The weather today couldn't have been more perfect: low 70s and partly cloudy. This was a welcome change for us, and I'm sure the boat racers felt the same. "What?" you ask, "Boat racers?" Yes, that was news to us as well. We'd planned our day around taking the vaporetti around town today (vaporetti are boat buses that service the Grand Canal through Venice and local islands), but were surprised to find that service would be suspended until the afternoon for a boat race.
Human-powered boats of all kinds were involved from singles kayaks to dragon boat racing. It really was quite the site to see: modern fiberglass and spandex skimming the water in front of a medieval palaces. But then, this would be the place for such harmonious juxtaposition; Venice made its name through blending disparate cultures, as can be seen in the Roman arches, Greek columns, Byzantine golden mosaics, and Turkish domes of St. Mark's Basilica.
Also, we were happy to see little fish flitting about near a pier in the canal. Like we learned from Jurassic Park, life finds a way!
We visited St. Mark's Basilica, that houses Mark's remains, and enjoyed walking through the church. Especially striking were the aforementioned golden mosaics that wallpaper the building. The manufacturers of the gold-containing glass cubes used in the mosaics purposefully made the surfaces uneven so that the walls would glow from reflecting light. It's really a beautiful, energizing sight to see: the building almost hums with sustained luminescence similar to the embers in a fire.
Then it was time for gelato.
Finally the vaporetti resumed service, and we took the sea buses out to the island of Murano to check out a glass museum. Venice has contributed much to the development of glass over centuries, so it was interesting to see a comprehensive history of the technological developments in one place. Also, I had to hold back the urge to go on a rampage through the place, because wouldn't it be SO COOL to hear so much glass shatter? (Remember in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when they smash hundreds of prophecy orbs? Yeah, that'd be pretty fun.)
Later in the evening, the city put on a nice sunset
And we said "buona sera" to the Bride of the Sea.
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