Last Full Day in Venice

This is part of a look back at our time in Italy last December. The post below follows this one.

On our last full day in Venice, I went to breakfast with N at a little cafe around the corner from our apartment. It was very European: Croissants and coffee/hot chocolate, and it was perfect.

Then S and I went out exploring since Chris and N wanted some down time. The weather was gorgeous. Chilly, but so pretty. Lots of others were also out, but since it was the off season, the walkways were easy to navigate. We headed towards Piazza San Marco, but first we went to Libreria Acqua Alta, a unique bookstore full of new and used books that are displayed on bookshelves, as well as in bathtubs and, notably, a gondola, so that when the city floods, the books won’t get damaged. You can read a bit about the store here. S definitely enjoyed seeing some of the store’s resident cats.

We made our way to Piazza San Marco and the Basilica di San Marco and Palazzo Ducale, which had a huge Christmas tree out front. We didn’t tour inside, as that’s not something we felt a strong need to do, but many people understandably do.

A bit of history:

The story of St. Mark's Basilica was a calculated move rooted in controversy. In 828 AD, Venetian merchants stole the relics of St. Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria, Egypt. (Nowhere near Venice!) It was a strategic move to elevate the status of Venice to near that of Rome. Since Venice was a manufactured city, it didn’t have religious legitimacy behind it. “Acquiring” St. Mark's relics contributed to Venice's rise as a major trading power in the Mediterranean.

Later, plundered treasures from Constantinople were brought back during the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204), which further enhanced the basilica's decor and enriched Venice's stature. This helped Venice become a center of art and architecture during the Middle Ages.

Poor S almost got dive bombed by pigeons, and we saw one swoop down and steal food right from someone’s hands. S was ready to bolt after that, so we didn’t linger in the square, but it was nice to have seen it. I love all of the huge plazas across Europe and Latin America. There’s something so lovely about a grand space meant to bring people together.

I went out on my own walk that afternoon in a new-ish direction; it was glorious.

For dinner we all went to a place Chris had found with delicious steak. It’s worth mentioning that he discovered our server was Albanian and this piqued Chris’ interest, so he asked him some questions. In another life that would’ve been the end of things but, of course, now we live in Albania, so…it’s funny how life is all connected.

And with that, it was time to pack our bags (with our clean and dry laundry, LOL) for our trip back to Rome and beyond!