We had just about given up on our gondola ride, as there were none available on the side canals we passed. We wanted one that was in the smaller canals. The grand canal had big boats and swarms of gondolas and that just did not seem like too much fun. We worked our way from the train station through the Rio de Polo region. We had just about reached the grand canal again, as it loops around, when we came upon two lone gondoliers standing on a bridge. We enquired and they were going to give us everything we wanted, an intimate experience in the narrowest of canals. As luck would have it the wind dies down and the sun came out!
First we had to walt through this tunnel
To get to the gondolas
Careful
We are in!
Putting on a show for the folks on the bridge
The gondolier showed up how high the tide can get
Many fancy attachments
Various little ally ways
I was suprised to see oysters growing on the walls
A golden trident on the front
A seahorse, not the only beautiful items on board
Few other boats shared these canals
Grand entrances
Spires and spindles
Getting a head
Fancy ironwork
The canals are all labeled with "street names"
Passing under many bridges
We are so secluded that there are no people?
But plenty of fine old buildings
The average age of the buildings in this neighborhood was 500 years old
Oh no, we had to back up to let this boat pass
The tide levels can clearly be seen, most all houses have a step up inside these doors
Great experience
All smiles
The bricks have seen better days
Slowly being eaten away
No more rain!
Tracking our progress
Stitching together the walls
No singing from our gondolier, he was concentrating too hard
We really like the smaller canals
Approaching another turn
La Madoneta
Peaceful
These bricks could be a good scene for a puzzle
A discarded floral wreathe
A patchwork door
Another turn
Behind the wall to the left is a fantastic garden and there is even a private bridge to get there
I can only imagine the effort it would take to paint this wall
These windows and the doors are mirrored
Look another boat!
Fancy teak wood
A very nice chimney
So many mysterious passegways
The oldest looking door
Big doors with a little door inset
Approaching the end of out trip with a small section on the Grand Canal
The scale of the buildings goes way up
The size of the boats increased too
These folks had a bumpy ride
On the bigger canal the wind picked up
My sweetie!
Many of the larger buildings have been converted to hotels or museums
Still some private docks
Very big
Our indicator to turn off of the Grand Canal
The Rio Polo is more our style
Three layers of triple windows
Spires are mini landmarks
Time to duck under our final bridge
A slippery slope indeed
Docked up
Ready for our close ups
Thanks for the great ride, time tp pay up. 90 Euros seems like a bargain.
