Venice - Friday

Today was our first overcast and showery day in Venice, so we spent some time indoors for change. We were mostly looking at great works of art housed in famous old churches where photography was not allowed so there won't be pictures of these in today's blog. Mostly we saw works by Tintoretto, Donatello, and Titian. We also checked out the largest gothic church in Venice called Santi Giovanni e Paola where 25 doges are buried. The place is lined with elaborate marble sarcophagi on the sides and walls of the church while other tombs are indicated by very plain slabs of marble on the floor. We stopped to listen to two wonderful street musicians as we walked from place to place. They were playing a charango and a classical guitar. The wisteria is in bloom and we occasionally saw it hanging gracefully overhead or smelt its sweet fragrance. We passed a boat market where the vendor (positioned on his boat on the canal) was selling a variety of fresh produce.  Artichokes, asparagus, and strawberries are particularly abundant at this season. Speaking of food, we discovered a nice little restaurant near our lodging last night and decided to return there for supper again tonight. To end the evening we took the vaporetto for an evening cruise on the Grand Canal. It was too dark for photos but a nice way to end the day.