Travels: Venice and Murano

It's hard to believe that it's already been almost two months since we were in Italy.  Since a few of you asked to see more photos and to hear more about my travels, I decided I would write another post on Venice and Murano and one on Rome.  I also decided that I would show you some of my photos from when I lived in Madrid and from my trips to Mexico.  So starting tomorrow, I'll start doing a Worldless Wednesday feature in addition to my normal Workout Wednesday weekly recap. 

But for now Venice:  

Our last day in Venice, we went to the Cathedral of San Marcos. I have to say that it is probably the most incredible church that I've been in, and I have been in some pretty spectacular religious structures, like San Chappelle and Notre Dame and the Cathedral of Santa Maria de la Sede in Seville. The interior of San Marcos is adorned in loot brought back by Venetian Crusaders (especially from the disasterous Fourth Crusade) and gorgeous Byzantine-influenced mosaics, which glow in the light. 

The horses that adorn the roof are copies of the originals (now in the musuem).  The original horses are of an ancient but mysterious origin.  Some scholars date them to the 4th century BC and others to the 4th century AD.  They may have traveled from Greece to Rome to Constantinople (now Istanbul).  What is certain is that they were part of that loot brought back to Venice after the sacking of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade.  Later, in the eighteenth century, Napoleon took them to Paris, but they made their way back to San Marcos in 1815.

These are the replicas.  I saw the originals, but didn't take photos of them.  I just marveled at how many places they've seen, how much violence has brought about their various transports, and how they have survived so many centuries.

After a morning in the Cathedral/Basilica, we headed to the island of Murano by vaporreto and did some walking around, some glass shopping, and had a beer.

M. and I had considered taking a gondola ride, but to be honest it seemed more like a rip-off than a romantic thing to do.  So we just took the vaporreto through Venice and up the Grand Canal to Rialto.  It was far cheaper, and I think we got views that were just as spectacular.

Venice was the perfect place for us to begin our honeymoon.