September 2, 2000
We weren't scheduled to arrive in Venice until around noon so we
slept in bit and then realized we were too late for the breakfast
seating in the main dining room (7-9am only) so we were forced to eat
breakfast again in the Horizon Court Buffet. It was better than
starving. After our breakfast we went up on deck to watch the scenic
sail into Venice. It was particularly special for us since we had
been there 2 years ago on our honeymoon. We recognized much of
Venice. Since the boat is so tall (taller than most buildings of
Venice) we had a very long range view. We lucked out on the berth and
were able to "park" just 7 bridges down from St. Marks square (very
near our honeymoon hotel). The normal berth would have been at the
actual industrial port where the other cruise ships were. It would
have forced us to take 30 minute tenders to and from the ship. Our
close berth was extremely convenient.
Coming into Venice
Venice
Together in Venice again
Great parking spot
The weather was a comfortable 75-80 so we left the ship and headed
towards St. Marks Cathedral. We turned off on a side street and
walked past Hotel Capiello (our honeymoon hotel) and proceeded on to
St. Marks the old way through the back streets along and across the
canals. We passed a couple of familiar restaurants and coffee bars.
We found a bank machine to get local currency and then headed to find
some lunch. We had hoped to find a pizza place that we were fond of
on our last trip but after searching for a while with no luck we
opted for Trattoria Bora Bora where we had our mandatory "vino rosso
de la casa" (red wine of the house). The bruschetta was great but had
a ton of olive oil. Jill's lasagna was just okay. Keith's spaghetti
de pesce (fish) was great as was the wine. We met four people about
our age on Labor Day holiday from a military base in Germany. We had
forgotten it was Labor Day!
Feeling loosed up from the wine we walked to the Rialto bridge
which is one of only two or three bridges that cross the grand canal.
It's lined with shops. We ran into Carol and Norma (dinner mates) on
their walking tour and made fun of them with their tour stickers on.
We got a good picture of us in front of the Rialto Bridge.
Keith in front of the Rialto
Bridge
Jill and two of our dinner
companions, Carol and Norma
We did a little bit of shopping which we can't say here since most
of what we bought are Christmas presents. We decided it was well
worth a repeat tour of St. Marks Basilica and the bell tower to take
pictures. Since the next day was Sunday this was our only chance to
do it on this trip. We were just in time to see the church and bell
tower and the lines were not even long. We were once again awed by
St. Marks exquisitely tiled marble floors and intricate gold mosaic
ceilings (yes all of them). The view of the magnificent square from
the top of the church was well worth the 4,000 Lira tariff.
St. Marks
Part of the mosaic ceilings in St.
Marks (this was just the entry way, pictures are prohibited
inside)
St. Marks Square (and all those
pigeons)
On top of St. Marks
Still on top of St. Marks, looking
out to the water
The view from the tower was just as spectacular and we got a
couple of great photos of the ship which was parked just 7 bridges
away. The ship looked very monstrous and out of place against the
background of Venice. With the sightseeing done, we walked toward the
Navy Arsenal and through some back streets in an attempt to find the
Osteria (wine bar) that we had found on our honeymoon and a
restaurant that we had eaten at. We found neither of them but found a
suitable substitute Osteria for our daily constitutional and then
headed to the ship for a rest.
Venice from the bell tower
(wide-angle lens!)
The ship parked in Venice
Jill in the bell tower
Bridge of Sighs (connects courthouse
to jail)
We decided to take advantage of our night in Venice so we dressed
and headed ashore for dinner. This was the only night that we didn't
eat in the main dining room for dinner. We followed our guidebook and
found Remiggio which was the restaurant that we couldn't find
earlier. As we suspected, they didn't have any reservation slots left
so we hurried off in search of an alternative. We ended up at
Trattoria Rivetta which we had also remembered from our previous
trip. The food was great but Jill had an upset stomach which is no
surprise if you've been following along our food/drink intake. We had
the antipasto de pesce (seafood starter) which in hindsight we should
have just made into a meal. We followed with tagliatelle bolognese
(thin noodles with meat sauce), frito misto de mar (mixed fried
seafood) and a little vino rosso, of course, and then headed back to
the ship with a short detour through St. Marks square for some night
pictures and called it a night.
St. Marks at night (long
shutter)
St. Marks Square at night
The ship at night
September 3, 2000
We only had the morning in Venice and then a half day at sea. We
decided to spend the morning riding on the vaporetti (water bus) up
and down the grand canal stopping once to get off for a morning
espresso.
Taking a vaporetti ride
We headed back to the ship for lunch in the main dining room and
then Jill went to the spa for a haircut. We watched the sail-away
from the bow and then moved up above the bridge. The weather was not
as hazy as the previous day so the view was much better. The ship
cruised up the waterway to the port where other ships were tied up,
then did an amazing turn around with the help of a tug, then sailed
back out the waterway. We passed St. Marks square each time. One the
second time which was on the way out, the ship honked it's loud horn
and we watched in amusement as every single pigeon took flight scared
by the horn. If you've never been to Venice, St. Marks is full of
thousands of pigeons and people keep feeding them for fun.
St. Marks while the pigeons are
flying
We finished the afternoon reading with Jill in the sun on a deck
chair and Keith in the cool room. This night was the first
semi-formal night and it had an Italian theme. The penne arrabiata
made by the headwaiter was excellent.
Semi-formal night
September 4, 2000
Our second and last day at sea was relaxing and laid back but
almost to the point of being boring. We got up for the dining room
breakfast then Jill went to step aerobics while Keith worked on a
small load of laundry. We had a very amusing tour of the galley
(kitchen) at 10:30am and then lunch at Sabatini's Italian trattoria
at noon with Carol. The linguine with clams was amazing. If you
haven't figured it out by now, the Grand Princess chefs really have a
knack for pasta. We don't eat pasta very much anymore at home but
every pasta dish we had on the cruise was truly exceptional.
There was plenty of organized daytime activity, but we just didn't
get excited by the boutique shops, bingo, slide shows, movies and TV.
The remainder of the day we just laid around by the pool until it was
time to dress for the last formal night. By this time it was a pain
in the ass since it was the third formal night. |
