We had a very casual day today, but I have a lot to cover. So, buckle up and look out for a couple of rants.

I love Venice. I have a life long passion for secret passage ways, hidden stairs and the like. Venice is a city full of such things. I could literally spend days here going down pathways and alleys just to see where they go. Often, they end up in a dead end. Fun.

Another reason to love Venice is the absence of one of the greatest scourges on the face of our planet today. (rant warning) There is not one person on a bike to be found. I’m not sure how people on bikes became a protected species or how they all developed extraordinarily bad attitudes, but it nice to not be bothered by these pests. Ah, Venice, I’m in love…

(Before I move on with Venice, I have to address my picture of the goulash. I was asked if the two large spherical things in the dish were part of the Ox. They were not. They were bread dumplings. That is my story and I’m sticking to it).

We toured the Grand Canal via Valparetto (water bus). We had an audio tour from Rick Steve on our phone that made the trip nice. I won’t bore you with all the details, but you have to see this place. I’m trying to imagine it in its majesty, 500 years ago. Today, the colors are faded and muted as city planners have strict rules on rehabilitation and restoration. Boats everywhere: garbage scows, water taxis, water buses, private boats and gondolas. Seemingly no order, but clearly method to the madness.  I can only imagine the bustle of traders in its day.  It would have been a site to see.

The Catholic heritage continued in a very big way. We visited St. Mark’s square and Basilica. St. Mark’s is a wonder to look at. Its columns and constructions are from material plundered from other countries and territories. So it isn’t uniform. But, there is so much disparity that it comes together is some sort of homogenous, artistic masterpiece.

Inside, however, is where the real ‘show’ is. There lies the bones of Mark. Yes, the writer of the Gospel of Mark. Stunning. I know there are skeptics, but it is more likely true than otherwise. The inside is full of mosaics honoring the fallen AND risen Christ. I love that this church focuses as much on his resurrection as his death.  After all, it is the RISEN Christ that all the hub bub is about…  Good stuff.

Additionally, there is a ‘treasure’ area that has some unbelievable artifacts. An urn from Artaxerxes. I was kinda blown away by this. Here is something from 400 BC involving the King from the OT. If you aren’t familiar with him, go read the books of Ezra and Nehemiah (and no, he wasn’t a king of Israel/Judah.  Seriously, just go read it – it isn’t very long). This area also claims to have a piece of the cross, a stone and parts of the crown of thorns involved in Jesus’ resurrection. No one knows if it is true or not, but wow. If true, I was in its very presence.

The building itself is over 1000 years old – yes, one thousand. Remarkable.  Simply remarkable.

If you are a christian, especially of the Catholic denomination, you simply must see this.

(rant warning) Upon entering the church, they did not let women enter who had bare shoulders or pants that didn’t cover to their knees (short shorts). They also asked men to remove their hats. They provided these paper like shawls that women could wrap over their shoulders or around their waste to hide the offending body parts. I get it. I do. I understand the desire to maintain some since of modesty, honor, tradition and respect for what the building stands for. However, whoever is offended by bare thighs and shoulders seems to not be offended by cleavage or bare backs. What do you think Jesus’ response would have been if one of his disciples had said, “Jesus, there was this woman that wanted to see you, but she had a tank top on, so we sent her on her way”?  Yeah, I agree, he would have had something to say… Some women chose not to wear it and leave. Some honored the request and wore it. Some women just carried it around without actually wearing it. For what it is worth, I did not wear my hat inside.

We then wandered the streets of Venice, taking in the sights. We window shopped, stood atop the Rialto Bridge and watched the throngs of people go about their business. We then stationed ourselves in the shade at a wine bar besides the Grand Canal and had a glass of ‘grape juice’ and just enjoyed the afternoon.

Our evening came and we celebrated our 25th anniversary (again) – Venetian style.  We had a unique dinner that challenged our palate.  Here is the detail:

We had a very nice bottle of wine to compliment our meal:

The we had something with ‘compliments of the kitchen’.  We have no idea what it was, we both had one.  It was interesting, but good:

For an appetizer, we had a fish tartar.  The ring at the top was raw swordfish served like a seviche.  The bottom item is a raw sea bass served with a ricotta cheese/greek yogurt topping with fish eggs (the green stuff):

For a ‘first course’, Lisa had ravioli with ricotta cheese, truffles and goose (first picture).  I had ravioli with sea bass, orange and asparagus (second picture):

For the main course, Lisa had an entree of Sea Bass  (1st picture) and I had a ‘pink’ beef marinated in sweet peppers (2nd picture):

For desert we each had a glass of dessert wine and Lisa had a crepe (1st picture) and I had Amaretto ice cream (2nd picture):

This was the view from our table:

Be jealous.  Talk to you tomorrow.