VERY NAUGHTY BUT I JUST COULDN'T RESIST

Yesterday we visited St Marco's.

Free entry and a line that moved quite quickly and we were inside in no time. 

Gloomy inside but the wonderful gold ceilings still glowed in the dim light.

No photos allowed.

Then last night we found out that the lights are turned on for an hour every day from 11:30 am so today we returned expecting a very long line for this event.

St Marco was closed to the public as there was some sort of big military event on there and the church was full of soldiers in uniform .

We were channeled upstairs where for 5euros each we could have access to the roof ( sort of ) and the museum

and it all looked down on the church from a wide viewing area !

AND THE LIGHTS WERE ON !

Not only that but we were closer to the wonderful ceiling so we could see the detail of the wonderful mosaics.

The lights sparkled off each tiny glittering gold tile and the effect was breathtaking.

The signs said  " no photos" but everyone was clicking away .........

so I threw caution to the winds and snapped a few to show you.

I even zoomed a little so you could see the tiny tiles.

Have you ever seen anything so spectacular ?

Next we moved on to the museum where the four bronze horses are now housed. They have been carbon dated to the 2nd century BC !

They seemed to be quite life sized to me though very large horses. 

Copies now stand in the original position above the front entrance to St Marco's.

The view of the square below was great and you can see how impressive its size is.

Here's the winged lion , the symbol of st Marco.

and here's more of the wonderful mosaic work on the outside of the building.

The detail in these pictures is incredible and it's hard to believe they are done with thousands of tiny tiles.

I leave you today with our final goodbye to Venice. 

Worth every penny of the 80 euros it cost.

Down the small canals

then out into the Grand Canal near the Rialto Bridge.

" O sole mio " echoing in our heads .

Arrivederci Venizia !

PICTURE PERFECT

We've all seen hundreds of photos of Venice.

It's lovely to actually be here and see the real thing.

It is just like all the photos and movies you've seen.

Trying to find your way around with a map is useless. 

We stumbled upon the Bridge of Sighs today when we were sure it was way off in the other direction.

We were advised to throw away the map and navigate by landmarks so that's what we are doing. .....  Lots of wandering, getting completely lost and in the process discovering some gems around a corner.

It's very busy. Particularly around St Mark's. I'd hate to be here at the height of the season.

However, once you move away from St Mark's Square the crowds thin to a trickle very quickly so they are not bothering us really.

The photo opportunities are boundless and we keep trying for that perfect shot.

Today we decided to go to Murano and Burano. 

Now, we had been warned by lots of people that Murano was too touristy and not to bother but we are so glad we did.

Luck was on our side and we entered a glass factory right down at the end of the quay. There was no one there and man on the front door explained that the public were only admitted to the shop. 

"OK, it doesn't hurt to look, " we thought to ourselves.

At the shop door stood a young man whose family owned the business and as we were practically the only people there we fell into conversation with him. Before long he was ushering us through a door and we were given a personal tour of the factory, had the glass blowing process explained to us while we watched the artist and his assistant create a lovely chandelier  !

But wait there's more !

Next we were invited into to high flyers showrooms upstairs to see all the really expensive stuff. Nothing much under 5000euros and most of it exquisite and much, much more.

Regretably , we were not permitted to photograph it and it is beyond words. We were terrified we'd knock something and have to sell our house to pay for it !

He didn't seem to mind when we left without purchasing anything and we made our way along the canals shaking our heads at our good fortune.

Next, more by accident than planning , we managed to find the stop for the boat to Burano.

What a treat waited there for us !

No, not the famous lace but the pretty buildings that line the canals.

The people of Burano are smart. Not for them decaying, grubby buildings.

They've made a feature of their town so that not only do they have exquisite lace and linen

but wonderful eye candy buildings and neat orderly streets.

No way you could escape with out some fantastic photos.

So once again we've had a lovely day. 

Didn't cost much ( just the price of a pretty scarf and a necklace of Murano glass beads )

and we stacked a few more incredible memories away.

Cheers.

HELLO VENICE

This is the view looking out the living room window of our apartment.

I might spend a lot of time doing this !

Lots of singing coming from these as they go by !

Very comfortable. We're off to a good start !

TUSCANY

Beautiful Tuscany !

Rolling green hills with a patchwork of crops arranged by artistic hands.

Hilltop villages watching proudly over the land they once protected.

Whenever you see a painting of Tuscany it always includes the architectural contrast of pencil pines. 

I don't know if that's the proper name for them but if you look at any of my photos you will see them.

 

Placed there purely for decoration, they are the perfect foil for those rolling hills.

Then there's the stone buildings

With old, weathered terracotta tiles

And picturesque walls. ... And flowers - at the moment mainly roses and geraniums but lots of buds promising a very colourful Summer.

No wonder the area is famous for art as well as grapes and olives.

On to Venice tomorrow, I can't wait !

Cheers.

DAVID

This isn't the real DAVID. 

This is the copy that stands in the Palazzo della Signoria in Florence.

It's a bit grubby but still quite impressive.

We queued for about an hour outside the very unimpressive building that is 

the Galleria dell' Accademia.

In a very unimpressive area of Florence too, I might say.

But the wait was worth it. 

Instead of finding huge crowds inside all was calm and serene.

I was afraid it would be like the Mona Lisa in the Louvre where people stand shoulder to shoulder holding their cameras high to try to get a photo from a long way off.

I didn't know that I would be so affected by seeing this marvel.

But I was !

It is HUGE -a towering 17 feet high ( 5.17m ) - and so wonderful !

You are able to sit on benches around it and just gaze in wonder at it. 

You can get very close to it and see the detail of the workmanship.

It is truly an amazing work of art.

The best thing that I have ever seen.

Something everyone should see once in their life if they can.

 Cheers.

PS. No photos allowed, the above photo is from Google Images.

A TALE OF TWO CATHEDRALS

Over the last two days we have visited two major cathedrals ... Or Duomos as they are called over here.

Sienna on Tuesday and Florence today ( Wednesday ).

Now I have to tell you when we parked the car and saw how far we had to climb to actually get up to the cathedral in Sienna I almost had a fit.

It is a VERY long way up and I was VERY apprehensive but we set off regardless and then we came to these.....

Modern inventions to the rescue.

One after another, activated by a motion sensor as you stepped on them they went upwards, ever upwards. There must have been six at least.

They finally came out in a narrow street bordered on both sides by very high, very old buildings.

Very stark, quite dingy, not impressive.

We walked on and finally turned a corner to see this !

Absolutely beautiful .... from any angle.

Inside was a-maz-ing !! ( paid entry )

Everywhere you looked there was some wonder to see. 

Amazing floors

And ceilings

Wonderful paintings

Stained glass windows

And the dome !

The carvings were incredible.

Can you see all these heads around the window?

When I started to look they were everywhere.

And just when you thought you had seen it all we stepped into this room

And were completely blown away.

So today we set off to Florence looking forward to the great Florence Cathedral.

This time we caught the bus and, thank Heavens, Florence is Flat !

Much bigger city, much bigger crowd,

Much Bigger Cathedral.

( Sorry about the solar flare !)

Too big to fit into one photo

So pretty - all pnk and green and white.

With great anticipation we hurried inside. (Free entry)

A huge cavernous building but quite bare.

Beautiful floors,

Spectacular dome

So there you are.

Each one beautiful in its own way

But I think my favourite was Sienna's.

Cheers