last full day in Venezia

So, as soon as you hear about yesterday, you will understand why today was out of the running for first place before we’d even started. But we did ourselves proud, despite fuzzy heads and tired limbs.

We saw the Rialto Bridge by day (bit more bustling than it is at night, but still, neither of us could be bothered to have our photo in front of it).

Watched as they washed and scrubbed the fish smells from the Pescheria.

Nearly got lost (again) navigating our way back to Piazza San Marco and tried to appreciate the painted on colours of the Basilica in full daylight.

Jigsawed together which building celebrated Venice’s deliverance from the plague (Santa Maria della Salute; the one from my charcoal drawing with all the graceful domes) and discovering, therefore, that the rose and white stoned one fringed with what we concluded should be called ‘clubs’ was Palazzo Ducale (the Doge’s Palace).

Decided that there was definitely more than one Clock Tower with a green roof but the one next to here could be the one which has been fixed fairly recently.

Realised, just before we hunted down the famous Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs) that – to our shame – we had passed it about a hundred times without realising.

And, that we could have worked that out from Emma’s charcoal drawing.

Ho hum.

Tonight we ate oily Amatriciana in the hostel for a purse saving 6 euros (including a drink for an extra euro: bargain-ous); learnt about how they ruthlessely quarantined the plague in Venice onto the small Lazzaretto Vecchio island; wikipedia’ed the man behind the Cassanova legend (he was fondled – by his younger sister?! – as a boy: might explain things somewhat); and heard why Cesco Pizigani – one of the city’s most talented stonecutters – carved a man wearing a turban holding aloft a heart onto the side of one the portal of the Scuola Grande by the waterfront.

Then – just to finish off the day in style – we sat with Giselle and went through the top 80 sexiest men of 2011 according to Glamour magazine.

Well: it’s all about balance.