Day 14 - Ca' Mocenigo, Basilica San Marco, Caffé Florian and Vivaldi's Four Seasons

This morning we went on a mission to find a palazzo with interiors intact. We had heard that Ca' Mocenigo in Santa Croce, which we were told was more or less as it was in the 18th century.

It was a smallish palace, by Venetian standards, but the rooms were certainly grand and ornate. To our delight, the rooms we saw were indeed furnished and other other items of interest, including period clothing. We certainly recommend this small museum to anyone who visits Venice. The place was almost deserted - we wonder what all the other tourists in Venice are looking for?

We crossed the Grand Canal by traghetto. These are old gondolas that just cross the canal back and forth. Much less glamourous than a gondola ride, but much cheaper (50 cents vs 80€). It saved us alot of time walking all the way to the nearest bridge, too.

After stopping in a bakery for lunch, we visited a small church which is apparently a favourite amongst the locals. We could see why. The name of the church is Santa Maria dei Miracoli. The marble inside and out is quite beautiful.

The beautiful, small church, Santa Maria dei Miracoli.

Next stop was a somewhat larger and more famous church - Basilica San Marco. Certainly in a very different style to the churches we had visited in Paris and Avignon. We visited the Treasury to have a look are the artifacts, and all the yucky relics - hands, teeth, arms, etc. supposedly of saints.

Basilica San Marco.

View of the Piazza from Basilica San Marco. You can see Caffé Florian on the left. Yep, those are thousands of pigeons.

While in Piazza San Marco, we decided to have coffee in one of the famously expensive cafes. The only question was Florian or Quadri.

We settled on Florian, which is apparently the oldest cafe in Italy, having opened in 1720. We had coffee and cake for two, which was a nice experience, but probably not worth the 50€ it cost us. It's not the sort of thing you would do more than once.

David in Caffé Florian.

Our nicely presented coffee and cake in Caffé Florian.

We headed back to the hotel to get changed for the concert. After Florian we chose to have a cheap and cheerful dinner of takeaway pizza.

This unusual store uses mannequins in the form of Venetian doges - in high heels.

Having a bit of time to explore San Marco, we found the famous opera house, La Fenice, and Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, which was tucked away in a maze of alleyways but worth seeking out (look at the picture, you'll see what we mean).

The famous staircase of Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo.

The concert was Vivaldi's Four Seasons (Le quattro stagioni) as played by an ensemble called Interpreti Veneziani, a very talented group.