The Trip

The purpose of the trip was ostensibly to visit my brother in law and help him settling in Italy.  Neither Sheila nor I could remember the last time we had more than a couple of days together, let alone a week, so we decided to make the most of it.  After countless plans were hatched, changed and ultimately scrapped we finally settle on a course of action.  We would fly to Venice, spend a couple of days there, then hire a car to explore the Veneto.  While this was my first visit to Italy, Sheila had lived in Venice so was already familiar.  Having an Italian-speaking guide and a European sat-nav can avoid so many problems!

My first impressions of Italy were quite neutral.  The airport officials were like those of any other country; cold, uninterested and just getting through the day.  Fair enough.  We bought tickets for the vaporetto, a kind of water bus, direct to San Marco.   €50 for a return is a bit steep; you can probably save money by taking a train from Mestre, but it’s a great way to arrive in Venice.  The first views are quite disappointing, but once you get past the dilapidated boat yards and houses and see the spectacular churches and towers, your impressions soon change.  I grabbed my camera and pointed it at San Marco.

Our hotel was immediately behind Piazza San Marco, overlooking a popular gondola boarding point.  Opening the window, the noise was incredible!  Although I should point out that this is just the effect of ‘normal’ conversation between gondoliers and perhaps a bit of echo.  Thank god for double glazing!

There are no suitable words to describe Venice; it really is a city like no other in the world.  You can take an evening walk by the waterfront, listen to the sound of waves lapping against the shore and gondolas gently bumping into each other and watch the setting sun bathe the city in golden light.  Reading any guide book will tell you the best place to go for a truly authentic pizza or pasta meal, but in my experience, the best thing to do is wander through the streets and find somewhere you like the look of.  If you find the address of a perfect little bistro, you will find that navigating the streets by map and street name gets complicated very quickly.  More often than not, a street will not even have a name sign.  Besides, it is much more fun to lose yourself and discover a restaurant on your own. 

We had a full day to explore Venice, and rather than setting out to find specific places, we just blindly set out into the city.  We had a vague idea that we wanted to head towards the station, on the opposite side of the city, but decided to take in the city along the way.  While the streets very often lack naming signs, most corners carry directions to the main sights and destinations.  You will often see signs pointing to the Rialto Bridge, railway station and San Marco.  We chanced upon a fish market, tagging on to a large fruit and vegetable market, just beside the Grand Canal.  If you’re feeling hungry, I wouldn’t recommend it; before long we were longing for some of the fresh artichokes!

Once again we headed into the city; across quaint piazzas, through narrow alleys (that in any other city would be no-go areas) and across bridges.  We paid no heed to signs and wandered down whichever street took our fancy.  We stopped for a cup of warmed red wine, continued and before us was the Rialto Bridge. 

The Rialto Bridge was nothing special, as we had seen it half an hour ago!  If, however, you are seeing the bridge for the first time, you will find it picturesque as part of the grand scene, but on its own somewhat disappointing.  The paint is flaking and the fan holes in the wall leave it looking more industrial than scenic.  The bridge itself houses several shops; nice enough, but the same as any other street.

If you actually follow the signs, it does not take long to reach the station.  You emerge from the maze of alleys, piazzas and canals to be confronted with the busy “high street” of Venice; the Grand Canal.  This was a good time to sample the famous Italian ice cream, sit on the station steps and watch the world go by.  I had been in Venice for about 24 hours now and it still seemed so surreal.