Venice: Part 2

After leaving the cathedral, we went across the piazza to the Doge's Palace.  The Doge, or duke, of Venice was said to be the most powerful man in Europe for 400 years.  The cathedral is connected to the Doge's Palace, since it was originally used as the doge's private place of worship.  To quote David, "It was good to be the Doge."  The palace is filled with beautiful art- sadly, I can't show any examples since pictures are not allowed.  My friend Logan is better at sneaking snapshots without getting noticed- check out "Logan's Bologna Blog" on www.blogger.com to see more photos.  Here are some pictures I was allowed to take inside the courtyard and from the windows of the palace:

The tour of the palace took us through rooms of beautiful artwork and impressive weaponry, and then we abruptly found ourselves headed down to the dungeon.  We crossed the Bridge of Sighs- so named because prisoners would often sigh at their last view of Venice before crossing the moat into the prison.  I have toured other castles in Europe, but this dungeon was not like any I've seen before.  It had at least 3 floors, with cell after cell. 

David behind bars

A prisoner's last view of Venice...minus the tourists

The Bridge of Sighs

We managed to escape from the dungeon and find our way back to the piazza.  Sadly, at this point it was time to head back to the train station.  Since no trip to Venice would be complete without a boat ride, we hired a water taxi to take us back.  This involved the tedious procedure of asking for a price, acting shocked at said price, pretending to walk away, and then haggling with the taxi driver.  Since there were 9 of us, we actually got a pretty good deal. 

Back on dry land, we were ready for some food!  Venice is known for its seafood- squid in particular.  Many dishes involve squid cooked in it's own ink.  David was brave enough to try some spaghetti with squid ink, and we all had a great laugh at his black teeth at the end of the meal! 

Venice is all it's cracked up to be...and more.  I only spent a handful of hours there, and I can't wait to get back for more!