Hey, I am running our of ideas for the letter X that would fit into the theme of this tour. All the “modified" examples would fit though. It was an exciting and extraordinary experience. I hope some day to return just a bit later than we did this year and experience the cultural ambience of the holiday events. This trip – Carol would say any trip we go on – has been truly marvelous. My senses have been revived and am looking forward to planning the next adventure.
After getting out of the train terminal, laid eyes on a church across the canal - Chiesa di San Simeon Piccolo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Simeone_Piccolo
No more than 50 steps more towards the hotel Principe, where we are staying, we stand next to Scalzi or Santa Maria de Nazaret. If I kept walking – which I did later – past the Hotel Principe on Rio Terra Lista di Spagna, I view - the Church of San Geremia, which also has a special chapel for St. Lucy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lucy
After that, the list goes on with almost 150 Roman Catholic churches in Venice.
http://www.churchesofvenice.co.uk/venchurches.htm
Here is the list of churches in our "neighborhood."
http://www.churchesofvenice.co.uk/santacroce.htm
http://www.churchesofvenice.co.uk/demolished.htm
http://www.churchesofvenice.co.uk/islands.htm#lecapp
I was awed by the details provided for each of the churches with the benefit of old drawings and paintings of those locations.
http://www.gardenahotels.it/hotel_principe/eng/home.htm
We have lunch at the hotel and a chance to “wander” a bit before our 4: 30 lecture. Lots to see, but easy to get lost if you start crossing bridges over canals not realizing – where am I? How will I get back? People will help “point” you in the direction, but the path is not straight (-:
The lecture prepares us for what’s next. Monica Chojnacka provided a Welcome To Venice presentation. Monica lives in Venice. She earned her Ph.D. in European history from Stanford University and her bachelor's from the London School of Economics and Political Science. From 1994-2007 she was a professor of history at the University of Georgia, where she authored numerous articles and publications. She has published books relating to Venice on topics as diverse as women of the Renaissance and food and wine. Monica continues to teach in Venice, primarily for study abroad programs for U.S. universities, as well as on-line courses. Here is an article you might find of interest. Where did women live, after getting married?
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=147093
Like past presentations, Monica was very helpful. There is just so much you can absorb from the Road Scholar literature. Maybe even less if you start doing online searches without the benefit of – what is the planned itinerary? Having a chance to chat with a person who lives there - priceless as the credit card ads say?
We have dinner at the Ristorante Povoledo, just to the left of the hotel entrance. Food looks good that is displayed in the front window. Once on the lips and tongue, even better.
http://www.trattoriapovoledo.com/public/en/locale.htm
After a short post-dinner walk, decide time to catch shut-eye, since we got up early to make sure the luggage was available for transport to the train. Much better option than dragging it along to Florence train terminal. This morning's weather was testy – cold, rainy and a high winds that made most umbrellas useless – forever and ever )-:
Photo 1. Why doesn’t the USA have the high speed trains and tracks that allow making a curve @ 100 mph?
Photo 2. The view of Venice outside our hotel – of course, the water side
Photo 3. Our next time in Malta, stay at Xlendi Cove Gozo (-:
Click below for today's online photo album.
https://picasaweb.google.com/magwheel44/2013C2CDay24of28
