Final Thoughts on Venice

Venice is unique. No other town in the world can offer the age and modernism that is Venice today. Other cities have old sections, but Venice in nothing but old buildings. The city leaders make sure of that with the myriad of regulations that must be followed even to renovate the inside of a building. That difficulty is one reason many of the old palaces remain empty. It also helps explain why the city population is declining. From a population of over 200,000 a century ago, fewer than 60,000 live there today. 200,000 more live on the mainland where life is much easier.

Getting from place to place can be fun with the right attitude, but it is also tiring and can be jostling with people. Riding the Vaporetto is almost a necessity as it cuts the time and distance considerably and one is never very far from one of the stops. It can also be expensive at €7 a ride. That cost can be mitigated with a pass but that was still €60 for a week. I certainly made that pay, as I rode the Vaporetto at least 30 times in the week we stayed there.

Everything comes and goes by water. This is the daily garbage collection.

Freight being delivered

Daily market

Of course, walking is the best way to learn the city and discover its charms. Many times I left intending to reach some sight with little more than the general direction in mind, often without a map. We did end up with some dead ends that way as the path ended at a canal with no bridge. But with a little back-tracking we would be on our way again. Of course, when your feet and legs need a break from the hard cement pavement, there is always a bar or taverna nearby with outdoor seating where you can rest over a coffee or a glass of wine. And use their toilet.

Lined up for a gondola ride

One of the water taxis

It was on these walks that we made our discoveries. We just happened to run into La Fenice, the great opera house where we took a self-guided tour that allowed us to sit in the special seats reserved for the most expensive tastes. We also happened to stop in at a church which turned out to be a museum of historic violins. 

Every year, Venice hosts a Biennale festival of art. One would think Biennale would mean every other year. Venetians get around this contradiction by having a different focus every year so they can really have the festival annually. The excitement of this festival is that it is hosted in over 40 locations, many of which are free entry. Walk down the street, see a sign, and pop in for a quick look – or for an extended look. Either way, be entertained with some interesting art.

Canals are always busy

One of only four bridges that cross the Grand Canal

Churches offer the same enticement. Many are free, but even those that charge allow you to get a look from the entrance. Churches in Venice are great art galleries in their own right and show the secular power of the merchants as many of the works include local dignitaries.

Outside our door

Our view

What I will remember most about our stay in Venice is the joy I felt every time I stepped out of our apartment. We opened the door directly onto a street. Immediately to the left was a popular restaurant with two more only steps away. Across the street was a flower shop and two doors down a wine shop that also sold fruit. Around the corner we found a breakfast bar and less than 100 meters away were three squares where we could sit outside and enjoy watching the people while sipping a glass of wine.  Most important, of course, was the gelato store right next door on the right.  I’m ready to return to the wonderful city tomorrow. 

St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace

This is certainly the most magnificent part of Venice and would be in most any city. They form one side of one of the great squares in the world. St. Mark’s Square is filled with people, restaurants, shops, and music most of the day and evening. Even early mornings find crowds although they are smaller than they will be later in the day.  St. Mark’s opens at 9:30 and we were in line at 9:15.  We were in about 9:45.  The lines stay long most of the day, but move relatively fast.

We toured both buildings stopping for lunch in between. Both are a testament to the power of Venice when it was the richest and most important city in Europe and on the Mediterranean for centuries before the trade routes shifted to the west.

Winged lion is the symbol of Venice

 Most magnificent in the basilica is the Golden Altarpiece. It does cost a few Euro to get in but well worth it.  Biblical scenes are decorated in gold and over 2000 precious gems, most of which were plundered during the Crusades from Constantinople. Never mind the fact that Constantinople was a Christian city at the time.

The bronze horses which were also stolen and spent some of their past in Paris where Napoleon had them taken are now inside the church. They have been replaced outside with replicas. The views from the outside balcony were mesmerizing. I stood for about five minutes just taking in the scene.  We heard music wafting up from the square.  One of the restaurants had a small orchestra playing.  The cover charge for that place is higher as are the prices.  But it is nice that the music is outside so all can enjoy it while wandering through the square. 

The Doge’s Palace was the seat of government. Given the power and wealth of Venice it is no surprise that this building is filled with great art and magnificent meeting rooms. 

One of the Doges, political leaders of Venice

The Palace

One door leads across the adjacent canal to the prison. The covered bridge is call the Bridge of Sighs acknowledging the sighs made by prisoners as they took their last look at Venice before being imprisoned.  It was interesting to see the various sizes of the cells.  Some were very big and we couldn’t help wonder how many prisoners were held there…5, 25, 50. 

Bridge of Sighs

Venice: Part II

We stayed at Residenza degli Angeli, a small B&B two bridges from the Grand Canal. I wonder if Venetians think in terms of bridges to cross instead of distance between places. After carrying luggage between our Vaporetto stop and the B&B, that certainly is the way I would think, especially as we would be carrying groceries and other things from the store to our home. It’s hard to get most anywhere without crossing at least a couple of bridges.

Fortunately for us, Mario, our innkeeper, greeted us at the Vaporetto stop and helped us with our luggage. He also helped when we left. He said he wanted to be the complete innkeeper. He also got on the Vaporetto with us. I thought that was really nice, but he was just riding two stops to the fish market to get something for dinner and to have coffee with whatever friends he found there. The B&B was perfect. Mario gave us a hand-drawn map with directions to the B&B and major landmarks and, most importantly, to four recommended restaurants. The one we chose, Muro, was two bridges away. We ate outside where we could people watch while we ate the wonderful meal. We would definitely stay there again and will probably have another meal at that restaurant when we return for our week in Venice.

One of the dinosaurs

We also had a bit of a problem upon our arrival because of phones. We expected to be able to purchase a sim card for our phones there and make the necessary call to Mario so he could meet us. Unfortunately, unlike other airports, there are no sim cards available at the airport. They did have pay phones which I tried to use, but got no answer and then I had no idea what the recorded message said to do. It was, not surprisingly, in Italian. We decided to worry about that when we got to our Vaporetto stop.  Once there we simply asked someone for help and they called Mario who came a few minutes later to help. Stupid tourists can always get help if you just are not afraid to ask.

Some say that the only way to properly enter Venice is by boat. We got a good sense of how that is  when we left on our cruise. Cruises ships enter and leave port passing by the main part of the city providing fabulous views. We left at sunset so the views were even more spectacular.

Venice - First Impressions

The Grand Canal

We just  got back from dinner, so let’s start there. At the recommendation of our B&B host, we ate at a nearby place that was packed as soon as we arrived. We are still tired from two full days of flying so appetites were not huge, but we started with their daily bruschetta group. The tomatoes were rich and full of flavor, Linda liked the pizza-like topping, and I really enjoyed the anchovy paste mixed with Kalamata olives and tomato sauce. Linda opted for an artichoke penne pasta which she loved. 

I had a lobster spaghetti which was again flavorful and rich once I finished wrestling it out of its shell. A white truffle gelato followed by a couple of glasses of the house white finished off the evening.

The airport is small and easy to navigate. We quickly found our bus for the 13 km ride to the vaporetto which would take us down the Grand Canal to our stop. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to purchase a sim card in the airport so we had to ask a stranger to call our B&B to meet us at the vaporetto stop. We also had the pleasure of following one of the local “helpers” to the stop which was not well marked.  For some reason he led us to the second stop meaning we crossed the canal three times. Still, now we know where the train station is and how to get to our cruise ship tomorrow.

Our B&B is three bridges from our stop, but very easy to find. I think that people (at least the tourists) think of distances in terms of bridges because each means and up and down. After our orientation, we both showered. Linda chose to rest while I went exploring. Since it was 1:00 pm, my first exploration was a local bar for a beer and sandwich. I quickly discovered that it is hard to walk 50 yds without passing multiple shops and bars/restaurants.

The gondolas are beautifully outfitted.

One of the many delivery 'trucks'

This traffic jam included six gondolas, three delivery boats and two private boats.
It took about 15 minutes to clear. 

Fueled up, I took off for St. Marks Square. This took longer than expected, partly because of stops at the Hard Rock Café to buy a pin and Vodaphone to get a sim card so we can communicate online here like normal people. I also hit several blind alleys. Actually they are ‘blind’ only in the sense that you have to backtrack unless you want to swim or try to break the world long jump records.

This 'street' is quite wide.

Many small squares. Venetians used to get their water from collected rain out of wells like this one.

I wandered streets barely wide enough for two people and watched the gondolas fight with the delivery and personal boats for primacy on the canals, even the smallest ones. When I finally reached St. Marks, it took me a while to get oriented. It’s bigger than I expected and the main part of it is further from the water. We will learn more about that in a week as we spend more time in this beautiful city.

St. Mark's

Referring to something as ‘one of a kind’ today has lost its meaning, but this city fits. Because it was built on water, it has missed the programs other cities followed in turning their downtowns over to the car. Cars require much wider roads and straighter streets that actually go somewhere other than having to stop at the water. People dominate here as do small shops. The narrow streets and no cars make it hard to carry lots of purchases home if the home is more than a few blocks away. It is easy to see why people fall in love with Venice. Limiting the core area to boats and people creates and ambiance that is truly human in scope.

This black-headed gull is the only interesting bird so far.