November 15 - Venice

"It seemed in the distance like a floating city, its domes,cupolas, and towers, glittering in the sunbeams, looked.... like one of those optical illusions."

--- Lady Blessington, 1822


Well, that's not exactly how it was. We arrived at the outskirts of the lagoon just before sunrise.... except the sun never did manage to break through the heavy fog enveloping the islands. We were told that the Port of Venice was temporarily closed! So we waited.... and waited.... and waited. Our patience was finally rewarded and as the fog lifted we saw those domes, cupolas and towers taking shape before our eyes.


Yes, it's true.... Venice is absolutely magical in any kind of weather.

And since it's known as the "City of Bridges," we, of course, feel right at home here!!

Even on a foggy grey day, Venice is an immense painted canvas.

We had fun revisiting some of our old haunts:

We enjoyed lunch at Ristorante da Raffaele.....

.... where we had front row seats for all the passing gondolas....

.... and their adorable stowaways!

Also took care of a much needed gelato fix!! (Right.... like they don't feed us on the ship!)

And we also discovered a few new haunts.

We came upon this chap in an art gallery while window shopping near Piazza San Marco.... guess we're not the only ones to lose our heads over Venice!

Thick fog came rolling back in as we came back onboard. Here are the Captain's exact words: "Ladies and Gentlemen.... we've been told that the authorities are only moments away from again closing the port. I think everyone is back onboard. If they're not.... tough! We're going anyway! So here we go!!" Whew!! Thank goodness we didn't get lost in the fog!

And the icing on the cake.... strains of Andrea Bocelli emanating from loudspeakers on the decks as we sailed away. Perfection!!