We Meet Our Group

Part 10:  We Meet Our Tour Group

Monday September 30: 

Our tour officially begins at 4:00PM.  So we have most of the day to see some sights on our own.  We go two churches close to the B&B, although finding them in the rat’s maze that is the Venice street system is challenging.  No “street” is longer than a block or two and ends  either at a canal (sometimes having a bridge across, sometimes not) or in a plaza (called a campo) from which three or four new streets emerge. But with maps, a compass and following the street signs we found the churches we were looking for:  San Polo and Sta Maria Gloriosa dei Frari.

San Polo (Paul) Church is small but one of the oldest churches in Venice, built in the 15^th century on the site of another church built in the 9^th century).

The stations of the cross are portrayed in a side chapel. Here is the 11^th station, “Jesus is nailed to the cross.”  The fellow in white is a bad guy,  that is not a halo around his head.  He seems to be the crew chief, appearing in several different stations. The stations are by Giandomenico Tiepolo (18^th century).

In the main church is a painting of the Last Supper by Jocopo Robusti ditto Tintoretto done in 1568.

Tintoretto was a major Venetian painter of the 16^th century, nicknamed Il Furioso for the phenomenal energy in his work; characterized by muscular figures, dramatic gestures, and bold use of perspective.    This Last Supper is very different from what we usually see representing the Last Supper

The second church was Sta Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, usually called Il Frari, which means Friars.  It was built by the Franciscans in the late 15^th century, and is one of the more important churches in Venice.  It has works by Donatello, Giovanni Bellini, and Titian, and a huge monument where Titian is buried.  No photography is allowed inside the church, and the outside is covered with construction netting so pictures of that don’t show much.  But here is a Wikipedia link:

                http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_Gloriosa_dei_Frari

This is a beautiful church.  Titian’s Assumption of the Virgin is behind the altar and dominates the interior.  We spent an hour just sitting in the pews and studying the Assumption and other works by Bellini and Donatello.
We ate lunch at I Due Leoni  in the Piazza by the Frari Chuch.  This is a small lunch counter, mostly standup.  We ordered hot chocolate.  Be careful when you get hot chocolate in Venice.  It seems they melted a solid chunk of chocolate and poured it in a cup.  That’s it, no milk, just chocolate.  It was very good, but very different.

We have two hours left so we hustle to the Cannaregio neighborhood on the other side of the Grand Canal to see the Jewish Museum.

Along the way Bonnie bought some roasted chestnuts from a street vendor.  There were just right, something warm and toasty on cold windy day.

The Museum is behind a non-descript door in a very plain campo in what has been called the Jewish Ghetto since the 16^th century.  It has a great bookshop emphasizing Venice history, and an extensive collection of Jewish liturgical artifacts dating back to the 16^th century. They also offer tours of the ghetto.    

Four PM – time to get with the group. 

Our Rick Steves guide is Rozanne Stringer, who is on the faculty at University of Kansas, and has a degree in European Art History with a specialization in the 19^th century.  

And here is the group. 

 

 Thanks to Gary Ong for this picture.

After introductions, expectations, questions, and explanations, we each pick a buddy (and it can’t be the person you came with).  Before we leave any destination, we will make eye contact with our buddy, and report to Rozanne whether he or she is present.  If all are present then off we go.  We never had a missing buddy the whole ten days.  Yea for us. 

 This was my buddy

Adriana Fitch from Kentucky

actually friendlier than she looks. 

And so off we go on our “Neighborhood orientation walk,” across the Rialto Bridge  on the way to our "Welcome to Venice" dinner together

Rumor has it that Johnny Depp hangs out here.

The food was simple but good - mushroom risotto, gnocchi, and red wine - and we had a chance to get acquainted with our fellow tourists. 

 
 

Now, can Rozanne lead us back through the dark dark maze to Pensione Guerrato?  Yes, she did.