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June 27, 2025
Venice, Italy


The port of Venice. Cruise ships are no longer allowed to dock here, so we take a shuttle boat from Fusina.

We spent most of our first day aboard ship unpacking and taking care of business. Between meetings, Russell was able to take the 45-minute shuttle boat from Fusina to Venice. Unfortunately, he had just about enough time to run to Piazza San Marco, take some photos, then run back to the return shuttle.

It is just as well, as Europe is in the midst of a heat spell. (They call it a “heat dome.”) We had a similar heat spell in New York, and it seems to have followed us to Europe.

Fortunately, we have been to Venice several times before. And we will be back here again in five days.


Venice is a playground for the rich and famous. (The day we arrived, Jeff Bezos had a $50 million wedding.) The $360-million superyacht on the left is the “Kismet,” owned by Shad Khan, who also owns the Jacksonville Jaguars. The $100-million superyacht on the right is the “Emerald Azzurra,” owned by the Scenic Group. It is available for rent for $4,000 per person per night.


Approaching the Piazza San Marco. The tower in the center is St. Mark’s Campanile. On the right is the Doge’s Palace.


St. Mark’s Campanile


Walking past the Doge’s Palace (on the right), you can see St. Mark’s Basilica


St. Mark’s Basilica. The four horse statues were stolen from Constantinople and taken to Venice in 1204. They were stolen from Venice and taken to Paris by Napoleon in 1797. They were returned to Venice in 1815. (The statues outside are replicas. The originals are inside the Basilica.)


The two granite columns depict a lion and St. Theodore


When we first came here in 2002, we had very fond memories of feeding the pigeons with our sons every day.


Sadly, pigeon feeding was outlawed several years ago. The Piazza is now largely empty.


In 2002, we had great difficulty lugging all of our suitcases over the many canal bridges. Today there are ramps all over.


The “Bridge of Sighs,” connected to the Doge’s Palace. Here, convicts had their last view of Venice before they were sent to prison.


Today, Venice is busy with souvenir stands

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