Venice!

Although I'd been to Italy before, I'd never been to Venice.  Was kind of excited to see it, although the weather was much colder than the rest of our trip (and it was threatening rain).

There was some logistical shit that got problematic when I tried to sneak in two timed events in the day (and I was trying to change the time on the second so I would get back before the rain, and what they'd told me about the first one's timing was not what actually happened on the ground), but, anyway, it's all worked out ok, (even though I got in a few thousand unnecessary steps) and I DID get back before the rain, so yay! 

We started the day on board, for upwards of an hour of watching us get pulled into Venice.  (Apologies for the reflection of breakfast in there.)

First impression of Venice:  it's very boaty.

So, the first tour was a walking tour of the Doge's Palace, which, well, nobody ever accused the Venetians of, you know, subtle displays of wealth.

I honestly didn't want to take any pictures because, I mean, if you want to see what the Doge's Palace looks like, there's plenty of pictures out there.  (At one point, our tour guide - miffed that one of the rooms he'd wanted to show us was closed for renovations - actually had us gather 'round a small photo of it.  Which seemed not the best use of our time given there was other stuff RIGHT THERE we could actually SEE.)  That said, I took a bunch of pictures anyway, just because the art and the gilt and the ceilings. 

And then [logistics omitted] I ended up in this itty bitty shop that was itself three centuries old, where I met Giorgio, this crazy master mask craftsman.  I mean, check this shit out.

See those blanks at the bottom?  I got to paint one!  It was, shall we say, the worst mask in the shop, but it was about the experience, not the product.  Along the way, Giorgio gave me a history lesson on Carnival masks.  

I chose the kitty cat (because duh). At first, I'd thought this was a recent option they just added for tourists, but it is actually a traditional shape. Cats were not native to Venice, but they were imported... right around when Venetians figured out that Plague was transmitted by rats. The imported felines took care of the rat population and no more Plague. Result: Venice is yet another place where cats are revered.

I asked Giorgio if everyone always wears traditional masks or if they change fashions.  So he showed me the new ones he's making for the next season - ornate laser cut metal masks, made to evoke the image of Venetian lace.  ("Try it on!  Take a picture!")

Then ... insert here the part where I'm trying to find the water bus (Vaporetto) and I'm quietly singing a song to myself, the lyrics of which are, "I'm gonna get so lost in Venice...", but I really only ended up Slightly Misplaced.  (Twice.)

And I got back to the ship in time for a nice, warming cream tea!