Hi all, Venice, 28 May 2007
We have spent 3 great days in Venice. It seems so relaxed here in the narrow streets along the canals. Realized the big difference is that there are no cars! just narrow alleys, people and gondolas. The main "highway" is the Grand Canal where water taxis run. They hold about 50 people and work remarkedly well. These replace city buses and taxis.
We went to St. Marks square, the Rialto Bridge, and walked many neighborhoods around the city. The Doges Palace, or the administrative center to ancient Venice was our favorite museum. The Doges were elected kings, who ruled a government with an interesting mix of church and state. They had absolute rule along with 120 elected officials. We went thru the prison below the center. In many ways it's easy to see why our country was founded on freedom of religion and a justice system with jury of your peers. I won't complain about jury duty any more or shady attorneys. This system was harsh and cruel and many times was founded on who you knew or paid. The palace and the Corrier museum gave a great taste of what Venice was like in the 1400's. They ruled the seas and were the center of commerce bringing goods from the East (Turkey) to the markets in Europe.
We visited Murano Island, near Venice Island. That is where the elegant Murano glass is made. In 1300 the city of Venice made all glass factories move to this island to avoid fires in Venice Island. It's been the glass making center ever since. We visited a glass factory and watched master glass blowers create their master pieces, some of them going for $4000 each. Beautiful glass and some smaller pieces make great gifts!! we know.
Well the trip has ended, it has been a fantastic journey covering the Mediterranean, ports along Italy, Monte Carlo, the Greek Isles and Turkey. And even Paris...well the airport...
Thanks for coming along with us.
Yours in travel
Bill
This is my blog for my trip to Taiwan. I'll be posting my journal here from November 1 to November 17, 2017 so check back and join me on the trip ! - Bill Wilson
May 28, 2007
May 27, 2007
The Greek Isles
Venice Italy, May 27, 2007
Hi all,
I sort of skipped over the Greek Isles in the Blog. We visited three. Santorini, Mykonos and Corfu. Each posed a unique and surprising adventure. The first Island we cruised into was Santorini. It is the most spectacular, but we were unfortunate to have the worst weather on the trip there! The small city is built on the edge of a large old remanent Volcanoe rim. The huge caldren rim can be seen way out over the nearby ocean. We rented a car and driver along with our S. Carolina friends and got a 3 hour tour of the island, from north to south. I expected an annotated tour from our guide Danny, but found out after we left he had only been there 3 weeks, from Ukraine!! well so much for tour info, but we had a great ride dispite no historical insites. It has the tyical white and blue houses and commercial buildings, characteristic of the islands. A beautiful place. Mykonos, was similiar, but in the sun, gave us a more positive experience. We hopped on the city bus and found a beach. Same white and blue painting scheme here. Here we saw the beautiful windmills, seen in many places on the islands.
Corfu, was an entirely different story. With its old Venetian, and British roots, Corfu Town was very European in design, looked like downtown Rome! With an esplanade, or city park with a Cricket court. We jumped a city bus to the Achillion Imperial Villa, where "Sissy" Queen of Austria back in the late 1800's built this incredible palace high on the hill above Corfu town overlooking the water. Later her family sold it to the King of Prussia, right before he was assasinated (remember?..which led to the beginning of WWI)
An impressive area, beautiful weather, nice people, shopping and scenic views.
Friday night we all arrived in Venice. It cruised in about 5:00, so got some incredible views of St. Marks Square right from the ship!!!; in the morning, we got our luggage off the boat fast and transferred to the water taxi which took us to this beautiful city on water. More on that in the next blog
Yours in Travel...Bill
Hi all,
I sort of skipped over the Greek Isles in the Blog. We visited three. Santorini, Mykonos and Corfu. Each posed a unique and surprising adventure. The first Island we cruised into was Santorini. It is the most spectacular, but we were unfortunate to have the worst weather on the trip there! The small city is built on the edge of a large old remanent Volcanoe rim. The huge caldren rim can be seen way out over the nearby ocean. We rented a car and driver along with our S. Carolina friends and got a 3 hour tour of the island, from north to south. I expected an annotated tour from our guide Danny, but found out after we left he had only been there 3 weeks, from Ukraine!! well so much for tour info, but we had a great ride dispite no historical insites. It has the tyical white and blue houses and commercial buildings, characteristic of the islands. A beautiful place. Mykonos, was similiar, but in the sun, gave us a more positive experience. We hopped on the city bus and found a beach. Same white and blue painting scheme here. Here we saw the beautiful windmills, seen in many places on the islands.
Corfu, was an entirely different story. With its old Venetian, and British roots, Corfu Town was very European in design, looked like downtown Rome! With an esplanade, or city park with a Cricket court. We jumped a city bus to the Achillion Imperial Villa, where "Sissy" Queen of Austria back in the late 1800's built this incredible palace high on the hill above Corfu town overlooking the water. Later her family sold it to the King of Prussia, right before he was assasinated (remember?..which led to the beginning of WWI)
An impressive area, beautiful weather, nice people, shopping and scenic views.
Friday night we all arrived in Venice. It cruised in about 5:00, so got some incredible views of St. Marks Square right from the ship!!!; in the morning, we got our luggage off the boat fast and transferred to the water taxi which took us to this beautiful city on water. More on that in the next blog
Yours in Travel...Bill
