Days Three and Four – Cesano Maderno, Verona, Venice

We woke up in Cesano Maderno and had our bags ready to be picked up by 7 a.m. After breakfast, we were told that we had time to participate in an impromptu tour of the palace on the grounds of Parco Borromeo. The palace was really interesting, and even though the art on the walls wasn’t painted by one of the “masters,” really, who knew? Unless you’re an art history aficionado, which we’re not, we were just impressed with the paintings and architecture.
After leaving the palace, we drove to Verona, home of the fictional Romeo and Juliet, but based on real historical figures. The word that kept coming to me as we explored Verona was “charming.” I really wish we could have spent more time here. There was an arena, not as large as the Roman Colliseum, but still impressive. We saw Juliet’s balcony, and enjoyed walking along the narrow streets. In a moment of gushy romanticism, I added our names and wedding date to the wall of lovers where thousands of others had declared their love for their mate. I may have even saved a relationship as I loaned my pen to a gentleman who had come unprepared to sign the wall with his wife or girlfriend.
Too soon, we were back on the bus, but who could complain because we were headed to Venice! Ah, Venice. Remember that line from “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?” I saw that movie at the theatre 23 times (yes, there was a reason for that – but listen to the podcast where I talk more about it). Our hotel in Venice was right on the Grand Canal, and it was indeed grand. We stayed at the Hotel Carlton Grand Canal, and our room had two windows. It was wonderful to sleep with the fresh air, and we also got a chuckle at the authentic Italian laundry hung from the windows of a neighboring building.
We unpacked and spent the evening exploring near the hotel, and took a water taxi over to the Rialto Bridge for a little shopping. We had a wonderful dinner at Ristorante Terrazza Sommariva, and this was definitely our best dinner of the entire trip, from the caprese salad to the tiramisu. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.
The next morning we took a private water bus to meet our local guide at the Piazza San Marco. We paused for a group photo op in front of Vivaldi’s church on the way. I loved hearing the church bells ring out from the bell tower at St. Mark’s, and we enjoyed the tour of the church immensely. I find it curious that the ones who stole Mark’s body from Egypt to bring it to Venice believed that God had instructed them to do so (I believe that God doesn’t contradict His own word), but the monument to Mark was quite impressive. After the tour of the Basilica, we spent an extra 30 minutes getting a demonstration from a glass blower. The nearby island of Murano is famous for its glass, but unfortunately, we didn’t have time to visit that island. I did pick up some authentic Murano glass jewelry and a Christmas ornament, though.
We were set free for personal time after that, and of course, I had to find the new Hard Rock Cafe, and the LellaBella Yarn Store. The Cafe was a little easier to locate, just behind the San Marco Piazza, but wandering the alleys of Venice looking for a yarn store was a little more difficult. We knew we were in the right area, and at least on the right little island, but took a different bridge and had to backtrack. When we found the shop, it was a mere 15 steps from where we’d just been. (We found this to happen more than once when trying to find something specific!)
After shopping, Steve and Ginger and Robert and I decided to make a quick trip back to the hotel to drop off our packages before meeting back at the Basilica for our concert. Unfortunately, we had a language issue trying to get back to St. Mark’s in time for the concert, but Ginger the Navigator figured out our water taxi route and we got there with 5 minutes to spare! Our choir performed 4 hymns during a celebration of Mass at St. Mark’s, and it was awesome. The acoustics in the Basilica were amazing, and the people really seemed to respond to our music. We were truly blessed to be a part of that experience. We had another dinner with Steve and Ginger, and Eddie and Brenda, and Steve deviated from authentic Italian food and ordered french fries. How insane was that?!

Next up: Pisa and Florence