Venice

Venice is the most beautiful city I have ever been to. Almost nothing in the city is unattractive. It is a continuous, wondrous, magnificent work of art. Venice feels different from the rest of Italy, from the moment you set foot there. It has it’s own rhythm, a different heart beat from the rest of the country. Maybe it has never really lost its identity as a city-state. The first thing I noticed when I exited the train station upon arrival from Ravenna, was how quiet it is. No cars. No scooters. Only water buses and taxis and cargo boats. And of course those are only on the canals.

Away from the canals there is only pedestrian traffic.

Once I got myself oriented and on the first water-bus to get to my B&B, I realized that everyone is in the same boat, so to speak, with regard to travelling speed and commuting time. It’s pretty much all public transit, and so you don’t really have a choice as to how to get from point A to point B. No running red lights, no honking horns, stalled cars, no collisions, no road rage. And the only short-cuts are on foot. Although these craft can become frighteningly crowded, with commuter packed in like sardines.

The B&B I booked is situated on an island just off Venice, called San Erasmo. Once you get from the train station to the far side of Venice, you must transfer to another water bus. All in all it takes about an hour to get from station to San Erazmo. I decided to go straight there rather than start exploring Venice, since it was already about 3:00, and I really had no idea where I was! Good thing too, because by the time I got settled into my room (it’s about a 15 minute hike down a rural road to the B&B, dragging the suitcase behind), it was well after 4:00 and that left less than an hour of daylight.

Yes, October 26, and it was dark by 5:30 in Venice. I mean DARK dark. Anyway, I was able to get dinner there and I spent the rest of the evening working on my blog update and emailing and e-chatting with my sons.

Next morning after breakfast I headed back to Venice, to Piazza San Marco, the very heart of Venice. It was crawling with tourist, of course. There was a long line up for the Palazzo Ducale, but a short one for the Basilica di San Marco, so I opted for the Basilica to kick things off. Well, I was turned away on account of the fact that I had a day pack on my back. Apparently there was a place for visitors to check their packs whilst in the Basilica, but I couldn’t find it (have I mentioned how wanting Italians signage is?), and so I decided to re-group and organize my thoughts and plans.

First, I just wanted to take in the splendour and hugeness of Piazza San Marco, framed on four sides by the marvellous buildings that have been there, surrounding this gathering place since as far back as the 8th century. Just think of all the people who have walked across the piazza over the past 1200 years! One of the many incomprehensible aspects of Venice. After helping out a few couples with taking their photos, I decided it was time to find the tourist info office, and find out what’s the what. And a WC. (That’ll be 1.5 euros, please.)

Purchasing a museum pass at the info centre was a pretty good idea, since it got me straight into the Palazzo Ducale. What a place that is. Wow! It is very well laid out, with just enough information to tell you what you are looking at, but not so much that it gets bogged down with details. Fabulous paintings and frescoes in spectacular rooms, each with a specific purpose for the governing bodies and the judiciary. Tiepolo, Veronese, Tintoretto, and (Colin’s fave) Tiziano (aka Titian) were the main artist whose works hang in these sumptuous rooms. I took my time here, ‘cause Venice just lets me feel like that’s a good idea, well over 2 hours.

After that, it was a walk through the Basilica di San Marco. This time I was able to find the “guadaroba” to stash my day-pack, first. A huge, huge church with multiple domes, the inside walls and domes are primarily decorated with mosaics. Having just come from Ravenna, though, I think it’s safe to say that these ones don’t hold a candle to the mosaics in San Vitale. Not nearly as much design and detail, they look like mosaics, whereas the ones in S.V. look like paintings. Still a very impressive place, both inside and out.

I needed to find some lunch, that wasn’t pizza or a close facsimile thereof, and I needed to sit down. So, off I hiked in search of a cheap, sit down lunch in Venice. “Cheap” and “Venice” do not co-exist in the same discourse. Anyway, I found a teeny-tiny shrimp sandwich and an espresso for about C$8. It gave me about 20 minutes off my feet, and that would have to do!

The rest of my day was spent at the other end of the Piazza S. Marco in the Museo Correr which holds many, many, many, many artefacts concerning the history of Venice in its daily life, and many fine paintings and sculptures. After an hour and a half of that though, I had pretty much hit the wall! So, a little bleary eyed, I staggered out into the fading afternoon light. The Piazzo was much less peopled by then and the various restaurants were setting up for the evening ahead, putting out tables and chairs for the next onslaught of hungry tourists. I chose to eat elsewhere, at Fondamente Nuova where I caught my first water bus to, on my way back to my B&B. I had a nice dish of pasta and a glass of wine and a delicious cup of cioccolata calda con panna (artery clogger hot chocolate).

After that I still had over a half hour to kill before my next bus, so I wandered around a bit only to discover a whole other region of Venice that was full of locals with their little ones, socializing in the Campo di S.S. Giovanni e Paulo surrounding what must be the largest church in Venice. A lovely scene, with parents and kids and grandparents, stopping on their ways home from work or school or shopping, to skate board, kick a soccer ball, share gossip, have a drink (usually something in a large wine glass, a disturbing neon orange in colour. I didn’t have the nerve to try it - I thought I might glow in the dark, if I did…). Church congregation numbers may be dwindling, but the activity outside that edifice is still vibrant, and I guess a testimony to the enduring importance of the church in the community.

I so enjoyed the quick peak into this other world of Venice, that I promised myself that I would come back the next day, only earlier in the afternoon, which I did, I’m happy to report! That day was dedicated to just wandering through different parts of Venice, completely without any tourism information and armed only with a map (what little help that offered! Okay, it was useful for using the water bus system, but all that info is posted at the stops, anyway. Once you figure out the water bus system, Venice is really pretty easy to navigate.)

I started out my day at Murano, the island where Venetian glass comes from. It is yet another spectacularly beautiful place. The island is like a miniature Venice, almost, with these absolutely magnificent glass creations in hundreds of glass shops. You would think that after a while you would be seeing repeats of the same old hack hunka silicone. But you’d be wrong. It is simply miraculous, the seemingly endless creative bounty expressed in glass. Bowls, bottles, glasses, vases, plates, sculptures, jewellery, lamps - the list goes on. Of course there are repeats of the little cheesy cheap stuff, but they are very easy to ignore when right next is an eye popping, dazzling thing of exquisite beauty. I was all keen to go to the glass museum there, but sadly, it was closed that day. Huge disappointment. I guess I will have to try again next time, but not on a Wednesday.

Onward to Venice proper, where I disembarked at the Jewish Ghetto. This would actually be a very interesting part of Venice to stay in, but even here I’m sure it is out of my price range. So quiet and subdued and maybe the most mysterious part of Venice, for me. It is where the only Chinese restaurant is, that I saw which looked completely weird and out of place. And of course it is where the Jewish community is centred, with subsequent Ebraico (Hebrew) street names, and business and restaurants.

A couple more stops and wanderings along the Grand Canal, and I realized that Rialto was next. Of course, I had to check out Rialto. Here is the one place in Venice that I would not go back to. The crush of tourists was overwhelming, and they were pretty much there to spend lots of cash at really expensive shops, or pretend to. I think I lasted about 15 minutes there.

I was able to see a bit more that day, and the next, but then I left in the early afternoon for Trieste, by train, feeling anxious to get started on the “eastern” part of my travels, but also vowing to come back to lovely, beautiful Venice.