Today we "did" the Doge's Palace and the Correr Museum, both on St. Mark's Square. The former has altogether too many, much-too-large, and way-overly decorated rooms, especially the ceilings, each vying to out-do the previous ones. The exit was across "the bridge of sighs," not so much those of the tourists, but supposedly those of prisoners who would have their last glimpse of Venice before spending the last years of their lives in cold, windowless dungeons.
After we emergered from the dark prison onto the tourist-flooded piazza with the flags of St. Mark's Cathedral fluttering in the sunshine, we visited the Correr Museum. It has dozens of rooms with art and artifacts from Venice's long history, and nine rooms that "Sissi," the Empress of Austria, occupied for nine months in 1861/2. They were beautifully restored as of this year in a style that looked more neo-Classical than Victorian. Stunning.
Instead of lunch, we all had a gelato and Karin went shopping!
