Howling like a stuck "gato"!

Sunday we thought we would have a lazy morning as much of Venice doesn't open until later.  We woke to the sound of a cat howling and a boy yelling "signora......gato!"  No idea what was going on but it went on for some time.  We had our coffee and Frank went for a run (kind of crazy in the busy street of Venice!).  A little later we heard someone hammering and i was surprised that someone was working on a Sunday! Looking out the window we saw 5 firemen trying to get into an apartment.  It went on for a while as they tried various tricks and then we realised that the cat was stuck in an apartment that no-one seemed to live in.  It took them about 45 mins (5 of them!) to get the howling at out- quite the spectacle for a quiet Sunday.
After our lazy morning we headed out- this time we went the opposite direction we have gone from the last few days and found there were hardly any crowds the further away we moved from the Rialtto and St Marks Square.
We found some very interesting modern art exhibits along the way- which made for a great art experience day.

Garbage state- is the name of this one!

We made it to the Accademia Bridge which is one of only 3 bridges that cross over the grand canal- it is an amazing view from here!

We stopped for slushies along the way as it was heating up.  Finally we made it to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum- our first destination of the day.  We were pretty excited as it is supposed to be a wonderful collection of modern art.  The museum did not disappoint.  We must have spent close to 2 hours in the museum- seeing all kinds of modern art- there were Dali's, Picasso's, Pollock's, Warhol's and many more.  The setting of the museum is amazing too- it was Peggy's home and set in a palace right on the grand canal.

After the museum we were again in search of food- we had seen a cafe at the foot of the bridge and headed there- when we were seated and ready to order some paninis the waiter informed us that today was Sunday and they didn't have fresh bread so there was pizza and salad on the menu!  Hmmmm no more pizza please.  We left and headed back to a little bar Frank had seen earlier. They managed to have fresh bread and we had some delicious paninis and calzones.  After our late lunch/dinner we were in search of a music museum we had read about.  We found it- to our amazement as the streets here are not always labelled and unless you are looking for a main attraction the signage is horrendous (so much for a map!) The museum was set in church- apparently there are about 120 churches in this small city.  The museum had so many instruments dating back 100's of years- it was quite interesting to see. There was also the story of Vivaldi and his tenure in Venice.

paddle boarding on the canals.

We headed back the way we had come as en route to the museums we had happened upon the mask shop where Stanley Kubrick had the masks made for "eyes wide shut'.  They had some stunning masks in the store and they even allowed the girls to try some on and us to photograph them- true Venetian Masks.

By this time it was gelato time- our guide on the previous days tour had told us the best gelato shop was around the corner from where we were- now to find it amongst the alleys and canals- we did!  Frank and I had the pistachio gelato which held the promise of true Sicilian pistachios- it was the best I have had since we have been here that was true.
Back in our hood, the girls were dying to go on a gondola ride- these are not cheap and being after 7pm it promised to be even more expensive- we found a guy who was willing to give us a deal and we set off.  Down the grand canal and into the alley ways or canals of Venice.  There are over 176 different canals- all natural apparently except for 2- who knew! It was a beautiful peaceful ride - we even passed Marco Polo's house.

Rush hour in Venice.

Then it was back home and done for the day (so much for an easy day :))  Frank bought a beer and I a bottle of Bellini and we are now relaxing and absorbing the day!
Oh also - we believe we spotted 2 stars out and about today- pretty sure we ran in to William H Macy on the way out of the museum of Music and a little further down that alley Frank was sure that he spotted Adam Clayton of U2??!