Our first days of vacation were very hot. Highs were in the 90s in Florence, high 80s in Venice. Today was very nice — pleasantly warm and sunny. Our first adventure was taking the “water bus”, or as I think of it, the “boat bus”. All our difficulties were overcome with the help of incredibly kind and patient Italians who spoke nearly perfect English. We went back to St. Mark’s square. This is an interesting clock. It displays the hours in roman numerals and minutes in decimal numbers. The round dial displays the zodiac. The men on either side of the bell look cool but aren’t functional. The bell striker is quite conventional.

Our first stop was the Church. It has the famous four horses, which were originally in Constantinople. When Venice conquered Constantinople, the horses were sent to Venice as tribute. Or, if you are from Turkey, they were stolen. The horses pictured here are reproductions. The originals are inside. I was close enough to touch them, but no pictures are permitted inside the church.

Most of our time was spent in the Doge’s Palace. Doges were powerful rulers, but not quite as powerful as Marino Falliero thought. His was one of the shorter terms. One of the rooms had a picture of almost all the Doges. This picture shows only a black drape. The banner says “This is the space reserved for Marino Faliero, beheaded for his crimes.” Marino’s crime was trying to kick the powerful families out of government.

Our boat pulled out of Venice about 6 PM with perfect weather. Many passengers went to the top deck and gathered along the rail. We heard a commentary about the sites we were seeing as we left town.

Here’s more pics from St. Mark’s Square.