Venice is beguiling, confusing, surreal, intriguing and a little bit smelly.
Piazza San Marco from the terrace of Basilica di San Marco
There were a lot of things I had heard about Venice, but nothing really prepared me for just how interesting it truly is. The strange blue-green colour of the canals, getting lost with useless maps, beautiful blooming window boxes, makeshift rooftop courtyards, laundry hanging between houses above the water or the street, the piles of rubbish, old grand churches, architecture from centuries ago, mosaics, cobblestone, devotional artwork and yes, even quite an odd smell, captured me after only one jet-lagged afternoon’s walk and intrigued me over the few days we were here. Everything is interesting. Without exception.
The Grand Canal from the Rialto.
The best thing is that despite warnings that it was inevitable, we have not encountered large crowds of people. Piazza San Marco has been the exception, with massive tour groups littering the square, huddled around their guides. Other than that, the streets have been relatively quiet and we were able to walk to the edges of the city and see only a few shuffling old Italian ladies taking the shopping home for dinner, students laughing heartily, workers rushing home and people sitting having an afternoon espresso with their dog sitting proudly on their lap. Walking away from the crowds, nicking down tucked away back alleys and snaking from “campo” to “campo” (squares) through tiny “calles” (streets) helped us avoid the crowds and has let us see the real Venice. We’ve been left staring at our precious map more times than I care to remember, but it is entirely worth it.
Not that we have skipped out on the things that bring people to Venice, the Basilica di San Marco, with amazing domes, mosaics and marble work; The Galleria Dell’Accademia featuring Venetian renaissance devotional art work (ie. lots of paintings of “Madonna con bambino”); The famous bridges like the Rialto and the Ponte dei Sospiri; the island of Murano and of course, lots of amazing churches, with my personal favourite being the facade of the Cheisa San Moise in San Marco and the interior of the Santa Maria Assunta dei Gesuiti. However, I really think my favourite part has been just walking around or catching a vaporetto, (public water bus) getting lost and stumbling across Venetian people going about their lives.
Cheisa San Moise
However, The importance of the tourist dollar is always prevalent, The same man on the corner near our hotel tries to sell me roses every time we walk past, you can hear the gondoliers shouting for your business near every body of water and food is quite pricey in some places. We learned just how expensive on our first night after paying $50 AUD for a cheese pizza to share, bottle of still water and a beer. Call it jet-lag, starvation or just plain stupidity, we will not be doing that again! Hole in the wall places serving large slices of pizza, tiny sweet shops and ‘snack’ cafes are the best bet and amazingly delicious too! I don’t ever want to forget the amazing homemade gelati I had at ‘Il Golosone’. I have never tasted better; but given I am in Italy this is very likely to change!
There has also been an unexpected side to Venice. We visited the Isola Dei Morti and walked around San Michele Cimeterio, got a Peroni at a bar called The Raging Pub, enjoyed a morning at amazing Natural History Museum (which was among one of the best I’d ever been to), ate amazing home made pasta at a sports bar and saw how people function in a city. From the intricate pulley systems they create from 3rd story windows to the street to the rubbish collection, postal delivery and even building work completed on water, I’m intrigued by the Venetian people’s ability to make it work.
The canals.
A wonderful place to begin the journey.
Ali's adventure 