Yesterday was the day the pontoon bridge which was put up between the Punta della Dogana in Dorsodoro and the Giardini Reali behind Saint Mark’s Square was open to the public. This is a temporary bridge that was erected for the Venice Marathon which was run today. It gave us a chance to cross the Grand Canal where we usually can’t and made it easy to get to Dorodoro, one of the 3 sestieres across the Canal from us.



It makes for a whole different angle on some of the very well-known Venetian landmarks. Once we reached the Dorsodoro side, we took one look at the crowds looking at the Grand Canal and decided to walk down the Zattere which is the “street” that borders Dorsodoro facing the Guidecca Island across part of the lagoon.



It is a very long street and after walking awhile we decided we needed to eat some lunch. Since the plan was to go to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, we headed in that direction. The restaurants we saw were either too full, too touristy, or too expensive, so we decided to eat at the restaurant at the museum. We actually had a good, reasonably priced meal amid photos of Peggy Guggenheim, so it was not a bad choice. We both love this museum which is in Guggenheim’s Venice home on the Grand Canal and draws from her extensive modern art collection.




Last night we had leftover risotto and played mah jong challenges on the computer. Daylight savings time ended today in Europe so we have an extra hour today. Alan walked over to Saint Marks and then to the Riva degli Schiovani to watch the marathon. While he was there, some of the cyclists and recumbent cyclists came through, but no runners. He said it was really crowded especially at Saint Marks.




While he was on the Riva degli Schiavoni, he saw at least two cruise ships coming into port, so he decided to come back to the apartment before being overrun by tourists. We are now waiting for our friend Noelle who is flying into Venice from Sicily where she has been visiting. We will all spend the next several days together. Reservations tonight at Alla Staffa. Yum! Hopefully more food porn.