Arrivedeci Venezia

Our last day in Venice was the best yet...of course it takes about 2 days just to get your bearings in Venice, but while I might want to stay a day more, I  think that anything over 4 days would be wearying in the city. We had taken the advice of a friend (thank you Roger) to stay in Treviso and we are glad that we did. Although it means a short train ride in and out in the mornings, we get away fom the noise and crowds to a beautiful (quieter) town that has some lovely sites and dining of its own.
Our ride from Treviso to Venice was on a crowded early train, but we were nicely organized having bought a full day vaporetto ticket the day before. From the train stop in S. Lucia, we jumped right on the first canal ferry and headed to St. Thoma parish where we toured Santa Maria dei Frari, a Francisan church featuring an amazing work by Titian (The Assumption of the Virgin) and some beautiful monuments to Titian (who is entombed there) and Canova. Many other amazing works are also worth the visit including the beautiful and moving piece featured in the attached picture.
My wife would likely spend the entire trip in museums, galleries and churches - and I confess to enjoying some galleries as well - but my bucket list for Venice was composed entirely of three key activities: finding and visiting  the Hard Rock Cafe Venezia; feeding the pigeons in St. Mark's Square (because the signs say not to :-)); and riding a bike on the Lido. We did the first two the day before, so today was the day to finish my agenda.
The Lido is a small spit of land that forms a breakwater between the mouth of Venice's Grand Canal and the Adriatic sea outside the Lagoon. We arrived on the island direct from our St. Thoma stop and immediatly rented a couple of bikes from Stefano and his partner at Lido on Bike. We rode a leisurely pace along the back side of the island and the beach strip on the Adriatic, and rode almost the full length of the island down to Marcuola, before heading back in time for a quick bite on the dock and catching the vaporetta back to the Academia museum stop.
We had intended to head out to St. Giorgio, but got a little turned around and realized it would take too long. So we settled on visiting Peggy Gugenheim's collection and the current installations of Charles and Jackson Pollock's works. Another fascinating and unexpected treasure that came by chance and not choice. We got back to Treviso just in time to enjoy a romantic anniversary dinner (gnocchi for her, steak tartar for me) before heading home to pack for the morning. An early rise to make our trains to Torino, and we fondly bid arrivederci to Venezia.