot was the political and judicial hub for Venice back in the day, all greatly influenced by the church. This tour was cool as it took you "back of house" at a spot where many truly revered and feared the "front of house."

The tour required huffing it up five stories and also cutting some slack to our tour guide, who although knowledgeable, was wound a little tight. We learned that Venetian justice could be a bit tough.  Folks were publicly hanged or beheaded for infractions such as murder, religious crimes and littering.  Yes, you read correctly. Littering was a big no-no and frankly, I think smart on the part of the guys in charge (and they were ALL guys). What better deterrent for throwing your trash in the canal than seeing a fellow neighbor beheaded for that very infraction?! Yep, our guide assured us that Venice was very clean and nearly crime-free in those days.  I bet.

Our favorite part of the tour was the story of the real life Giacomo Casanova who had once been

imprisoned at the palace. Casanova was apparently brought in for questioning as many in the town "denunciated" him for adultery via secret boxes -- in other words, they called him out for being a womanizer. When the authorities investigated they learned Casanova had books on black magic & witchcraft, something much more agregious in the eyes of the super Catholic justices.  Sentenced to five years in prison, Casanova was essentially put in the Doge's Palace version of the "white collar crime" cell -- spacious, on the fifth floor, and allowed his own furniture.  All because he was wealthy.

Despite the star treatment, Casanova attempted an escape, digging a hole below his bed with a smuggled iron bar.  Lo and behold, the day he was going to escape, his guard came to him with a surprise -- a new cell! Thinking he was doing him a favor, the guard went to move the furniture and discovered the hole in the ground. Threatening to turn Casanova in, Casanova quickly turned the table and blackmailed the guard, telling him that if he turned him in, he would tell the authorities that he got the smuggled iron bar from the guard.  Needless to say, the guard stayed mum and even arranged to have the hole mended. Wealth has always had its privileges.

Casanova moved to a new cell where his cell neighbor was a priest. Yes, a priest. A priest with 12 children. That was his crime. Told you the church ran the whole show! Anyways, the duo conspired to escape again. The rich Casanova convinced the guards to buy a big Bible as a gift for the priest.  In it, Casanova hid the iron bar. Upon figuring out that the bar was STILL too big in the Bible and would be detected, Casanova arranged for a large plate of gnocchi to accompany the gift.  I guess the guards were fairly dimwitted or on the take, because they ended up passing it all along to the priest.

Net, net the priest dug the hole, freed Casanova & the two escaped via carriage all the way to Paris, France, selecting to travel around together after that.  I guess as fellow womanizers they just "got" each other. Casanova was later caught, but rather than bring him in for justice, the government made him a spy for the republic.

All in all, it was a fascinating story which captured all our imaginations even if some of it is exaggerated as the last detail we found out it was that the story was relayed by Casanova himself, in a book about his life. All in all, even if it was semi-true, it was still fun.

After the tour, we had the pleasure of meeting up with vecchi amicis (old friends), the O'Keefes, who live in Miami.  Pathetically, we can never seem to figure out schedules to see each other at home, it takes us going to Europe to get together! We enjoyed some overpriced sandwiches, wine & Cokes on the piazza San Marco where the kids went on the quest to feed the pigeons.  For the record, these pigeons seem well satisfied and are quite discerning over which bread crumbs they'll eat!

Have to travel around the globe to see ole' FL friends.

Picky, picky pigeons.

Masquerade in Piazza San Marco!

The O'Keefes had to depart early as they are on their way north to the lake region for a week-long sailing regatta where Liam (their oldest son) is competing on Team USA.  We're all pretty sure we'll see him in the Olympics or on the America's Cup someday...

Out on our own again, we decided to try a gondola ride.  Our gondolier even sang a bit in between stories, history quips and jokes in heavily-accented English.  We understood about every other line but he was charming nonetheless.

HM loving the Venice sites down the Grand Canal.

Although we didn't here O Solo Mio, our gondolier
still could carry a tune.

The back of one of Venice's oldest churches pointed out by
our gondolier -- St. Gregory! We said a prayer as we floated by in honor
of our OWN St. Gregory Parish & School.

Thought-provoking art at the Guggenheim.

After a quick pit stop at home to refresh and replenish, we decided to check out the Peggy

View from Peggy G.'s palazzo's front door to the Grand Canal.

The sculptor decided the naked rider was really enjoying his horse ride 

which horrified EM when she viewed him from the front 

(not pictured here for reasons of decorum & not wanting to permanently scar EM)

Guggenheim Museum which is very close to where we are staying.  Not typically a "museum" family, I was intrigued to check it out because of Peggy G. herself.  She didn't come into her own until almost 40, yet she was responsible for giving starts to such major modern artists such as Mark Rothko and particularly, Jackson Pollock. The museum has fascinating art from both those artists and others of renown including Dali, Ernst, Miro, Chagall and even Picasso. While I think I had a dubious crowd at first, who were simply indulging mom by visiting the museum, it ended up being neat to see and discuss some of these works. We still don't get more than half of them (I'm personally convinced Dali and Ernst were dropping acid) but it sparked fun conversation nonetheless.

Pollock owes a lot to Peggy Guggenheim.

Modern art CAN be cool. 

EM shares her Pollock knowledge, including his techniques, as she studied
him in art class thanks to Mrs. Loret!

The Griswolds couldn't help themselves as they admired artwork at the Guggenheim.

A favorite of all the family -- Empire of Light by Rene Magritte.
It juxtaposes night and day in one painting. It is a "surreal" painting
that we could all put our heads around -- sun typically brings clarity,
but juxtaposed against dark, you're not so sure it does.

And while she might have been a bit avant garde, we of course had a soft spot for Peggy G. as she was buried in the backyard garden of her palazzo (which is where the museum is now housed) with all her beloved dogs.


.

Peggy G. was buried next to her canine menagerie. We get her.

Not a welcome mat.

Evening brought our only semi-fail of the day. We set out to find a pizzeria recommended by our hostess, but couldn't figure it out. On the verge of having meltdowns from both HM & EM, we settled on a restaurant that although Trip Advisor reported decent ratings, was really nothing more than a tourist trap. It is the risk you take in this town as the town is FULL of tourists, even now, which is considered the off-season. In fact, our gondolier informed us that much of the graffiti around town (and there's quite a bit) is pretty much directed at us -- accusations of Ciao Fra were telling people like us to go home.  Apparently some locals are resentful of locals who rent apartments like where we're staying as they price them out of the local marketplace. Meanwhile rental owners like it because they get in one week what a typical Venetian local would pay in one month. 

Overall, I find the whole notion complex. I understand not wanting "commercialization" of Venice with too many international stores like Burberry and Bulgari, but at the same time, tourists bring money. While I understand at one point Venice was a vital commercial hub with major trading, I don't see what the Venetians would do today WITHOUT tourism.  But maybe I'm missing something.

To end the night on a better note after a dinner fail we wound back through the back alleys and bridges to make our way to a gelateria recommended by our hostess -- Gelateria Nico. And it was DELICIOUS!

Once again, I'm writing solo as jet lag and 10,000+ steps have claimed both the girls and JM.  As I write, everyone is snoring at 9:30PM local time.  More tomorrow!

Random pic of the day - even the doorbells
are cool in Venice.

Buonanotte!