Venice, Italy The Grand Canal 1

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ROF= Ring of fire journey

ITL= Italy Journey 

Saturday November 14, 2015

Venice, Italy Grand Canal 1

There is no spectacle that can describe the Venice Grand Canal. Your 1st view/ impression is of the water...water ways/ boats...  these are the streets.  It's waterways to every building/ hotel/ business.... waterfront is all 3 story buildings that have been here for 500+ years. 

We were dropped off at our hotel dock... baggage. tipped the boat driver. 

checked into our room... great room... not a direct view of the canal. Bathroom shutters opened and you looked right to the canal. An alley/ alleyway leading to the canal was right under... the canal was 100'. ... we had a "View" of the canal. You know... we were in Venice, Italy.... on the canal.  

You could see the canal traffic... later that night  we could hear the bells ringing of the call to Mass... from our room; that's pretty good in my book.   

 Next morning at 0600 could hear stirring around on the canal and got up .  0730 went into the breakfast room/ hall... had a balcony onto the grand canal....

Got the buffet breakfast of some prosciutto and scrambled eggs, toast... a few bites and had to go out onto the balcony to breathe the air of the Grand Canal.

Breakfast in Venice, Italy.... go out onto the balcony w/ a glass of OJ and sip... cool... almost chill at 52*... a couple of boats coming and going....it's overcast and can't see a sunrise... but it's still a grand spectacle... Thank you lord for this view; I promise I will not waste this day you have given me. 

Breakfast bar... prosciutto ham, thin sliced like you could read through it. .. it's salty ham  & really good. Some scrambled eggs, wheat toast....black coffee, but they don't understand real black strong coffee. 

They offer a cappuccino but it's a strong black shot... and I like that! ../ but you have to work for a real cup of strong black coffee.   Maybe ge4t 2 cappuccinos in a cup and top off w. an American dose... work at it... it's there if you don't give up.  

Then you walk back out onto the balcony overlooking the Grand Canal of Venice... breathtaking... magnificent.... a spectacle for sure. Can't take pix fast enough.  

Back to the room & get saddled up to head out into Venice.

Leave the hotel and the "streets" are 10' wide alleyways. Cobblestone brick walkways... several turns and corners... and out into a square w/ a well. ... tall building which we would 2 days later realize it was a cathedral we would have Sunday Mass at. 

NO... I'm not Catholic... but when you go into these grand cathedrals... and they're all over the place... you forget your smallness and go and have mass in one of the greatest places in the world and you pray for forgiveness of all your sins and mistakes and am in awe of the grand setting in these remarkable cathedrals. You lose your sense of being and want to stop and say a pray for forgiveness of all your shortcomings... these great cathedrals will bring you to your knees.  It doesn't matter what religion you are from... you just have a sense of awe and want to be absolved of your sins./ mistakes... and go make the world a better place to live for all mankind; these are powerful places...