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After a great night's sleep we caught the 9am ferry into Venezia. We were prepared for the queue to visit the Basilica San Marco & today, I remembered to bring my scarf to cover my shoulders for entry. We didn't have to wait too long. Well inside the Basilica looked smaller than expected & it was quite dark, however, the architecture was astounding. The statues were everywhere and over the main altar Jesus Christ was the central figure with 7 men standing either side of him. These seemed to be carved out of a very dark almost black wood. All the artwork inside the domed sections of the roof and most of the walls looked like frescos painted over a stippled gold background. It didn't matter where you looked, there walls were covered in religious artwork. My catholic faith is very weak but I was quite pleased that I could recognise the painting inside a dome of Jesus Christ with the 12 men (apostles) surrounding him in a circle.
The entire floor was covered in small (black, white, pink & some coloured) stone tiles that were laid in mosaic geometric shapes.
The Basilica was truly grand - it was mind blowing. No photos were allowed, so we don't have any, unlike the many people who didn't care & took them regardless.
I lit 3 candles in memory of our departed loved ones & hoped that they be at peace.
We decided that pounding the pavement was not going to be the focus of today; instead we chose to take a ferry round trip down the Canal Grande through to Canale della Giudecca. This took about 2.5 hours and was well worth the effort. We saw many of palaces, the railway station, the monorail, the port & stopped at Lido that leads to sandy beaches a short distance away. No bathers, no beaches & way too hot to be baking on a beach. It was 34 degrees in our little bungalow when we got back at 2pm.
It was way too hot for food, neither of us felt hungry, so an icy gelato each was today's lunch. I have forgotten how good gelatos are - mine limone & blueberry and John's orange & limone. The flavour choice is fairly extensive.
Relax time before another huge dinner tonight.
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