First We Went to Prison, Then We Went to the Theater...

We had an early start this morning, with our first stop being the Palazzo Ducale (or Doge's Palace) at 9AM. This place was pretty impressive! We decided to do a self-guided audio tour, which was very helpful, as the tour took us through most of the rooms and told us the history/importance of each room.

There is a lot of history behind this place, but you could say that the Doge's Palace was the equivalent of the White House. This is where the Doge of Venice resided and all sorts of governmental meetings/decisions were made. In addition to that, the Doge's Palace includes the Old Prison and is connected to the New Prison with the Bridge of Sighs, which we were able to cross today!

Courtyard

In the prison

Prison Courtyard

Walking across the Bridge of Sighs

The Doge's Palace is incredibly beautiful. It's amazing how much work was put into these buildings, with the architecture and amazing artwork that fills the rooms and ceilings. Simply incredible!

Statues of Mars and Neptune

Golden Staircase

Statue of Atlas

Statue of Hercules

Painting on ceiling

Titian's portrait of Doge Antonio Grimani

Armory room

View from Armory

Next was the Teatro La Fenice, which is a famous Italian Opera House. We also took a self-guided tour of the theater, and it proved to be absolutely beautiful! I only wish that the pictures I took did it justice, because it was stunning. This place also has an interesting history, mostly surrounding the fact that it has had some back luck with fires over time. But like a phoenix (translates to fenice in Italian), the theater has always “risen from the ashes". ;)

After the Fenice theater we grabbed a bite to eat, and walked around for a bit before deciding to rest up (and cool off) at the apartment. At around 6, we walked down to a nearby bar for some tasty bellinis and Venetian appetizers. Just the perfect way to start an evening!

Refreshing bellinis

Appertivi alla Venezia

A couple hours later, it was dinner time. We walked to the less touristy side of Venice and stumbled across a fresh pasta take-away spot called Bigoi. Only 5 Euros for fresh pasta? Yes, please! We both got the duck bolognese, which was to die for! We then took our dinner and sat along a canal at sunset, with music playing from a nearby restaurant. Belissimo!

Can you guess which note is Adam's?

Canal-side dinner

After dinner, we did a bit more walking and (to no one’s surprise) picked up more gelato to top off the night. Great food = an evening well spent!