Churches in Venice

It had never crossed my mind to visit this hotel, one of the swankiest in Venice and way out of my price range. But then I heard that they have a shrine...

The Hotel Cipriani is on Giudecca and was opened in 1958 by the owner of Harry's Bar. Its website has a "golden book" list of some of the royalty and celebrities who have stayed there.

At one time, this hotel had the only swimming pool in Venice, but I'm not sure if that's still the case. You can see the Cipriani pool from the bell tower of San Giorgio Maggiore; I've got a photo of that pool somewhere (taken with film).

So anyway, I walked in, found the shrine quickly and easily, took some photos, and left. It looked like a beautiful hotel, but I didn't really feel like exploring. Plus I wouldn't know what to say to George Clooney if I ran into him anyway. Very nice shrine though!

This week's PhotoHunt theme is "Waiting."

These were taken in Venice on a vaporetto landing, a platform on the water where you catch the boat. Public transportation at its finest.

While I was waiting for the vaporetto, I watched these gulls dive bomb some bread.

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There are three cloisters (chiostri) surrounding the church of San Francesco della Vigna, but I only managed to find my way into two of them. The first photo shows the lovely and green Chiostro San Francesco, with cypress trees and a statue of the saint in the center. The entrance to this one is from inside the church, close to the sacristy where the Bellini is.

These next photos are Chiostro del Pozzo, named for the beautiful vera da pozzo (well-head) in the center. Love the flowers on its sides. You can access this one from the monastery building to the left of the entrance to the church.

The cloister I missed is the Chiostro dell' Orto (Garden cloister) where the monks grow grapes and other crops. Next time...

This week's PhotoHunt theme is "High."

Most of the street shrines in Venice are at eye-level, but there are a few that are up high, second story or so. Not quite as easy to spot.

Below the jump, you can see the non-zoom versions where you can tell how high these shrines really are.

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This week's PhotoHunt theme is "Broken."

A few sights from my recent trip to New Orleans. What a great city. It was my first visit there but won't be my last.

New Orleans is famous for its historic cemeteries with above-ground tombs. These were taken in Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 in the Garden District. Many of the people buried there died in a 19th century yellow fever epidemic.

Broken headstones~

The wall surrounding the cemetery. Ferns are growing in places where the stucco has broken off; I like the way it looks.~

A tomb for destitute orphan boys, thinking about that might make you broken-hearted~

On a happier note, did you know that part of the Eiffel Tower is in New Orleans? In the 1980's when they renovated the tower, a New Orleans citizen bought part of it. It was broken into 10,000 pieces and shipped over from France, then reassembled on St. Charles Avenue.

Many people think our financial systems are broken and are protesting all over the world right now. I was lucky to stumble across an Occupy NOLA protest parade through the French Quarter when I was there. Power to the people! ~

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