We woke up this morning to rain--we had such a wonderful day yesterday, and waking up to the sound of rain on the canal was perfect. We opened the windows to smell and see and thought our second day in Venice was off to a good start. We have read that it rains on and off here. Our plan was to get breakfast then head to Doge's Palace for the Secret Itineraries Tour. 
We had reserved our tickets online and needed to pick them up beforehand (16E each for tour and the rest of Doge's Palace). We noticed that the rain was getting louder and louder. We geared up and headed out--rain wouldn't stop us! The apartment is on the 2nd floor (which is 3rd over here). When we got to the bottom floor and saw the rain seeping in the building, we knew it wasn't a good sign. We made it to the corner (about 15 steps) before we were completely drenched! The wind was blowing like crazy, sheets of rain were coming down, and we were cold . We gave up on finding breakfast and headed to Doge's Palace for shelter. There were tour groups from cruise ships arriving, and those poor folks were really drenched and discouraged, as they only had 1 day in Venice. We decided our fate could be worse; we at least enjoyed a gorgeous day yesterday.
We got to Doge's Palace at 9:30am, as our tour was at 9:55am.
When we got there, they said the only tour guide available, due to the weather, was at 12:55pm so we got tickets for that time. We went to the cafe at the palace for breakfast (which was really quite good) and had croissants and cappuccinos again (mine was chocolate and delicious; Mr.'s was some kind of apple and equally delicious). 7.5E for breakfast. We decided to tour the rest of Doge's Palace before our Secret Itineraries Tour. It is the official residence of the 120 doges who ruled Venice from 697-1797. After our self-guided tour, we ran over to see St. Mark's. 
We geared up and headed out in the rain. There were walking paths set up (think plywood on top of a platform) because the water was so thick on the ground. We got drenched again, only to find a long line at St. Mark's---back to Doge's it was! We went to the cafe again and had lunch. We both had a slice of pizza. Their pizza is different. It's more like deep dish with no crust, cut into squares. It was hot; we were cold---just what we needed. The Mr. had a cappuccino, too; our lunch total was 14E. We finished lunch and met for the tour. It was a tour of the 3rd floor of the palace which was used for administrative purposes and torture. One of the famous prisoners was Casanova. Our tour guide was excellent; we would recommend the tour. It lasted about 1.5 hours.
When we left Doge's Palace, the rain and line at St. Mark's Basilica
had subsided (just sprinkling now). We lined up at were in the Basilica by 2:15pm. True to our form, were through it in about 15 minutes. We thought it was more spectacular from the outside than the inside. We decided to take the elevator to the top of Campaniele, a tower in St. Mark's Square where you can get a good view of the city. It was 12E, and the view really wasn't that great. I don't think I'd recommend it. (Note: now that I've returned and looked at all of the pictures from the top, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again--the pictures turned out great!)
By 3pm, we were wet and cold, and needed a break. We went back to the apartment, put dry clothes and shoes on, snacked, and napped. At 4pm, we left for some more shopping and to hit the Internet cafe. It was no longer raining, and the sky had cleared a bit. It turned out to be rather pleasant--though still cold. After finding a neat little shop with leather bound journals and oil canvases, we stopped for appetizers at Naranzaria. It's a quaint little place on the water by Rialto Market.
By 7:30pm, we were hungry and went off to find another recommended restaurant---Vini da Gigio. We had tried to get reservations but were unable to connect to their number. When we arrived, they were booked. We were discouraged. The owner was so nice though and asked if we would like her to see if her brother's restaurant had a table. It was across the canal, and she said it had the same quality of food and a similar menu. That sounded great, and she walked us over. Her brother got us a table and was wonderful to us all night. His restaurant is called Al Fontegodei Pescatori; he's the president of the Rialto Fish Market. We decided this would be our "splurge meal", and we ordered the fixed menu. We are so glad we did! The first course was an array of different seafood. The second course was a pasta dish and a risotto dish. The third course was a sea bass dish. Finally, the dessert was an apple strudel . It was all wonderful, and the presentation was beautiful. It was 51E each. We would highly recommend this restaurant.
We stopped at the Internet cafe on our way back to the apartment and got sad news. The Mr.'s Uncle Dan would likely not make it through the day. We were lucky enough to live by his aunt and uncle in the last city we lived in, and they are the most fantastic couple. We were able to spend time with them over Labor Day and are so thankful for that. Think generous, kind, funny, sarcastic, intelligent, loyal, devoted, and you've got the right mental picture of Uncle Dan. We are shocked and saddened, but feel comforted in a weird way by our sadness. We'd like to think if we didn't have such a special relationship with him, we wouldn't feel his loss so deeply. We'll be looking to end our trip early to be with family.
We had reserved our tickets online and needed to pick them up beforehand (16E each for tour and the rest of Doge's Palace). We noticed that the rain was getting louder and louder. We geared up and headed out--rain wouldn't stop us! The apartment is on the 2nd floor (which is 3rd over here). When we got to the bottom floor and saw the rain seeping in the building, we knew it wasn't a good sign. We made it to the corner (about 15 steps) before we were completely drenched! The wind was blowing like crazy, sheets of rain were coming down, and we were cold . We gave up on finding breakfast and headed to Doge's Palace for shelter. There were tour groups from cruise ships arriving, and those poor folks were really drenched and discouraged, as they only had 1 day in Venice. We decided our fate could be worse; we at least enjoyed a gorgeous day yesterday.We got to Doge's Palace at 9:30am, as our tour was at 9:55am.
When we got there, they said the only tour guide available, due to the weather, was at 12:55pm so we got tickets for that time. We went to the cafe at the palace for breakfast (which was really quite good) and had croissants and cappuccinos again (mine was chocolate and delicious; Mr.'s was some kind of apple and equally delicious). 7.5E for breakfast. We decided to tour the rest of Doge's Palace before our Secret Itineraries Tour. It is the official residence of the 120 doges who ruled Venice from 697-1797. After our self-guided tour, we ran over to see St. Mark's. 
We geared up and headed out in the rain. There were walking paths set up (think plywood on top of a platform) because the water was so thick on the ground. We got drenched again, only to find a long line at St. Mark's---back to Doge's it was! We went to the cafe again and had lunch. We both had a slice of pizza. Their pizza is different. It's more like deep dish with no crust, cut into squares. It was hot; we were cold---just what we needed. The Mr. had a cappuccino, too; our lunch total was 14E. We finished lunch and met for the tour. It was a tour of the 3rd floor of the palace which was used for administrative purposes and torture. One of the famous prisoners was Casanova. Our tour guide was excellent; we would recommend the tour. It lasted about 1.5 hours.When we left Doge's Palace, the rain and line at St. Mark's Basilica
had subsided (just sprinkling now). We lined up at were in the Basilica by 2:15pm. True to our form, were through it in about 15 minutes. We thought it was more spectacular from the outside than the inside. We decided to take the elevator to the top of Campaniele, a tower in St. Mark's Square where you can get a good view of the city. It was 12E, and the view really wasn't that great. I don't think I'd recommend it. (Note: now that I've returned and looked at all of the pictures from the top, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again--the pictures turned out great!)By 3pm, we were wet and cold, and needed a break. We went back to the apartment, put dry clothes and shoes on, snacked, and napped. At 4pm, we left for some more shopping and to hit the Internet cafe. It was no longer raining, and the sky had cleared a bit. It turned out to be rather pleasant--though still cold. After finding a neat little shop with leather bound journals and oil canvases, we stopped for appetizers at Naranzaria. It's a quaint little place on the water by Rialto Market.
By 7:30pm, we were hungry and went off to find another recommended restaurant---Vini da Gigio. We had tried to get reservations but were unable to connect to their number. When we arrived, they were booked. We were discouraged. The owner was so nice though and asked if we would like her to see if her brother's restaurant had a table. It was across the canal, and she said it had the same quality of food and a similar menu. That sounded great, and she walked us over. Her brother got us a table and was wonderful to us all night. His restaurant is called Al Fontegodei Pescatori; he's the president of the Rialto Fish Market. We decided this would be our "splurge meal", and we ordered the fixed menu. We are so glad we did! The first course was an array of different seafood. The second course was a pasta dish and a risotto dish. The third course was a sea bass dish. Finally, the dessert was an apple strudel . It was all wonderful, and the presentation was beautiful. It was 51E each. We would highly recommend this restaurant.
We stopped at the Internet cafe on our way back to the apartment and got sad news. The Mr.'s Uncle Dan would likely not make it through the day. We were lucky enough to live by his aunt and uncle in the last city we lived in, and they are the most fantastic couple. We were able to spend time with them over Labor Day and are so thankful for that. Think generous, kind, funny, sarcastic, intelligent, loyal, devoted, and you've got the right mental picture of Uncle Dan. We are shocked and saddened, but feel comforted in a weird way by our sadness. We'd like to think if we didn't have such a special relationship with him, we wouldn't feel his loss so deeply. We'll be looking to end our trip early to be with family.
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