The Italian Dalmatian and the Dragon-Slaying Saint

A statue of St Theodore of Amasea, who was the original patron saint of Venice.  He was a soldier-saint who was known for battling a dragon, although depicted here as a crocodile, and when Venice's popularity grew, St Theodore was replaced by St Mark.  

ooohh luggggaaaaat zaaaa puppyyyy

Another masterpiece in the Piazza San Marco known as 'St Mark's Basilica.'  The architecture is in the Byzantium style and the basilica was consecrated in 1943.  

It's not every day a person sees a Dalmatian, and this one reminded me of a dear one that I grew up with.

Carved by Luigi Ferrari, this monument to Pietro Paleocapa is found in the Giardini Papadopoli (Botanical Gardens).  Paleocapa was a scientist and politician who served for two years in Napoleon's army, was the Director General of Public Construction in Venice, and had a key role in the design of the Suez Canal along with Luigi Negrelli.

We visited the Old Venetian Ghetto, 'Ghetto Vecchio,' where the Jewish people lived under the Venetian Republic.  In 1595, it was featured in William Shakespeare's 'Merchant in Venice,' and today, it is often considered a cultural center of Venice.  

Can anyone else see the creature in the wallpaper?  It looks like a crazy tree critter with an epic crown.  

On Thursday night we went to a Vivaldi/Bizet concert

The young violinist hiding in the back (second from the left) turned out to be a virtuoso who played a rendition of the 'Habanera' and received four encores.

We took a flight back to London and at King's Cross station there were pigeons who looked like they were plotting something...

Next stop: New Years

The Venetian Islands

"Good morning!!!!"

We decided to spend a day touring the different Venetian islands and Murano was first on our list.

Murano is just north of Venice and is famous for its glasswork.  In 1291, the glassworkers were moved to Murano because of the fire risk in Venice.  In no time, the island became famous for its glasswork and became Europe's main producer of the product. 

A table setting by the canal - perfect for two!  My sister and I laughed one night in our hotel because Venice is stereotypically a city of romance and there we were - she was reading a book for one of her classes and I was eating chocolate while writing about the day in my diary.  We are too cool.  

A moment of contemplation by the pier.  Or maybe it was boredom.  I like to think it's the first possibility.

The next island we went to was Burano, the island of lace.  The population of Burano (just under 3000)  is less than that of Murano and the houses here are painted in bright colors that tend to have a leavening effect on one's mood.  

Such a small thing, like having flowers on a windowsill, really does make a difference.  

Laundry day!

We decided to break off from the rest of the island visitors (partly because I was drawn to the landscaping of a person's backyard that happened to be beside a pathway leading away from the town center) and we took a nutella and orange break.  Below is our picnic spot. 

A new friend.  It's kind of cool to think that this cat responds to Italian, not English.  Same with dogs: if you tell them to sit, they probably won't since there is something of a language barrier.  

Buono feste!

A fondamenta is a street that runs along a canal

Another Italian feline

We then took a vaporetto waterbus to Torcello, which was quite close to Burano.

In 1948, Ernest Hemingway spent time in Torcello writing 'Across the River and Into the Trees,' the reception of which led him to write the well-loved 'The Old Man and the Sea.'

No story here.  Just a neat looking tree.

Pontecello del Diavolo - 'the Devil's Little Bridge'

There are many 'Devil's Bridges,' a term which is applied to many ancient arched stone bridges, throughout Europe and the UK.  In medieval times, bridges like these were thought to be built by the Devil since it was believed that humans could not construct something so technologically advanced.

The Church of Santa Fosca.  

For people fleeing from barbarians such as Attila the Hun, Torcello was a perfect getaway and for a time in the 10th century it was more powerful than Venice.  Torcello grew as a political and trading center and salt was a major product thanks to the salt marshes.  Byzantium controlled much of the trade here.  

Part of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunata and to the right, the Church of Santa Fosca

In the 12th century, Torcello became a swamp and due to malaria outbreaks, many of the people left.  Today the population sits at around 20 people.  

With this cute bottle came, without a doubt, the most revolting drink I have ever had.  I kept the bottle and dumped the drink.

We took a canal cruise...

After our cruise we went to a restaurant that had been recommended to us and the theme was 'the Carnival of Venice.'  This picture was located across from where I was sitting and it was a bit unnerving, albeit in a neat sort of way.