D161 -- GS, it's my birthday

On my 30th birthday Thomas took me to Vegas, and I remember walking though The Venetian hotel. Now, two years later, we're celebrating my birthday in the REAL Venice! I am one lucky woman.

Trying to start my 32nd year off right, we walked to a gym down the street, passing a floating vegetable market on the way. I love this place! I worked out there while Thomas went for a short run. I sure hope we can start getting our level of activity to keep pace with our eating. Speaking of which...lunch at Trattoria da Fiore was oh so good! The highlight was a delicious insalata caprese with the freshest cherry tomatoes bathed in olive oil and herbs.

Our after-lunch plan was to hit the “must-see” sights today, and as we walked closer to the famous Piazza San Marco the crowds thickened. Ah! Here's the annoying, touristy part of Venice, complete with the only smelly canal I've come across. We made it through all the bodies to the piazza and got our first glimpse of St. Mark's.


It's something else: a massive, squat-looking building in a mix of architectural styles and materials. The other three sides of the square are each different from one another, and then there's the big campanile sticking out in front of the area between St. Mark's and the Doge's palace. All of this gives a slightly mishmash feel to the whole piazza. The square itself is huge, and filled with tourists and pigeons and tourists with pigeons on their heads. Haven't these people heard of bird flu?


We saved the church for later and went to the Palazzo Ducale, or Doge's Palace, instead. The Doge was a powerful figurehead-
politician elected for life by the noblemen of Venice during its time as a Republic (700-1797). His power was limited by various elected governing bodies and courts, all of whom worked out of his palace. It was like the White House, the Supreme Court, Senate, and federal prison combined. Even Thomas was impressed with the palace, and at this point of our trip that's saying a lot. Many of the rooms were gigantic as they had to accommodate hundreds of politicians, and the ceilings and walls were covered in beautiful murals and paintings. The place exuded a sense of grandeur and glorified the Republic. There were many allusions to the naval and military prowess of Venice, such as depictions of Neptune giving gifts to the city, paintings of important battles, etc. I particularly liked the numerous allegorical paintings, which were supposed to guide the republic and its politicians: peace, justice, etc. We have Liberty in NYC and Justice outside the Supreme Court, but perhaps it would help to redecorate other important buildings in DC with allegorical paintings. I can think of a couple I'd like to paint in the oval office...



In the evening, Thomas took me to a nice birthday dinner and we walked through the quite, charming streets away from all the hustle and bustle of St. Mark's. I really feel for the folks who come to Venice and never make it far from that square. They're really missing out!

-Elva

P.S. Thanks, family & friends, for the birthday e-mails and calls!