Trips

            It took two vaporettos to get across the Giudecca Canal to San Giorgio Maggiore.  We stopped for some lunch at the cafe behind the church and then went into the church.  In the back of the sanctuary was a unique wire mesh head of a woman.  It was probably 20 feet high.  There are something like 75 Catholic Churches in Venice and so some of them are being used for art exhibits or concerts.  There is a painting by Tintoretto of the Last Supper on a sidewall by the high altar (far too dark to photograph).  It was poorly lit but we did find it.  We also took advantage of the clear air (this morning's rain cleared the haze away) and took the elevator to the church bell tower for a 360° view of Venice.  We could see that Venice really is shaped sort of like a fish. Wonderful view - perhaps the best in Venice.

San Giorgio Maggiore	San Giorgio Maggiore
Lighthouse at San Giorgio Maggiore marina	Marina at San Giorgio Maggiore
Modern sculptures by Jaume Plensa in San Giorgio Maggiore Head	View from the Bell tower of San Giorgio Maggiore - Giudecca Island and Canal
View from the Bell tower of San Giorgio Maggiore - Giudecca Canal and Plazza San Marco	View from the Bell tower of San Giorgio Maggiore
View from the Bell tower of San Giorgio Maggiore	View from the Bell tower of San Giorgio Maggiore - Maze on the grounds
View from the Bell tower of San Giorgio Maggiore	Bells in the Bell tower of San Giorgio Maggiore
Choir stalls of San Giorgio Maggiore	Choir stalls of San Giorgio Maggiore
San Giorgio Maggiore	We came back across the Giudecca Canal and walked to St. Zaccaria Church.  In the church are two Bellini paintings: Sacra Conversion: with Mary and Jesus on a throne - the San Zaccaria altarpiece; and an “Adoration of the Magi.”  A real attraction was the Chapel of San Tarasio or the Golden Chapel which contains some beautiful polyptychs by Ludovico da Forli. There is also a crypt which is underwater.
Church of San Zaccaria	Church of San Zaccaria - Bellini: Madonna and Four Saints - the San Zaccaria Altarpiece
Church of San Zaccaria - Chapel of San Tarasio or the Golden Chapel with Polyptychs by Ludovico da Forli	Church of San Zaccaria - Chapel of San Tarasio or the Golden Chapel with Polyptychs by Ludovico da Forli
Church of San Zaccaria - Chapel of San Tarasio or the Golden Chapel with Polyptychs by Ludovico da Forli	Church of San Zaccaria - the Crypt (underwater)
Walking back to the canal we saw the line for St. Mark’s Basilica was rather short so we got in line.  As it happened, the Church closes at 5 PM and we were the last two people allowed in.  You are not allowed to take any pictures in St. Mark’s.  That is why they sell postcards and picture books.  The floors are wonderful marble mosaic designs both geometric and patterns that look like Pennsylvania Dutch paintings.  The walls are covered with pictures of saints and their activities all done in fine glass mosaics with lots of gold, the clear glass sandwiching gold leaf.  There are marble pillars and mosaics on the arches.  It is a wow experience.            After St. Mark's, we got on a #2 vaporetto that took us the long way home, up the Giudecca Canal and through the port with the cruise ships.  We passed Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam, the ship we had sailed on out of Venice in 2011 on a Mediterranean cruise.	Le Zitelle church (Santa Maria della Presentazione)
Church of the Most Holy Redeemer (Il Redentore)	Holland America’s Niew Amsterdam

            Marge and I went to 3 Archi for dinner.  Jack and Minnie were there.  They are the other two Grand Circle people on this tour of Venice – only the four of us and Julia.  We talked and had lasagna.  It was pretty good.

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