Despite the swankiness (and pants wetting cost) of our room it only had a tiny shower.  So I was thrilled to discover the extra bowl next to the toilet in which to shave my legs.  That’s right — the bidet.  😜  Plumbing would prove to be a recurring theme throughout our time here.  We had notices placed in our bathroom glasses saying NOT to drink the tap water under any circumstances — even to use for brushing our teeth.  So they provided little bottles of water solely for the purposes of dental hygiene.  It was not just our hotel; all water had to be purified before consumption.  Burk wanted to begin the day by visiting the Doge’s Palace just a stone’s throw away from our hotel off the Piazza San Marco.  Built in the Venetian Gothic style, it is one of the main landmarks of the city.  Once the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the former Republic of Venice, it opened as a museum in 1923.  The Republic of Venice was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.  It served as a staging area for the Crusades as well as a very important center of commerce.  Silk, grain, spice and art from the 13th century up to the end of the 17th century made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history.  While we were standing in line to get in, an old, hunched over gypsy woman with one scrunched up eye wearing a head scarf was going up and down the line begging with a can.  I have never minded giving money to anyone who was doing SOMEthing; whether it be singing, posing for pictures, playing an instrument, or just being kind in giving directions.  But my daddy often said one could always find some way to work.  So when she got to me I smiled genuinely and said, “No, grazie.”  She then began a tirade where she proceeded to jab her gnarled finger in my face and started raining down what I truly believe were curses upon my head.  She got so worked up spittle flecked from her mouth onto my face as she was standing so close.  Like an idiot I just stood there and kept smiling at her.  It lasted about three minutes and she became progressively louder, gesticulating wildly.  Truly, it was like something out of a Grimm’s fairytale.  I do believe there is evil.  If something like that ever happens again I have vowed to rebuke them and make the sign of the cross.  On another cheery note, pictured above is the famous Bridge of Sighs which we also visited that day.  It spans the Rio di Palazzo (Palace River) and was intended to connect the old prison and interrogation rooms in the palace to the new prison situated directly across the river.  There are a couple of theories as to how the bridge got its name.  The first involves the prisoners that walked across on their way to the executioner who were said to sigh, probably catching their last glimpse of the outside world.  Another story says that if a couple kisses under the bridge at sunset they will enjoy eternal love.  Thus the sighs are said to come from lovers.  This romantic view was created by the Poet Lord Byron with his writings:  “I stood in Venice on the Bridge of Sighs, a palace and prison on each hand.”  The bridge itself was beautiful stretching high above the canal.  Composed of white limestone, it is generally known as one of the finest examples of bridge architecture in the world.  A mix of grandeur and a kind of Godless desolation seemed to hang over the entire city.  I couldn’t help but think of Paris being called The City of Light.  In Venice, I believe we’d found our contrast.