It’s interesting how the general rhythm of Venice is different on the weekends. I guess like any big city but especially here. The crowds are less and the clicks of heels on pavement, going to work are in the background.
I went to Pilates during the morning commute. Caffe del Doge was filled with locals in for a quick caffe and everyone was, like me, walking swiftly over the bridge. Pilates was killer! She gives a much more “athletic” class and focused almost solely on the legs this time. I was wiped out by the time I met Ken in Campo San Luca after class. We decided this would be a good time to just wander around San Marco aiming for one of the chorus churches we hadn’t been to yet. I forgot how truly beautiful the back calles of San Marco are:

And after a while we found ourselves at the back of La Fenice:

We looked into a lot of shop windows–interesting galleries and period costumes and really couldn’t figure out how to get to the church without braving the heavy foot traffic so we wound our way some more. Whenever we saw a large group coming we just
turned down a side street. Finally I knew we were getting nearer to Rialto so we made our way home for lunch.
In the afternoon we took off for Campo Santa Margherita for a gelato stop and then went to the church of San Sebastiano. There is a major restoration project going on there and, for me, it really takes away from the awe inspiring impact of the church. But the ceilings are stunning and seeing an area which had already been cleaned as compared with the old was interesting. From there we made the short walk to Angelo San Raphaele, the church which figures prominently in Miss Garnet’s Angel. We had been there before 4 years ago and I really love it. The series of paintings telling the story of Tobias and the angel with the dog made me happy! Here’s a picture of the main, but just one of many, depiction of the angel we call “Ralph”. You can see his little dog down on the right. I lit a candle for Luigi there.

Walking back we enjoyed this view of the back of San Sebastiano:

We went to the “big Billa” on the Zattere and took the vaporetto home with our stuff. It was such a pleasant ride. No hurry for us. A family of Americans got on and we talked a bit. After asking us some questions the guy said: So, I guess you’re Venice veterans.
I guess we really are.