Italy (Venice)

On our way from Munich to Venice, the Busabout coach made an optional stop at Innsbruck, Austria.  Although we weren’t staying there, everyone was allowed about an hour to get out, look around the town, and maybe grab a bite to eat.  Innsbruck is a beautiful town, situated at the foot of the towering Alps, and is known as a skiing mecca.  We had the chance to take a few pictures (about 57, approximately one per minute…a new best for Marilyn) and eat the sandwiches we packed before we hopped back on the bus.  The next few hours driving through Austria and Northern Italy were absolutely incredible.  We wound through the mountains, with hilltop castles, vineyards, and lemon groves becoming commonplace along our route.

The profile picture

The bus dropped us on the mainland at a youth campsite, about a 40 minute bus ride from the main Venice Island.  Since we wanted to experience the city, and not have to trek back and forth every day, we elected to stay at a rented apartment near the downtown area.  We hopped the bus, and since we were unfamiliar with the vaporettos (Venice’s boat public transportation) we figured it would be best to just walk to our apartment.  This may have not been the best idea, as when we finally arrived, we were drenched in sweat from carrying our bags 45 minutes in 90+ degree heat.

Bags finally dropped, and showers taken, we could then start to appreciate Venice.  The city is truly unique in many ways.  All the streets are completely pedestrian; there are no cars or even scooters.  The buildings are crammed in together, making some ‘regular’ roads so narrow you can’t even walk side by side.  The numerous canals are populated by small dinghies, large passenger bus-boats (the vaporettos), police cruisers, cargo boats, and of course gondolas.  If you aren’t walking, you are in some kind of boat.  The Grand Canal is the largest which runs through the center of the island, and is where the vaporetto routes run.  The vaporettos are quite amazing.  They have bus stops like you would find on any city street, however they are floating and you get picked up by a boat.  These boats are actually a pretty great way to see the city, not that we are alone in this thought because they are often filled with tourists, cameras in hand.

The vaporetto is the large boat on the left

The architecture of the city is grand, impressive, and somewhat dilapidated.  The dilapidation did not take away from the beauty, but rather added to it.  We both noticed this almost immediately, and actually happened on the technical term while reading the Wikipedia page for Venice.  Venice is said to be in ‘elegant decay’, a concept that being in disrepair and threatened by rising tides and sinking foundations actually adds to its beauty and allure.  A little hard to explain, but easy to see when you are there.

The grand canal

People on a gondola ride

The main attraction in Venice is San Marco Square.  This is one of the few large, open areas in the city, and is where the Doge’s Palace, bell tower, and San Marco’s Basilica are.  We were excited to check out these attractions, as the outer facades were very beautiful.  However, Venice gets about 20 million tourists a year, and so as you would expect, the main attractions are completely overrun in the high season.  The basilica opened at 9:45am, and already at 9, there was a line 100 yards long.  We both decided that waiting two hours to see another church, just simply wasn’t worth it.  Content to see the outside of these buildings, we decided we enjoyed getting lost in more remote and less crowded streets.

San Marco Square

The heat wave continued, so after a full day exploring the city, we decided it was time to seek out some swimming, Venice is technically on the ocean after all.  We found out that there were lots of public beaches at a nearby island called Lido, so we made our way over there.  It wasn’t the best beach in the world, but cooling down in the ocean for a few hours was a much needed respite from the heat.

Venice is also famous for its glass blowing industry.  The authentic glass is made at another nearby island, Murano.  We were able to see some factories where they offer demonstrations of the glass blowing; however we happened to be there during the traditional ‘siesta.’  As we looked through shops we were excited to see some very inexpensive pieces.  This seemed too good to be true and like most things it was.  We discovered that many shops were selling items most likely from China (not that we have anything against China) and did not go out of their way to tell this to the costumer.  So if you are ever in Murano make sure you get a card of authenticity or go to a shop that guarantees glass made locally in Murano.

Murano

Before arriving in Venice we had been warned that everyone tries to take advantage of tourists (charging outrageous amounts for coffee for example).  Therefore, our first two days we avoided buying food out, making our meals in our apartment.  However, after walking by numerous restaurants exuding delicious aromas we could not wait any more.  We found that there are many reasonably priced restaurants.  If you want to be a stupid tourist who only dines in the main square, then yes you will pay an arm and a leg, however if you put any effort into it at all you will find great food for much less.  We were fortunate that Marilyn’s father had recently put extra money in her account to enjoy a meal on him.  Well, we certainly did.  Our first meal in Italy was a success!  We started out with melon wrapped in prosciutto and then each enjoyed an entree.  Matt had swordfish while Marilyn had (the most delicious) dish of pasta with scallops and mushrooms.  Of course you cannot eat in Italy without a bottle of red wine.  Boy oh boy, this was worth the wait!

Our dinner!

The grand canal at night

We enjoyed out last day in Venice getting lost in the narrow streets and getting caught up in the beautiful views.  It was a great start to our tour of Italy.  Next to Roma…