Friday was to be a relaxing day strolling around Venice doing nothing in particular. The earlier part of the day was taken up with Bureaucracy. Monica needed to renew her ID card and Vaparetto travel ID. Then it was strolling along the canals of Venice.
The entrance to "Harry's Bar".
As we were in the San Marco district we decided to look for the world famous Harry's bar. We found it on Calle Vallaresso, next to the Hotel Europa. Not very impressive from the outside, however I'm sure that in summer the views of the canal would be wonderful accompanied with a Bellini. As we didn't feel dressed for the occasion my wallet breathed a sigh of relieve as went in search of Spritz.
Spritz time!
We found a traditional bar on Calle Ostreghe. All the Venetian streets are named after someone or something that is related to the area. So I always like to know what it means when we settle in a place to watch the world go by. Apparently "Ostreghe" has two meanings. The first is "Oyster", the Italian translation. The second is used in the Venetian dialect as a mild curse used in the same way as "Christ!" or "Damn!". Easier to say than "Ghe sbicho".
San Marco.
Gondola's at San Marco.
One of the most iconic symbols of Venice has to be the gondola's ferro. This decorative ironwork piece attached to the prow of the boat depicts the 6 sestieres of Venice plus Giudecca, with the top representing the doges cap. The six sestiere of Venice being Castello, San Marco, Cannaregio, San Polo, Santa Croce and Dorsoduro.
The Lion of Venice.
Another famous Venetian symbol is the Lion. At the base of the statue of the first king of Italy, the Venetian republic is depicted as a Lion. The above picture displays the side where the lion has broken free from its shackles. This signals the end of Austrian rule in Venice.
Later we went in search of a toy. Monica wanted to buy a present for Roberto's niece, whom we were going to visit in Sacca Fisola later. We found a great toy store near Rialto. The store was long and narrow and seemed to go back for ages. The shop assistant told us to go and have a look at the view. It was a spectacular view of the Rialto bridge.
The view of Rialto from the Toy shop.
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