Once again, getting up was a little tough. We had a tour of the Doge’s Palace scheduled at 11:35, and again I heard the question: “How much did we pay?” But it’s my birthday and that was the last English-speaking tour for the day, so we put it in high gear. We ran in right on the minute and managed to find our group (thank goodness they gave us stickers and we knew what to look for) just as the tour got underway.
This was the Secret Itineraries Tour, which takes you to areas the general public doesn’t get to see. In fact, someone tried to follow when our guide opened the iron gate, and she had to shoo himoff.
First she explained that the Palace of the Doge (head of power in 16th-Century Venice) was built around the prison. Which seems kind of odd. The Tower of London was built the same way, and we thought that was odd, too.
First stop was going down to the cells, which were tiny and cramped, built of stone, with no fresh air or sunlight, and no lavatory. Pretty disgusting place. What’s more, the cell doors are tiny so that prisoners would have to stoop way down to enter or exit. Each was labeled with a Roman numeral carved upside down in order to confuse anyone who tried to escape.
Then we went upstairs into the secret rooms that were only accessed by the Inquisitors and Judges under the Doge. We saw their wood-paneled offices, which could also be accessed via secret doors from inside the Palace.
Of particular interest was the torture room (executions were held outside in public), where prisoners were strung up with their arms behind their backs until they confessed. This was done at night, with other prisoners moved to nearby waiting cells so that they could hear the screams. Like several rooms in the prison, it was specifically designed for intimidation. Windows were arranged so that the victim was illuminated in moonlight, but the three judges were obscured in shadow.
If the prisoner confessed early, he was treated with a massage, a good meal, and wine. And then back to torture again soon enough. A doctor examined them to see who was fit for torture and who wasn’t. The unfit got to listen.
The highlight of the tour were the upstairs cells (and nicer part of the prison) once occupied by the Palace’s most famous guest, Casanova, who was arrested for spying for the French. He spent a year in one cell digging through the wooden floor under his bed (prisoners had to supply their own furniture) in an attempt to escape. He’d just about dug his way through when he was moved to another cell for “good behavior.” He almost got in trouble when his guard discovered the hole,until Casanova pointed out the he’d done it for ayear without being noticed. Which didn’t reflect well on his lazy guard.
He eventually escaped from his second cell with the help of a renegade priest who was in the next cell. They dug through the ceiling, climbed into the Palace from the roof, took a nap, and cleaned themselves up with some better clothes. When the guarda opened the gates the next morning, they claimed to be a couple of noblemen locked inside and strolled right out the front gate the next morning posing as noblemen who’d accidentally been locked in for the night.
Once we finished the tour, we were free to do the general admission part, which was self-guidedand led you through the rest of the Palace, another part of the prison, and across the Bridge of Sighs. We were planning to meet up with Michael afterwards, but he surprised us by joining us inside the palace. We saw one palatial room after another, their Supreme Court, displays of swords and armor (including two early machine guns), and more. All filled with beautiful paintings and incredible architecture.
Last stop was the Bridge of Sighs, which crosses over a canal and joins the Palace to the Prison.It was so named because its small window provided the convicted their last look at freedom on their way to incarceration.
On that happy note, we headed back to St. Mark’s Plaza for lunch at one of the tiny cafes. We’d heard this was ridiculously expensive (location, location, location), but it wasn’t that bad. The drinks were, but the sandwiches were reasonable. A dadgum seagull stole half my sandwich as thewaiter was handing it to me, then got into a fightwith some more gulls over who got to eat it. Michael had to go wash up, so our waiter provided a net-like cloche to keep it protected.
Afterwards, we headed off down the narrow streets in search of a gondola. I’d read that even though there’s an official price, the gondoliers tend to charge more in the busy season and that we might have to pay more. So we went searching forone well off the Grand Canal. I’m thinking now that that this may no longer be true (or we just got lucky) because our guy quoted the standard price.
Let me tell you, those things are not very stable and it was tricky to get in and out. Yes, it’s a very touristy thing to do, but you’re in Venice! How can you not? And yes, it was a fantastic experience! We marveled at how well our gondolier (who’d been doing it for ten years, from a line of gondoliers) controlled the boat, maneuvering through the canals, shouting to the other gondoliers when turning a corner, and passing under bridges with barely an inch to spare. Definitely a magicalexperience. We loved every second of it.
Back on land, it was time for some gelato. So we went right back to the same shop we went to last night. Got the same flavors, too. And yes, it was quite delicious!
We still had a few hours for dinner, so it was time for exploring. After researching Venice in preparation for our trip, I’d found a few interesting sights to see. The challenge was finding them. Venice is like a big, wonderful maze, full of canals, bridges, and dead ends. The GPS on our phones helped (we put Michael in charge), but sometimesthe streets are so narrow and close together youcan easily be on the wrong one.
After trekking for a good while (sometimes in thewrong direction), we found our way to stop #1, which was the Acqua Alta Libreria (High Water Bookshop). Many of their book displays are built from boats, bathtubs, and other floating vessels. They even have a gondola full of books in the middle of the store. In the back is s staircase madeof books, where people lined up to snap photos.
Next stop was a clothing store that caught our eyes as we passed. Not just because the clothes were cool (and made in Italy), but because everything was 15 euros or less. Every one of us came out with something.
Then we had to backtrack a bit to find the Ponte dei Conzafelzi bridge. It’s another favorite spot for photos because you have the perfect view of canals on either side of an old building. Looks just like a calendar photo. It’s really hard to take a bad picture here.
From there we went to the Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo Corteo, which is yet another favorite spot for photos due to the ornate circular staircase that runs up the outside of the building. They offer tours, but we’d gotten there ten minutes after closing. Some youngwomen in the courtyard we’re promoting a little concert there for tomorrow night. Not sure we’ll make it, but we took a brochure anyway.
Our last stop just before dinner (aside from the Venice Disney Store) was the Rialto Bridge. We’d seen it from the boat while coming in, of course, but was glad we finally made it over to see it up close. I hadn’t realized it had shops just like the Ponte Vecchio, but was a little smaller and more upscale.
We celebrated my birthday dinner at Da Mamo, which was down a narrow side street from the Disney Store. Had to wait for them to actually open, but they had our table reserved in the back. With my name on a table tent that also read “Happy Birthday.” I’d been dying for some shrimp, so I ordered some prawn meatballs as an appetizer, which were pretty good. Also had the Carbonar, which was good, but not as good as Luciano in Rome (no gold fork, either).
About halfway through the meal, they started playing “Happy Birthday,” but it was for someone else. Then a waiter checked my tabletent, so when they played it again, I knew it was for me.
We were worried about finding our way back since Michael’s phone battery was running low. Butthen I noticed some little yellow signs on every street that pointed the way to Saint Mark’s. We got back much quicker than it took to get there.
We stopped in the Piazza for a bit to enjoy the sights and listen to the music from the cafe bands. One of them did the entire soundtrack for Grease (instrumental, of course), which was a real crowd pleaser.
Had to call it a night earlier than usual because we have to get up early and take Madison to the airport. Sad to see her go, but she’s heading to Disneyland Paris to spend a couple of days with a friend before flying home to LA.
Ciao!
Our last stop just before dinner (aside from the Venice Disney Store) was the Rialto Bridge. We’d seen it from the boat while coming in, of course, but was glad we finally made it over to see it up close. I hadn’t realized it had shops just like the Ponte Vecchio, but was a little smaller and more upscale.
We celebrated my birthday dinner at Da Mamo, which was down a narrow side street from the Disney Store. Had to wait for them to actually open, but they had our table reserved in the back. With my name on a table tent that also read “Happy Birthday.” I’d been dying for some shrimp, so I ordered some prawn meatballs as an appetizer, which were pretty good. Also had the Carbonar, which was good, but not as good as Luciano in Rome (no gold fork, either).
About halfway through the meal, they started playing “Happy Birthday,” but it was for someone else. Then a waiter checked my tabletent, so when they played it again, I knew it was for me.
We were worried about finding our way back since Michael’s phone battery was running low. Butthen I noticed some little yellow signs on every street that pointed the way to Saint Mark’s. We got back much quicker than it took to get there.
We stopped in the Piazza for a bit to enjoy the sights and listen to the music from the cafe bands. One of them did the entire soundtrack for Grease (instrumental, of course), which was a real crowd pleaser.
Had to call it a night earlier than usual because we have to get up early and take Madison to the airport. Sad to see her go, but she’s heading to Disneyland Paris to spend a couple of days with a friend before flying home to LA.
Ciao!
More photos to come...
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