Churches in Venice

Thanks to blog friend Marie for sending this photo to me. She spotted this relief on San Giacomo dall'Orio, on the side of the church closest to Al Prosecco wine bar. It's funny because I've spent so much time in this campo but had never noticed this little saint. Something else I look forward to seeing the next time I'm in Venice. We assume it's San Giacomo but aren't sure. He's charming, whoever he is.

I've written about this church before but thought I'd post a few more photos of it. Each side of this church looks so different, it would be easy to think they aren't all photos of the same church.

Another thing I love about this campo...La Zucca, my favorite restaurant in Venice. The last time I was in Venice, La Zucca was doing two seatings per night, one at 7 and another at 9:30, and while it was easier to get a table for the earlier seating, it was important to book for either one even in the winter time. Great place.

This week's PhotoHunt theme is "Alive."

A foggy morning in Venice. Some places and sights and even poems can make you glad to be alive.

I Believe in All

I believe in all that has never yet been spoken.
I want to free what waits within me
so that what no one has dared to wish for

may for once spring clear
without my contriving.

If this is arrogant, God, forgive me,
but this is what I need to say.
May what I do flow from me like a river,
no forcing and no holding back,
the way it is with children.

Then in these swelling and ebbing currents,
these deepening tides moving out, returning,
I will sing you as no one ever has,

streaming through widening channels
into the open sea.

~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~

Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend.

You can find more Photo Hunters and join the hunt here.

The most beautiful cats in the world? I laughed when I saw this poster on the streets of Venice and was bummed that I had to go home and was unable to attend this event, whatever it was. A cat show or a sale, perhaps? The cats on the poster are hilarious.

Everyone agrees that cute little dogs have taken over Venice but the felines aren't completely gone. While it's not that common anymore to see "real" cats on the streets, I did see a bunch of them in shop windows...

These portraits are classic. Love the outfits and the views of Venice through the windows.

This week's PhotoHunt theme is "Itchy."

When you're itchy, go ahead and....

Tough theme! This was the best I could do. :) This is the door to a bakery here in NC (I love the name).

Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend!

You can find more Photo Hunters and join the hunt here.

I really like those flying flower pots on either side of this shrine. This one is up high so it's hard to get a good look or photo of the image inside the shrine. I love the colors.

I'm home from a week in Venice...in a bit of a jet-lagged haze but very happy. That place continues to amaze me; even in parts of the city where I've spent lots of time, I'd see things I'd never noticed before.

Since it was a short trip, I decided not to blog while I was there. Plus I felt the need to take a technology break. No TV, no Internet, no cell phone, even no newspapers...it was very therapeutic and fun. I did pop in an Internet cafe once a day to email my mom and read the reports from the pet sitter (my kitties did fine but they are glad I'm back home).

One of the reasons I went at this particular time was to be there on November 21 for the Festa della Madonna della Salute, a truly wonderful experience. The festa actually goes on for almost a week and they build a temporary votive bridge across the Grand Canal; I loved walking across that bridge. The Sunday of the Festa was the only day of bad weather while I was there....torrential rain and turn-the-umbrella-inside-out wind. But it didn't stop the Venetians from coming to pay homage to the Madonna as they've been doing for centuries. It's a beautiful celebration.

The acqua alta sirens sounded a few times but it wasn't as bad as it was when I was there in December 2008 or May 2004. I did have to take a few detours to avoid a flooded calle, but I didn't have to wear the dreaded plastic boots this time. And there were several incredible warm and blue-sky days...I was very lucky!

So as soon as I recover (and finish labeling my photos before I forget where I was when I took them), I'll be blogging about my trip. Some great church visits (went inside five new ones to add to my life list) plus lots of shrines, cats, radicchio, Torcello, pizza, and all the other things I love about Venezia.

Even though it was a short trip, I packed a lot in and wasn’t quite sure where to start writing about it on the blog. I decided to start with the bridge. This is a view of Santa Maria della Salute and the almost full moon taken from the votive bridge built for the Festa della Salute.

When I arrived in Venice on Thursday morning, the city was covered in thick fog that gradually burned off as the day progressed. After taking my luggage to the B&B (I’ll be raving about the new place I stayed soon), the first place I went was to check out the votive bridge.

The bridge was up on Thursday but not open yet. While I knew a bit about the history of the Festa, I didn’t know much about the actual events; fortunately there were signs all over the city with the schedule. The bridge opens on Friday at 11 am and remains open until Monday night at 11 pm. As you can see on the poster below, the celebration is on-going inside the church for several days prior to November 21 and for a few days beyond.

For some reason, I was so excited about walking across this bridge. I guess it’s the novelty of seeing Venice from a different vantage point. And throughout their history, Venetians have loved making grand processions around their city; I loved being part of one on this temporary bridge. I heard a tourist ask his friend, why do they need another bridge, don’t they have enough of them? It’s all part of the tradition and in fact, when this Festa began in the late 17th century, the Rialto bridge was the only bridge across the Grand Canal; the Accademia bridge hadn’t been built yet.

So anyway, I went back on Friday morning to walk across the bridge and it was great fun. Another thing I learned is that the bridge doesn’t actually go to the front of the church. It starts on the San Marco side at the Santa Maria del Giglio traghetto stop (right next to the Gritti Palace) and extends to the Calle del Traghetto San Gregorio in Dorsoduro; from there it’s a short walk to La Salute.

The bridge is built on pontoons so it’s a floating bridge (and it feels like it’s floating when you walk on it…it’s kinda bouncy!). The side of the bridge has a stop light on it for the boats, and it does slow up traffic on the Grand Canal since the larger boats have to aim for the opening in the middle.