Venice: Day 4

Happy Easter! I brought the kids Lindt chocolate bunnies to celebrate Easter in Venice. We left their baskets in Zurich and everyone is hoping the Easter Bunny paid a visit and they'll be able to find a basket of goodies when we return.



We started out the morning with a gondola ride. It's expensive for what you get, but how can you go to Venice and NOT ride a gondola? We all enjoyed the ride and it was fun to see the city from the perspective of the water instead of the sidewalks.



For lunch, we hiked around the city until we found a quiet, fairly empty bench area for a picnic. It ended up being out by the naval base, which we can't even find mention of it in the guidebooks. The pigeons here a bit more gourmet than those from home and really enjoy cheese scraps.

After a quick bathroom break at the apartment and a stop for gelato (we've averaged 1.67 gelato purchases per person per day), we toured St. Mark's Cathedral. There is always a huge line that wraps around the church, but there is a little known secret. You see, no backpacks are allowed inside. Typically, you wait in line with the pack and then get sent to the bag check around the corner. You bypass the line upon your return by flashing the token they give you. We hit the bag check first and then just bypassed the line altogether.

The church has an amazing collection of mosaics. They are stunning. No photography was allowed in the church, but I'd say the majority of people can't read or just ignored the signs. We were able to tour the balcony and look outside at St. Mark's Square.



We even saw the original bronze horses. They've been stolen throughout history, but somehow Venice claims they are the rightful owner. These horses are around 2,000 years old!



We stopped in the square to hear the bells and see this clock in operation. Supposedly, the statues only bang the bell on Easter. It was the world's first digital clock. The artist who made it was rewarded by having his eyes punched out so that he couldn't go on to create anything more beautiful.



We then went back to the apartment to get ready for dinner. The apartment has been very handy for drop in visits. The plan was to go to Oniga, a recommended restaurant from our tour guide on the first day. Not wanting to walk an hour to find a full restaurant again, we proactively called to make a reservation. The only available time was 7pm. It was perfect for us. Thank goodness we made the reservation as there was a line at the door when the restaurant opened and all of the couples without reservations were turned away. The food, wine and atmosphere were fantastic. We would definitely would recommend the restaurant.

We caught a Vaporetta (boat bus) on the way home. Once again, the ticket counter was closed, so we got a free ride. It pays to find obscure vaporetta stops that aren't frequented by the average tourist.

Here's the link to all the trip photos again.