A Gondola Ride in St Mark’s in Venice

 Who would say no to a gondola tour through St Mark’s sestiere? Certainly not me, and I am grateful to Italy XP for the special experience of a quiet ride in a gondola on the small canals away from the crowds and noise near the Doge’s Palace and St Mark’s Cathedral. Near Campo San Moisi we boarded our gondola and for the next thirty minutes I felt as if I had been transported to another world.  

 Experiencing Venice from the perspective of sea level brings an entirely different meaning and feeling to being in Venice. As we slowly glided past Rio de La Veste and beneath the footbridge near Pescina di Frezzaria, I enjoyed seeing inside the lower levels of the ancient buildings while noticing fresh petunias and geraniums blooming on balconies above.  

  

Of course the typical scenes of laundry hanging piqued my interest and necessitated shooting more photos, since each scene is different.

The tide was low since none of the door frames were sitting in water. The gargoyles above the doors held a story and occasionally someone was sitting in a window high above.

 
Sailing past Ristorante da Raffaele, we soon emerged into the Grand Canal for the last part of this lovely ride. Once again to see the Venetian churches and palazzos at sea level instead of from a bridge or a vaporetto created a new perspective for me, and the views were incredible.

Following our gondola ride our friendly and knowledgeable guide walked us through more alleys of Venice from St Mark’s to Rialto, passing through Castello.

 We stopped in Campo San Anzolo where young lovers strolled with their gelatos and we had a brief history lesson about the importance of the wells and cisterns in Venice.

Admiring the rooftop terraces we continued to Corte Contarini del Bovolo where the uniquely-shaped castle stood. When we passed by Teatro La Fenice we could even hear one of the male opera singers rehearsing for tonight’s performance.

Thank you Italy XP for this amazing afternoon in Venice.