Venice, once again, Jan 2014

a lovely little Venetian scene in the apt we stayed in

St. Mark, the patron saint of shoemakers, heals a cobbler in Campo San Toma'

pretty alley scene in a nativity in a Venetian church. this was just a very small part of the whole "presepio"

A Tintoretto Last Supper, different than the normal scene, in church of San Trovaso

Having Saturday coffee with friends from Rome, Dublin and London

A typical Venetian scene on the Grand Canal

On the 18th century facade of Ca Rezzonico museum, one of many

Some ruins at the back of the Ca Rezzonico

Great Venetian view from top floor of Ca Rezzonico, nearest tower is San Barnaba

Lovely statue of St Christopher on a building facade next to the Accademia Museum. I don't miss a St. Christopher or  St. Matthew.

tranquility

Atmosphere (san marco)

 Enchantment (San Giorgio Maggiore just after dusk)

Intrigue (bridge of sighs)

  atrium of San Marco after closing time, and to think you haven't even stepped foot in the church yet!

Venice raw fish at its best, Saturday dinner

And a platter of cooked fish, all of which was delicious

masks, masks and more masks with ever increasing prices

the advantage of being there in January, campo San Toma' with Frari belltower, second tallest in Venice

 a weekend of rain which crept very close to the doorways

just a peek down the alley and viola' the bell tower of San Pantalon

two peaches on a column, site of where fruit was sold. Symbol of Confraternity of fruit and "persicata" merchants. Persicata was a peach perserve similar to quince.

fish market rules and selling sizes which still apply today

exquisite marble on the facade of the Frari church

just a teeny portion of the massive Frari church begun in 1330

a clever idea for your old Coca-Cola bottles

My favorite mask this trip

San Giovanni in Bragora, church where Vivaldi, the composer was baptized in 1678

our fun lunch stop at Il Covino

the weekend  Rome gang

San Giorgio Maggiore in the daylight as opposed to dusk

The Salute church from the vaporetto

more of that lovely marble on the Frari

delicious sardines for lunch on Friday

more delicious fish with white polenta

our cute and warm lunch stop in the rain

lovely triptych by Vivarini 1474, featuring St Mark and four saints in a wonderful frame

January in Venice!

our fun summer bar stop on the Grand Canal, not this weekend!

more of Saturday's dinner,  raw bay scallops, and razor clams

no end to the glasses and drink at dinner

something for everyone

Cute Cow looking for a home

and the corner pig wants to be adopted

We went with friends to Venice for the weekend. The excuse this time was to attend the biannual showing of the now famous British "panto" written and directed by our friend, Laurie Graham. This year it was "Jack and the Beanstalk". It is a fun event, all the money goes to a local charity, and a lot of Venetian ex-pats as well as some other regulars from England act in it.
Venice in January:  the city is serene and quiet, the fog is enchanting above the church domes and towers and there are no crowds to fight. One of our favorite restaurants was closed, as a lot of them take a break at this time of year. However that didn't stop us from extravagant, delicious eating and drinking  including trying two new fabulous restaurants which are now on our ever increasing list.
Was also fun to wander (yes, our umbrellas got a workout) with the "Secret Venice" book and click off a few more of the intricate details one never notices. This included: the hidden initials of Victor Emmanuel II on one of the bridges ( done during the Austian occupation), a brick heart in the sottoportego in the calle dei preti, a byzantine emperor in stucco, relief of la donna onesta, the chapel of the holy nail (not there!) in san pantalon, the game or spiritual symbol carved on a bench outside the scuola di San Rocco, the column and a half stucco on the san polo pharmacy, as well as others. All of this, plus a visit to the Frari and the Ca Rezzonico to see the Pietro Bellotti landscape exhibit (very nice) was on the weekend agenda. Pantos, dining, touring, spending time with wonderful friends had us running to our departure train with 10 whole minutes to spare.