With SANGARIS safely moored at the end of the dock in Monfalcone, Italy, we're back in Florida for a few months of warmth. We'll put the blog to rest and hope you'll check back in with us 'long about April as we recommission and head back down the Croatian coast toward Albania. [Albania??!!]
Cheers - K&C
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We arrived as planned in Monfalcone a day before the heavens let loose and we got a flavor of what the NE wind gusts and rain storms would be like for Sangaris at her winter dock. What a difference from our sunny days in Venice! But it soon cleared and warmed up a bit so we could take care of outdoor chores and have a chance to socialize with some Austrian dockmates. A large number of the marina guests are from Vienna, including our technical manager, Karl Keller, new friends Otto and Martina on "Liberty" and Ernst and Ireni on a nearby catamaran. One evening, a group of ten of us were aboard "Liberty" and the next night we were included with twenty others to take a trip to Slovenia for dinner.
Then we got serious about boat jobs from oil changes and winterizing the engines to running extra dock lines for any winter storms. Katherine was up the mast not to "play", although it is a bit of fun and the view's great! Actually she was running messenger lines and measuring fittings so we can replace the standing rigging next spring.
So, with Sangaris all buttoned up it's time to call it quits for the season, catch our flights back to America and bid a fond "Do Videnja" to Croatia and an "Arrivederci" to Italy - but we'll be back for more adventures and another season of blogs! Ciao for now from Craig and Katherine!
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The mud in the cozy creek near Burano finally released Sangaris' fore and aft anchors early this morning as we headed back to Venice for a last night and day of touring ~ we still had more to see!! Our destination for a mooring was Isola Certosa and their recently developed Veneto di Venezia Marina, which had been highly recommended by cruising friends. And it was just right, as we were able to tie side to the main dock, plug in and quickly jump onto a vaporetto for a sunny afternoon in the city. We had saved the best, or at least most prominent, sights to last: today's tour: the Palazzo Ducale (Doge Palace) and Basilica di San Marco (St. Mark's Basilica).
Despite heaving crowds along the waterfront, there was no line to enter, so we began our tour at the Palace, which housed the fascinating government of Venice's rich and powerful empire and was home to its ruling Duke, or Doge (dohzh) for four centuries, about 1150-1550). The palace's incredibly ornate, 'frilly pink' exterior is Venetian Gothic ~ a fusion of Italian Gothic with a delicate Islamic flair. Once inside we marveled at the courtyard's mix of architectural styles with classical columns, Renaissance arches and niches, Baroque awnings, Gothic spires and a grand staircase topped with statues of Neptune and Mars, the former looking remarkably like a young Paul Newman! Designed to impress the Doge's visitors, stairs leading to the Doge apartments has a 24-karat gilded ceiling with an impressive 3-D pattern of art. Although the rooms are now sparsely furnished the place is 'wallpapered' with masterpieces by Tintoretto and Veronese ... lots of neck craning and oohs and aahs as Craig read the guide book and we meandered through the chambers. We finished with the "Bridge of Sighs" and extensive network of Palace prisons ... but no dallying in these cold rooms as the Basilica awaited.
Built in the 11th century to replace an earlier church, St. Mark's Basilica's distinctly Eastern architectural style underlines Venice's connection with Byzantium. One guide book cheekily described the bejeweled exterior as being decorated with 'booty' from sea captains returning from distant voyages, a kind of architectural Venetian trophy chest. The inside is equally impressive and glows with reflective golden mosaics (little glass tiles) and colored marble. We climbed the staircase up to the Loggia dei Cavalli, Museo, to see its highlights: the view of the massive cathedral's interior from the upper balustrade, ancient Greek bronze horses and the magnificent view of St. Mark's Square, the Piazzetta and "our" San Giorgio Maggiore marina. The photo of us (above) is taken looking across the Piazzetta, with views of the Doge palace on the left, the columns of St. Theodoro and St. Mark and the 'new offices' and biblioteca on the right.
Dusk came quickly and with it cool temps so cozy cicchetti bars beckoned and we made an evening of sampling divine fresh wines and Italian "tapas" before catching the last vaporetto back to Sangaris. Although the morning was again bright and warm, while tempted to do a last in-town stop, the forecast warned of high winds and rain in two days, so we weighed anchor and motor-sailed towards our winter home in Monfalcone.
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We left the dock at San Giorgio Maggiore early Sunday morning in bright sunshine and toured the waterfronts of Giudecca and Dorsoduro before motoring past San Marco, Castello, Arsenale and around St. Elena. After yesterday's thunderstorms and a week of morning haze, the clear skies and vistas called for even more photos of this magical city ... we'll get a gallery going soon - stay tuned!
With a bit of a lull in the non-stop vaporetto and ferry traffic, we meandered around the St. Elena and la Certosa marinas, thinking the latter may be a good stopover for a visit next season. Our destination was Burano, a tiny island in the lagoons about one and half miles north of Murano and five north of Venice. Lining the sides of the channels every couple hundred yards were "dolphins", three wooden piles strapped together to mark the shallows. A few areas looked good for anchoring. Our first stop was just outside the channel on the north side of Burano and then, having explored by dinghy to check depths, we found a creek with 13-20 feet of water for the next few days.
We have amazing views from our creek-side anchorage with colorful Burano on one side and snowcapped Dolomites on the other. In between the golden marshland, local birds and small fishing boats complete the scene.
We spent a lazy Sunday at anchor and then went for a short walk ashore to check out the dramatically tilted tower (yes, a full 5% - equal to Pisa!) and browse the small streets lined with brightly painted houses. Monday and Tuesday we spent all day aboard in as thunderstorms dampened the touring and boat chores called - in particular fixing the bilge pump and cabin heater - it's getting chilly at night! And, for the mechanic's assistant, hours of blogging ~ a worthy Venice retrospective! Note: anchored in creek off Burano for 9 days! (10/10 - 10/19)
Cruiser's notes: Free! anchorage in the creeks north of Burano - this Lat-Lon - or on the edge of the canals with fore and aft anchors. Click and zoom on GoogleEarth to see a great view of the anchorage.
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Welcome to the first of nine Venice blogs! Don't fret, though, they're all pretty short with lots of great pics, so just keep scrolling down - the last Venice Blog is "shopping", so "shop" till you drop!. Plus, if you still want to browse the incredible sights, there are plenty more photos in the gallery - just click "Photo Gallery" over there on the right. When you get there click the first pic to see the caption, then keep clickin' "Next" - Enjoy!
Venice is one of the few cities in the world that can truly be described as unique. It survives against all odds, built on a series of low mud banks supported by thousands tree timber pilings in Adriatic tidal waters that make it regularly subject to floods. Once a powerful commercial and naval force in the Mediterranean, Venice has found a new role. Today tourists abound and her palazzi - palaces - have become shops, hotels and apartments, her warehouses and public offices have been transformed into museums and her churches have been turned into centers for art restoration.
Although we had been tempted to detour from Croatia and visit this summer, we're sure we made a good decision to wait until autumn for Venice. With crowds, temperature and marina rates all adjusted to more comfortable levels, we sailed from Porec, Croatia into the lagoon of Venice on Tuesday, October 6 with pals Pat and Keith. Arriving in thick haze and carefully heeding the channel pilings, we didn't see the city emerge until we were up close and personal. We moored in the marina on San Giorgio Maggiore island (see next blog entry) on the Canale di San Marco and right across from the Palazzo Ducale (Dogi Palace), Basilica and Campanile. By 6pm the mist cleared and - bam - there they all were! Even the Zecca (old city mint), Columns of St. Mark and St. Teodoro, Hotel Danielli and Vivaldi's La Pieta made an appearance, as did the customs house topped by a golden weathervane figure of Fortune, and the monumental Santa Maria della Salute church, built to commemorate the end of the 1630 plague.
Craig, and likely all engineers, loves Venice as it is a completely man-made environment rising up from the sea. And I am absolutely in awe of its fantasy like atmosphere. We both have thoroughly enjoyed and stretched out our stay in this wonderful city and will show you our favorite stops: museums and churches, exotic palaces, sun-speckled canals and narrow pathways, and enough cafes and shops for every whim and appetite!
So, here is the Rialto Bridge, a beloved landmark and geographical center of the city; The Crew ~ Katherine, Keith, Pat and Craig; the remarkable Byzantine Basilica San Marco with a corner of the Dogi's Gothic "pink" Palace; St. Mark's Campanile high above the Piazza and the crown shaped church of Santa Maria della Salute (Our Lady of Health) with the customs house in front ... this one was taken from the deck of our boat!
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s and k
Appearing like a stage set across the water from the Piazza San Marco, the little island of San Giorgio Maggiore has been captured on canvas countless times. What a comfortable home it made for us! And right next to Andrea Palladio's church and monastery, built between 1559 and 1580 and believed to be among his greatest architectural achievements. The church made a fascinating visit with its impressive Tintoretto paintings at the altar and the panoramic vista from the campanile was not to be beat!
Location, location, location! ... Sangaris is tied to the right hand, inner dock and is the fourth from the bottom - just right of the empty berth. From there we had spectacular views and incredibly convenient transportation as the #2 vaporetto - waterbus - stopped there every 10 minutes to take us across the canal to San Marco or, in the reverse direction, to Giudecca and points along the Dorsoduro, one of Venice's six ancient administrative districts or sestieri.
Cruiser's Note: If you splurge at the marina, you can easily get groceries and a reasonable self-service laundry a few steps from the Giudecco vaporetto stop at Zitelle; the next Redentore stop has a larger Prix supermarket.
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Here's the panoramic view from the top of the San Giorgio Campanile, just before dusk but fortunately with some of the mist gone. The top left photo faces north and shows (l to r) the Zecca, which was the old city mint and now the Biblioteca Marciano, the red brick St. Mark's campanile which replaced the one that collapsed in 1902 and the Doge's Palace with the Basilica's domes behind it. The top right faces west with the Dome of "our" San Giorgio and "La Salute" and the Customs House at the mouth of the Grand Canal. Below that is a view of the former monastery of San Gio and, across the water looking south, a peak at the grounds of the swanky Hotel Cipriani. Bottom right: La Salute close-up. And, finally, the Riva Delgi Schiavoni waterfront with the listing San Giorgio dei Greci campanile to the left and the white façade of the 15th C. La Pieta, which thanks to Vivaldi, became a foundling home and famous choral and orchestral music venue.
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Gondoliers are part of the symbolism and mythology of Venice. The gondola with its slim hull and flat underside is perfectly adapted for negotiating narrow, shallow canals. Once essential for the transport of goods from markets to palazzo, gondolas today are virtually all for tourists but what a great part of the Venice experience.
The photos show sleek black gondolas tied to mooring posts along the Riva Schiavoni near the San Zaccaria Vaporetto stop. In the first picture you can see the detail of the stylized bow ornament, the "ferro", which counterbalances the weight of the gondolier. The gondolas below have posh chairs and decorative ornamentation and are awaiting fares under the Academia Wooden Bridge. The traditional dress for a gondolier is a beribboned straw hat, striped top and black trousers. In one of the shops near the Rialto we found the hats for sale ... perhaps our captain or crew will need one? In the far right photo you can see the rowlock or "forcola" which can hold the oar in eight different positions for maneuvering ... it's quite an art, especially in the crowded back canals!
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During a morning walk in the Dorsoduro section of Venice we came upon Squero San Trovaso, the oldest of Venice's five surviving squeri (boatyards). Here craftsmen build new and repair some of the 400 craft in use. Keith and I looked at each other and at the exact same moment exclaimed "Now, Craig, don't get any ideas about hauling Sangaris here, even with both masts down!" as our captain has a reputation for seeking out most unusual venues for "over-wintering" our boat!
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