We awoke early and went downstairs to breakfast. The buffet  area was crowded and confused.  It filled a large room that had dozens of  tables, but  all of them seem to have  reservation cards, reserving them for  groups from Mexico and Brazil. Weaving our way through them, we found a table without a reservation card and held it for our group. We ate as quickly as we could, because there would be so much to see  and do on this day.

Italy is one of the world’s most visited countries, and within it is one of the world’s most magical  and unique cities, Venice. Venice is an historic city built on a lagoon that is famous for its canals, architecture, rich history, and car-free environment. Venice’s waters are filled with public water buses called vaporetti, private water taxis called motoscafi, traditional row boats such as sandoli, and of course, there are Venice’s iconic gondolas.  These diverse vessels create an exciting maritime scene. Venice was our day’s destination.

Stefano drove us to the outskirts of the city. We boarded a boat that took us to  St. Mark’s Piazza, where out first sight was two 12th-century granite columns that are the gateway from the sea into the city, one representing Saint Mark and the other, Saint Theodore. Saint Mark’s column is topped by a winged lion that represents him, while  on Saint Theodore’s column, the saint is standing on a crocodile, representing his ability to conquer evil. Theodore, or Teodoro,  means “gift of God.”  By coincidence, it was the name of Nick’s paternal grandfather.

Our guide met us at dock and we followed her, passing the Doge’s Palace and the Bridge of Sighs, to the front of the Basilica. The exterior of St. Mark’s features  intricate multi-colored marble columns, golden mosaics depicting biblical scenes, and  ornate portals. The main façade is adorned with sculptures and reliefs, one of which is a winged lion.

She led us through the labyrinth of Venice’s streets. We passed a spiral staircase called the Scala Contarini del Bovolo that was built in 1499, and we also passed the opera house. We saw a local hanging out her laundry, too.The city was decorated for Christmas, which they can do earlier than we Americans, because Europe does not celebrate Thanksgiving.

Our guide brought us back to the Basilica.  We entered the Basilica through a side door that led us to an underground chapel. There Father Kumar celebrated a private mass for our group, which was very meaningful.

Nick and I enjoyed a gondola ride during our first trip to Italy in 1976, and we were very pleased to have the opportunity to ride in a gondola again, this time with our Pilgrimage friends. Five of us were in each boat. Nick was a bit disappointed that our gondolier didn’t sing  during the ride. We later found out that the gondoliers might sing if they were asked to, but we didn’t know that. It was lovely to glide along, taking in the different residences and imagining what it must be like to live there.

We asked  our gondolier for a lunch recommendation. He suggested a restaurant called Serafina, which  a group of us located easily. I ordered pasta with duck sauce, while Nick’s choice was sea bass. The food and the company were wonderful.

After lunch, Nick and I decided to go inside the Basilica. Back in 1976, we were able simply  to  walk in. This time Nick spent half an hour working his way through the complex and poorly designed online  ticket ordering process. Once inside, we recalled the magnificent mosaic ceilings. However, entry was not permitted into  many areas that were blocked off. The statues and chandeliers were  covered in dust, in great need of cleaning. We wanted to go upstairs to the museum, but that required a different entry ticket.

We walked back to the dock, and after a short boat ride, we met up with Stefano and our bus. He returned us to our hotel, where our dinner was lasagna with sausage and mushrooms, and topped with tomato and besciamella  sauces. That was followed by chicken breast with broccoli, and then, chocolate cake. This had been such a full day!

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