Confessions of the visits organiser.
Visits Reporting by members.
© Catherine Binns photograph. 13/05/2005
Venice by Rose Povey
MARCH 2005.
Dawn to dusk sunshine was enjoyed by 47 Friends of the Scarborough Art Gallery during the whole of the six days of their recent visit to VENICE. Venice was everything one could wish for, the 3* hotel well situated for getting around and close to the Vaporetto stops on the Grand Canal. Visits as a group were made to the Ca’ D’Oro (the house of gold) on the Grand Canal, now a museum; St.Mark’s Basilica to see the Golden Altar and the Treasure; and a fascinating guided tour of the original Jewish Ghetto. Situated only a few hundred metres from the hotel and the bustling thoroughfares, once inside it is a peaceful backwater, its central square having two memorials, one to the forced exodus of Jews by train to the concentration camps and the other to the victims of the holocaust. A very moving experience. Three very different synagogues were visited; The visit to the Venice's notable Art Gallery, The Accademia was a must, a veritable treasure-house of paintings, room after room after room full of them. Couldn’t possible see everything. We also made a trip by train to Padua. We visited the Scrovegni (Arena) Chapel with its famed Giotto frescoes and had a guided tour of the old medieval town. A word of advice for anyone intending to visit the Arena Chapel, be warned that it is imperative to book well in advance. You will be given a time-slot and you must pay by Credit Card at the time of booking. We nearly missed the boat. To preserve the frescoes, visitors are only allowed to stay for a maximum of fifteen minutes, and numbers are restricted. A definite ‘must see’ for any art lover. Boat trips were made to the islands of Murano (Glass) and Burano (Lace). The houses on the latter island painted incredible vivid colours.
At every turn in Venice there was a superb view, and one often felt like one was looking at a Canaletto painting, only much more beautiful.. It’s very easy to walk about the narrow streets, but waterbuses can take you everywhere if you feel lazy. On our final night in Venice we had what has become an institution, a Group Dinner, this time a typical Venetian meal, sampling all manner of fish freshly caught from the Lagoon, followed by delicious desserts made by the Mama of the restaurant owner, who gave us an interesting commentary on the food.
We were all sorry to leave Venice and as we made our final boat trip from the hotel across the lagoon to the Airport in the late afternoon, the sun was setting, a red orb low in the sky and reflected across the shimmering water. Very much like Monet’s "Impression – Sunrise" but this was "sunset".. There was much more that we didn’t have time to see in the six days – but that’s a very good reason to return.
. 
Last night in Venice 'the dinner party'. With interesting artwork. & 'the golden girls'
©Catherine Binns