Photo 1 - Phil walking down the alleyway that joins our hotel to the Grand Canal...yoou can see it was made for skinny people!!!

Photo 2 - The ferry terminal at St Marks Square

Photo 3 - The Doges Palace and St Marks Square as we approached it on the ferry.

Venice

Here we are in old classical Venice a short walk from the Grand Canal. After an uneventful flight we were greeted at the airport and taken to a water taxi for the 25 minute high speed let’s-break-the-world-water-speed-record ride to our hotel’s dock on the Canal. Good fun that. We lobbed in to the hotel, only to be told we were in the wrong hotel – and with 4 bags I must have looked less than impressed!!! The front desk called their porter and he took us through many dark alleys to their sister hotel, which was at the rear of the one we rolled into.  The guy on the hotel desk was very helpful – which is typical in this town – but we were a bit concerned when he spotted all our luggage and said straight up we’d probably find the room too small and he’d be happy to change it the next night when a larger one became available. We soon saw what he meant. Our room for the first night could be best described as a broom closet, only smaller. There was so little room we had to stack three of our bags against the door to be able to move around at all. The bathroom was so small you couldn’t dry off in there. But now we have a much better room at no extra charge, thank goodness.

On our first morning we hopped onto the public ferries and had a look around. After checking out St Mark’s Square, to which we would return later, we rode out to Murano Island famous for its factories that produce Murano glass. Ah, shopping – Sue in her natural habitat!! We bought some lovely glass products and took time to wander and soak in the atmosphere. Venice is very different with its canals and paved alleys instead of streets and sidewalks. The architecture is wonderfully varied, reflecting the city’s long history as a maritime republic. But the facades of most buildings are faded and at least superficially crumbling, giving the impression of a great city that is past its best. That is a shame because we have found Venice to be very vibrant and filled with very friendly helpful people.

On the second day we took bus rides to Mestre on the mainland just to see a modern Italian city and how the locals live. Public transport is clean and very efficient. In fact that could well describe how this whole place operates. I wanted to have my nails shortened, as I know it will be several weeks before the next opportunity will arise.  Not speaking the lingo made for much gesturing, and several blocks of walking to find nothing.  Malls???? They have no idea – 4 shops together is a mall!!! We finally hit pay dirt, and the girl was fascinated by the design on my nails – obviously never seen anything so flash!!! Oh…and I had the choice of 3 colours!!! The girls at Tuggeranong will laugh when I tell them my story!!!

On our third and last day we returned to St Mark’s Square to visit the Doge’s Palace. This huge classical building served as the centre of government of the Venetian Republic for many centuries and is filled with gorgeous paintings and sculptures. Most of the ceilings of key rooms are decorated with intricate gold sculpturing and beautiful paintings. Many walls have frescos which, sadly, are decaying fast.  The Chamber of the Great Council is especially impressive, having previously been the largest room in Europe not supported by pillars. Ah history…Phil has been in his element!!!  And maybe I would too, except for the thousands of stairs we have been up and down!!!  Thank God there are lifts on the boat tomorrow!!!

The food has been fantastic! There is quite a variety of restaurants, and even though pizza and pasta dominate (no good for Phil) we have always been able to find delicious meals at very reasonable prices. Being able to dine beside the Grand Canal has been a real bonus.

We are joining the cruise tomorrow, so will post from the boat in the next few days.  Hope you are all well, and we miss you.

 

Love,

Sue and Phil xx