Giovedi

Thursday morning we got up early, showered, and got ready for the day. We got 3 day boat passes and took boat #1 to San Marco, one of the six sestieri of Venice (a sestiere is a subdivision of a number of Italian towns). We didn't know this when we planned the trip, but we ended up being in Venice for Carnevale! Carnival is a festival season. It occurs immediately before Lent. It typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus and public street party. People often dress up or masquerade during the celebrations. Masks have always been a central feature of the Venetian carnival. There were people dressed up all over the place-- it was kind of like Disney World. We explored San Marco all morning, admiring the masks, people in costume, Basilica di San Marco, the boats, bridges, and canals, and did lots of window shopping.

We saw the Bridge of Sighs, the Doge's Palace, St. Mark's Camanile, St. Mark's Clocktower, St. Mark's Basilica, Piazza San Marco, and the procuratie.

The Bridge of Sighs (Italian: Ponte dei Sospiri) is one of many bridges in Venice built in the 16th century. It passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the old prisons to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace. The view from the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment.

The Doge's Palace is a gothic palace in Venice. In Italian it is called the Palazzo Ducale di Venezia. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice. The current palace was largely constructed from 1309 to 1424. It is now preserved as a museum.

St Mark's Campanile is the bell tower of St Mark's Basilica. The tower is 98.6 meters tall.

St Mark's Clocktower, a clock tower adjoining the Procuratie Vecchie. It houses the most important clock in the city, St Mark's Clock. It was constructed as a display of Venice's wealth, and as an aid to sailors on the Grand Canal about to depart on a voyage. The building was constructed between 1496 and 1499.

St Mark's Basilica (Italian: Basilica di San Marco a Venezia), the cathedral of Venice, is the most famous of the city's churches and one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture. For its opulent design, gilded Byzantine mosaics, and its status as a symbol of Venetian wealth and power from the 11th century on, the building was known by the nickname Chiesa d'Oro (Church of gold).

A remark often attributed to Napoleon (but perhaps more correctly to Alfred de Musset) calls the Piazza San Marco "the drawing room of Europe". It is one of the few great urban spaces in a Europe where human voices prevail over the sounds of motorized traffic, which is confined to Venice's waterways. The piazza was full of sick pigeons; there was even a little stand where you could buy bird seed.

The Procuratie (literally, "procuracies") are three connected buildings on St Mark's Square in Venice. Connected to St. Mark's Clocktower, the procuratie are historic buildings over arcades, the last of them completed, to finish off the square, under Napoleon's occupation.

We had sandwiches and berry gelato at a cafe, and Jackie bought masks for her and her sister. We walked along the water and through a pretty park we stumbled into. We found this really weird part with a bunch of abandoned but cool buildings with names of all different countries on them. When I tried to take a picture of Denmark, a creepy man sitting in front shook his finger at me. When we left, he followed us out, and I thought he was going to chase me and make me delete the picture I took. He didn't. But it was still scary.

After some more window shopping and LOTS of picture taking, we headed back to the hotel for a nap and then woke up and got ready to return to San Marco for dinner. We walked through the carnival along the boardwalk and found a cute little pizzeria run by asians. We tried to get Nutella crepes after, but the stand was closed.

Upon returning to Lido (the island we were staying on), we walked around trying to find the supermarket, but couldn't find it. So, we went back to the hotel, showered, journaled, and watched Chuck Norris on TV before bed...