It's the kind of key you want to leave at the front desk.
I loved my cozy hotel room at the Hotel da Bruno for several reasons despite its claustrophobic size: 1) hotel staff sent me a reassuring series of directional photos prior to arrival; I awoke every morning to the aroma of freshly baked croissants, followed by a superb sweet and savory breakfast; and it was reasonably priced. I never did get around to trying the always crowded gelato store next door, though.
With one notable exception, in Bologna, the "food capital" of Italy, I treated myself to a single expensive meal in each of the Italian cities I visited. At the Marco Polo Restaurant I dined on linguini with crab and cherry tomatoes with a side of broccoli rabe and a glass of house white wine.
I discovered that pizza is like everything else. You can get tired of it when there's an endless supply.
This is probably as close as I'll ever get to the Biennale.
Pooches were few and far between except in early in the morning and late in the evening, when the influx of day trippers had disappeared. I didn't see a single cat.
There's no shortage of churches and religious iconography, that's for sure. You won't find a better example of Venetian Baroque architecture or a prettier facade than this one. When an admiral had it rebuilt in the late 17th century, he eliminated Christian imagery from the exterior. That's him in the middle above the entrance, and his four brothers appear elsewhere along with representations of Honour, Virtue, Fame and Wisdom.
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| Santa Maria Zobenigo, San Marco |
This 19th-century Dominican church, built in the Rococo style, faces the Giudecca canal, much wider but not as scenic as the Grand.
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| I Gesuati, Dorsoduro |
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| Chiesa di S. Salvador, San Marco |
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| Unidentified Church, San Marco |
Small shrines can be found in all of Venice's sestieri, or six neighborhoods.
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| San Polo |
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| Dorsoduro |
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| San Marco |
You can't avoid evidence of tourists, no matter where you go.
I wonder if this child will have any memory as an adult of the winged lion he once found so noteworthy ?
Laundry flutters from windows everywhere.
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| Dorsoduro |
Girolamo Campagna sculpted two labors of Hercules outside the entrance to the Palazzo Pisani, now a music conservatory. If they look a little worse for wear and tear, keep in mind that the palace exterior predates the American Revolution by more than a century.
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| Capturing Cerberus |
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| Slaying the Nemean Lion |
Lovely architectural details grace modest residences, too.
Sometimes they're even polished to a (questionable) shine.
Venetian graffiti is more likely ephemeral than spray painted.
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