The clip is about Venice during Carnevale and the music fits very well with the clip.

The ship could be seen from many parts of Venice so we headed over to have a look. It was quite a sight and we watched as little boats came to an fro loading up produce.

We sheltered along with all the other tourists waiting for the rain to stop. The amazing thing about this was that the water rose to about calf level in a matter of minutes.

And when the rain stopped, the water level subsided almost as quickly as it had risen and all that was left were a few puddles.

So we headed of back across the square towards the hotel. We took our shoes off and scooted through the puddles like little kids.

A lady approached us to have temporary tattoo’s done and of course we said yes. So we both got really nice arm bands done.

When I phoned my husband that night to tell him I had a tattoo, he was less than impressed, he’s not a fan of tattoo’s. In the end I had to fess up and tell him it was temporary ( however, I have since gotten a permanent tattoo).

Here is the stairway to the Doge’s palace which was the seat of government in Venice for many years.

The Doge was the leader and Chief Magistate of Venetian society who was elected by the council of 41 who themselves were chosen by a convoluted system.

In 1268 new regulations were introduced for the elections of the doge and these remained in force until the end of the republic in 1797. The object was to minimize the influence of individual great families.

The process was very complex

Thirty members of the Great Council were chosen by lot; the number was reduced by lot to 9, these 9 then chose forty which were again reduced by lot to twelve, and that 12 chose twenty-five. The twenty-five were reduced by lot to nine and the nine elected forty-five. Then the forty-five were once more reduced by lot to eleven, and the eleven finally chose the forty-one who actually elected the doge. HUH - And you thought our elective processes were complicated,

When a new doge was chosen and before he took the oath of investiture he was presented to the people “This is your doge, if it please you,”. Thus the ongoing fiction that the people of Venice ratified the selection was preserved.

The rooms are magnificently appointed with paintings and sculptures.

The Basilica di San Marco (Saint Mark’s Basilica) church in Venice began in 829 (consecrated in 832) as an ecclesiastical structure to house and honor the remains of St. Mark that had been brought from Alexandria.

St. Mark became the patron saint of Venice, replacing St. Theodore. His attribute of a winged lion became the official symbol of the Venetian Republic.

San Marco Basilica was built beside the Palazzo Ducale or Doges’ Palace and served as the doge’s chapel. It did not become the cathedral church of Venice until 1807.
The first basilica was burned in 976 during a revolt against the doge Pietro Candiano IV but his successor, Doge Domenico Contarini (d. c. 1070) restored the basilica which was completed in 1071.

The plan is in the style of a Greek cross, and the building is surmounted by five domes. The design is one of the best know examples of Byzantine architecture. The light is directed to the centre of the Basilica leaving the sides in shadow.

Over the centuries, sculptures, mosaics, and ceremonial objects have increased the church’s richness. The four bronze horses on the west facade gallery were brought to Venice from Constantinople during the time of the Fourth Crusade (1204). There they had been part of a Greco-Roman triumphal quadriga (a sculpture of a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast). They were set up on the exterior of San Marco in the mid-13th century.

Napoleon took the statues to Paris but they were returned to Venice in 1815. where they remained in place until the 1990s when they were removed and put into an exhibition room, the horses that are now on the facade of the cathedral are bronze replicas.

The interior is decorated with many varieties of marble and mosaics on gilt and the floor is inlaid with marble and glass. There are marble statues separating the choir from the nave, these are masterpieces of Venetian Gothic sculpture by Jacobello and Pier Paolo dalle Masegne.
The church was an opulent display of Venetian wealth and was often referred to as the Chiesa d’Oro (”church of gold”).The Campanile, which is separated from the church, was originally begun under the doge Pietro Tribuno (d. 912). It was adapted into its present form early in the 16th century. In 1902 it collapsed and was rebuilt on the original site in 1912.

So off we go down to reception to see if another room can be found, and sure enough there is a room at the top of some rather steep stairs, almost like a ladder, with a heavy gold colored rope adorned with red braid, with which to haul ourselves up. Lots of fun and good exercise.

The view from this room was over some dodgy looking rooftops.

We dropped of the bags, freshened up and set off sightseeing. Some of the tales we had been told about the smell didn’t eventuate. Although we are visiting in the height of summer, there aren’t any nasty smells at all.

The streets are paved with arched veranah areas on either side as we head down past the shopping area towards St Marco.