Italy - Days 3 and 4

Day 3 – Venice
We checked out of our hotel in Como and headed to Venice for a quick day of sight seeing in Venice (very quick – about 2 ½ hours in the city). The soccer girls opted for a gondola ride while Dan and I and another mom opted for a personal tour of the city. We entered the outskirts of the city on the bridge of freedom and then took a 20 minute boat ride to San Marco Square where we began our tour. Maggie and I read The Thief Load for her book club this year (and watched the movie) so seeing the sights in person was really neat.

Winged Lion, symbol of Venice

San Marco Square was an incredible sight to see, but was filled with so many tourists. We saw the bell tower, the pillars with the winged lion (symbol of Venice) and the city clock. The city clock was a marvel in its day, showing not only the time, but displaying the time in 5 minute increments, much like a digital clock. It also shows the zodiac sign (month) and the phases of the moon. It is a legend of the city that to walk between the two towers is bad luck, and if you wish bad luck on someone, you would day “I wish you to see the time” as the clock is opposite the towers from the water.

San Marco’s Square

Outside San Marco’s Basilica is a statue of four Roman lords carved in a dark red stone. This stone is not native to Venice and is actually from the Constantinople. It was carved in 600 A.D., before Venice was even a city, and was brought there at a later date.

Roman Statues

San Marco’s church is indescribable, with the ceiling, walls and floor covered with glass and gold leaf mosaics. The church was begun in the 1360’s and the structure completed in the 1390’s. However, it took 400 years to complete the interior decoration of the church. The floor was covered with many different mosaic patterns, and it was warped and undulating from the ground beneath it settling. Because we had a private tour (our guide was a native of Venice), we were able to walk into the church without waiting in line. The ceilings, walls and floors are covered with this incredible art work. Pictures are not permitted inside the church. It was, in one word, amazing.

We ventured away from San Marco’s Square and into the quieter section of Venice lined with small hotels and residences and a few shops here and there. Our guide took us to the houses of Casanova and Marco Polo, and then on to a local sandwich shop for a quick bit to eat while we walked. We then headed to the infamous Rialto Bridge, a marble bridge crossing the Grand Canal, before heading back to San Marco Square. On our walk back to the meeting point, we saw the Bridge of Sighs, a stone bridge leading from the court house to the prison on the opposite side of a small canal. It is named as such because the bridge would be the last place prisoners would see daylight before imprisonment and/or their execution. Finally, we finished our tour walking along the water front, passing in front of the building where Vivaldi gave violin lessons to orphan girls in Venice. We met our group for our return boat ride to our bus and eventual ride to the Republic of San Marino. It was a short trip to Venice, wetting our appetite for a return visit and longer stay in what is surely one of the most romantic cities in the world.

Gondolas on a canal

Bridge of Sighs (begin restored)

Day 4 – The Republic of San Marino
We arrived in San Marino, a small republic in Italy near the city of Rimini, on Monday night after a long day traveling and a short visit to Venice. Tuesday morning was free to explore this ancient medieval style town perched atop Titano Mountain. Our hotel is in the heart of this city not far from the castle towers. We spent the day exploring the city with its many shops and touring two of the castle towers (the third is not available to explore on the inside). The towers were started in the late 1200’s as watch towers over the valley below, but eventually became fortresses for the city, and even housed prisoners for a portion of the time. Sitting atop a sheer cliff, it is easy to see how the location of the castle was an advantage to any defenders.

Guaita and Cesta Castles

The views from just about anywhere in the city are amazing, with either the Adriatic Sea in the distance or the Italian countryside below. It feels so fairytale like to be staying in such a place like this with cobblestone streets and castle walls at every turn that sometimes it’s hard to remember where we are.

The girls played the first soccer game of the tournament today, tying a team from Italy 1-1. The game was well played on a hot day, and the opposing team did not get their goal until less than 5 minutes left in the game. It was a heartbreaker for them, but game two is tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m.

Dan and Carol at the top of Mount Titano with Rimini and the Adriatic Sea in the back ground

We also managed to get in some geocaching while in San Marino and left a Washington State Cougar Geocoin near another tower perched atop the mountain. It took a while to find it but we were eventually successful. Here is a picture of the coin with San Marino and Rimini in the back ground.