Happy Thanksgiving! We had a wonderful holiday in Venice, one that we’ll remember forever. It started early, when the alarm went off at 6am. We dressed very warmly and went up to the Panorama Buffet. It was still dark out, but we could see the pilot boat leaving the ship, so we knew the pilot was on board. We had breakfast and then, when it became a bit light outside, went up to Deck 12 to watch as the Pacific Princess passed Sant Elena.
Just as Captain Slight had predicted last night, we reached St. Mark’s Square at exactly 7:15am. He had also said sunrise would be about the same time…but it was well hidden behind a heavy layer of clouds. In fact, the air was at that saturation point right on the borderline between a light mist falling and not, and it stayed that way most of the day. Still, even on a grey day, a sail into Venice is a spectacular day.
The first light of day revealed a soggy Venice
St. Mark’s Square, the Doges Palace and the Bridge of Sighs
The Church of Santa Maria Della Salute
Church of Santa Maria Del Rosario that we visited later in the day
Either moving or remodeling...life in Venice is complicated. A truck on a barge to get things to your house.
We arrived at the maritime port by 8am, but the ship wasn’t cleared by the local authorities until about 8:20am. And that’s when we walked off, knowing exactly where to go to get to Piazzale Roma. We decided today that the port of Venice one of the most user unfriendly ports in existence. It takes a good 30 minutes to get from a ship to Piazzale Roma if skipping the People Mover, and using that might add or subtract 5 minutes or so, depending on the wait. If port security was moved closer to the Grand Canal, and if the People Mover went right to security, it would save passengers a good deal of time.
Once at Piazzale Roma, we bought a one day pass for the AGTV public transit (vaporettos, buses and trams…but not the People Mover) for €20 each and immediately took a vaporetto over to Giudecca, an area we’d not ever visited. While we were there, we checked out the Hilton Stucky for a possible future stay. It is a beautiful property.
Raised platforms for a flooded Venice
A colorful produce display in Giudecca
These little shrines built into walls are found everywhere in Italy
From there we took a vaporetto across the Giudecca Canal to the Church of Santa Maria Del Rosario. We have passed this church on the ship every time we’ve sailed into or out of Venice and had never been inside. Well, it cost €3 and photos weren’t allowed, but it was absolutely spectacular. Next we took a vaporetto to St. Mark’s Square. We wanted to hear the noon bells at St. Mark’s Campanile. At about this time, G said my mom had responded to a photo he had texted her, so I knew she was awake an I called her using Vonage (For 1 cent per minute! Get the app!!) and we had a nice Thanksgiving Day chat.
Although we hadn’t had to walk through water, water was lapping up over the sidewalks, so that we would stay close to the buildings if the sidewalk was narrow to avoid getting splashed. Still, we were frozen by then, so cold that, when we boarded vaporetto line 1 to follow the Grand Canal back to Piazzale Roma, we actually sat inside where we couldn’t take photos. We returned to the ship and recharged our iPhones and drank warm beverages for 45 minutes or so, and then headed back out again.
Bridge of Sighs
Fashionable Italian footwear for a flooded Venice
Accademia Bridge over the Grand Canal
Choppy water on the Grand Canal
Gondola parking
Note his traditional hat lying in the gondola
By the time we returned to the Pacific Princess at 5:15pm, we had walked nearly 28,000 steps and ridden on at least six vaporettos, not bad for two people who really had no formal plan for the day.
G stuck with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and said the turkey was delicious. I had shrimp and scallops and felt the same way. He had pumpkin pie with maple pecan ice cream for dessert; I had mango sorbet. Following dinner, he went to the Cabaret Lounge to get seats for tonight’s special performance by the Venetian Chamber Orchestra (we had seen them before and loved them) while I went back to the cabin to finalize my packing. I joined him for the concert, and afterward we returned to the cabin where I sat on the bed while he finalized his packing.
Holiday display in the Atrium
The decorated Club Bar
Tomorrow at this time we’ll be in Dubai. After being cold every day for the past week, I am almost entirely certain I will not be cold again until we return home in February.
Life is good. :-)
I will not be publishing posts each night during our time in Dubai, but will do a bit of catch up when we get to Singapore. I’m not sure if they will be daily posts, or simply a composite of our time there. It’s just a bit of an anniversary break to focus on my husband instead of my blog. ;-)
I will sleep well tonight (I hope)!