Bonjourno!
We are now in our lovely apartment in Venice as you would expect we are nearby a canal. The apartment looks just like it did in the photos which attracted us.
It is not as hot here as it was in the Greek Islands. When we first head out in the morning it is cool, but the sun comes out and we have another perfect day. We wandered around Piazza San Marco and Accademia on our first night here and we were so tired after travelling from Santorini we found a great supermarket nearby and purchased cheeses, cold meats, olives, fresh bread and wine for a delicious meal at home. We love checking out supermarkets in a foreign countries.
We decided to visit the island of Murano where glass has been made since the 1200's. We watched a glass blower make a prancing horse in a matter of minutes, incredible. We had lunch and wandered around this little island before heading back to Piazza San Marco.
On another morning after many twists and turns and bridges we found our way to the Rialto Bridge, and then it was walk, walk, walk. Getting lost in Venice is the best thing to do as you always find something fascinating you were not expecting. It's an island and you'll eventually find your way back. As we have been here several times we are reasonably familiar with the city which is good as funnily enough we have been asked directions quite a few times and were surprised we actually could supply them. There is nothing like a direct route but that is the charm of Venice.
The main thing we noticed from our last trip here about ten years ago is the line up of huge cruise ships, on the weekend there were 12 including Cunard's Queen Elizabeth & Queen Victoria. It is quite incredible to see them parked liked buses towering over the city and being towed down the lagoon.
There are 400 licensed gondoliers we have been told and it is amazing watching the tourists queuing up to have a gondola ride considering it is 40 euros per person for a 20 minute ride. If you wish you can pay another 120 euros to have an accordion player and a gondolier seranade you. (See video below) We did it on the cheap just enjoyed their performance as we walked along the canals. There were like 30 or 40 people in some of the queues not seen that here before. I guess one of the reasons is that there are so many cruise ships here at the moment being high season each one carrying around 2000 to 3000 people.
Unfortunately weekend mornings we did not beat the cruise ship tours and it was busy, we have been lucky on weekdays only one or two ships in days and we have wandered freely.
We have used the Vaparetto (water bus) up and down the Grand Canal quite a few times already. It is 7 euros per ride or 50 euros for the weekly one. We have used our weekly ticket dozens of times to get around and out to Murano and Lido so this is great value.
The Grand Canal itself is 3 1/2 klms long and has a host of interesting and beautiful buildings, many that were palaces at one time. There are 4 major bridges crossing the Grand Canal, including the Rialto. The water buses are an easy system to get around on and it is amazing to see how many people they can cram onto one boat!!!
During a trip down the Grand Canal after dark it was surprising and quite sad to see so many of these magnificent old palaces and buildings in darkness. We had heard that many of these buildings were empty due to deterioration and flooding on the lower floors but it was a reality check to actually see how many were.
(Maybe 70%?) You hear the expression Venice is crumbling well obviously sadly it seems to be. The locals are protesting about further deterioration being caused by the huge towering ships constantly using the lagoon and destroying the fragile water system that Venice is built on.
What an incredible city - there are hundreds of small bridges that cross over the canals or as they are called by the locals "little rivers of water". The Grand Canal is busy and crowded with a variety of boats ranging from gondolas to the water buses and taxis a never ending cacophony of sounds and a feast for the eyes.
It is not as hot here as it was in the Greek Islands. When we first head out in the morning it is cool, but the sun comes out and we have another perfect day. We wandered around Piazza San Marco and Accademia on our first night here and we were so tired after travelling from Santorini we found a great supermarket nearby and purchased cheeses, cold meats, olives, fresh bread and wine for a delicious meal at home. We love checking out supermarkets in a foreign countries.
We decided to visit the island of Murano where glass has been made since the 1200's. We watched a glass blower make a prancing horse in a matter of minutes, incredible. We had lunch and wandered around this little island before heading back to Piazza San Marco.
On another morning after many twists and turns and bridges we found our way to the Rialto Bridge, and then it was walk, walk, walk. Getting lost in Venice is the best thing to do as you always find something fascinating you were not expecting. It's an island and you'll eventually find your way back. As we have been here several times we are reasonably familiar with the city which is good as funnily enough we have been asked directions quite a few times and were surprised we actually could supply them. There is nothing like a direct route but that is the charm of Venice.
The main thing we noticed from our last trip here about ten years ago is the line up of huge cruise ships, on the weekend there were 12 including Cunard's Queen Elizabeth & Queen Victoria. It is quite incredible to see them parked liked buses towering over the city and being towed down the lagoon.
There are 400 licensed gondoliers we have been told and it is amazing watching the tourists queuing up to have a gondola ride considering it is 40 euros per person for a 20 minute ride. If you wish you can pay another 120 euros to have an accordion player and a gondolier seranade you. (See video below) We did it on the cheap just enjoyed their performance as we walked along the canals. There were like 30 or 40 people in some of the queues not seen that here before. I guess one of the reasons is that there are so many cruise ships here at the moment being high season each one carrying around 2000 to 3000 people.
Unfortunately weekend mornings we did not beat the cruise ship tours and it was busy, we have been lucky on weekdays only one or two ships in days and we have wandered freely.
We have used the Vaparetto (water bus) up and down the Grand Canal quite a few times already. It is 7 euros per ride or 50 euros for the weekly one. We have used our weekly ticket dozens of times to get around and out to Murano and Lido so this is great value.
The Grand Canal itself is 3 1/2 klms long and has a host of interesting and beautiful buildings, many that were palaces at one time. There are 4 major bridges crossing the Grand Canal, including the Rialto. The water buses are an easy system to get around on and it is amazing to see how many people they can cram onto one boat!!!
During a trip down the Grand Canal after dark it was surprising and quite sad to see so many of these magnificent old palaces and buildings in darkness. We had heard that many of these buildings were empty due to deterioration and flooding on the lower floors but it was a reality check to actually see how many were.
(Maybe 70%?) You hear the expression Venice is crumbling well obviously sadly it seems to be. The locals are protesting about further deterioration being caused by the huge towering ships constantly using the lagoon and destroying the fragile water system that Venice is built on.
What an incredible city - there are hundreds of small bridges that cross over the canals or as they are called by the locals "little rivers of water". The Grand Canal is busy and crowded with a variety of boats ranging from gondolas to the water buses and taxis a never ending cacophony of sounds and a feast for the eyes.
Our Apartment, above & right
Our apartment is just so comfortable and convenient to everything. It is in the Dorsoduro area. Previously when we have stayed in Venice we stayed at Savoia & Jolanda Hotel which is right near Piazza San Marco as we were only here for a few days each visit. However this time staying a week we wanted to" live like a local" as they say. We have many great cafes and bars a couple of minutes away. There is a great square nearby called Campo Margherita, fantastic food shops and cafes. The fruit and veg man sells from a boat moored on the canal. |
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There is a great supermarket five minutes away. We are only about three minutes from the Vaporetto stop which will take us anywhere in Venice, absolutely fantastic we would never stay anywhere else.
The apartment is air conditioned has a good sized bedroom, comfortable lounge and kitchen with dishwasher and washing machine with a really quick cycle. I put our clothes thru at night hang on rack and they are dry next day. So easy. The wifi is absolutely fantastic. Would highly recommend it to any of you guys who I know are planning hols.
The apartment is air conditioned has a good sized bedroom, comfortable lounge and kitchen with dishwasher and washing machine with a really quick cycle. I put our clothes thru at night hang on rack and they are dry next day. So easy. The wifi is absolutely fantastic. Would highly recommend it to any of you guys who I know are planning hols.
Teatro La Fenice
The Teatro La Fenice was built in 1792. The luxurious setting of the theatre was chosen for the first performance of Verdi's Rigoletto (1851) and La Traviata (1853). In 1996 a fire completely destroyed the theatre and it took eight years before Opera was again performed at this glamorous venue.
Sometime ago Graeme read a book called City of Falling Angels written by John Berendt who spent about 12 months living in Venice just after the fire in 1996. The book describes the suspicion and political and social divides caused by the fire and the conflicts raised by the various arts and social groups all wanting a say in how best to rebuild and which contractor should be awarded the job.
It really is a beautiful theatre and at the time of rebuilding the authorities chose the motto "the way it was, where it was". If the finished product reflects this then it is a good thing they did.
Viewing the theatre today gave just a small insight into how the original must have looked.
The theatre is smaller than we expected and as you can see from the photos it contains several levels of private boxes complete with a locked door for personal access. You can just imagine the nobility of the day strutting their stuff can't you ?
Islands of Burano & Murano
As we are spending a week in Venice this time we decided to catch a Vaporetto out to the islands of Burano and Murano.
Today, Burano lace-making like Murano glass-making is one of the leading traditional artisan processes carried out in the Venetian lagoon area, and there have been many attempts to revive it and ensure that it does not die out. The home of Venetian art glass production is the island of Murano. Murano has a large number of furnaces where expert glass-makers produce all kinds of glass objects, passing down their glass-blowing secrets from father to son. Murano is home to some of the city's oldest glassmaking firms, many renowned worldwide. Most glass-makers allow tourists to watch the fascinating spectacle of glass-blowing. The furnaces have an adjacent showroom where you can admire and purchase the glass objects from vases to tiny coloured animals. Burano is the home of the ancient art of lace-making which has been passed down from generation to generation through the skilled hands of the Burano lace-makers, right up to the present day. Today as you stroll through the splendid island of Burano you will find numerous shops selling artisan lace and table cloths. Burano is also famous for its brightly colored houses. It is said that the houses were painted in different colours so the sailors and fishermen could identify their houses as they came in from the sea. Once again, this is probably no longer the case, but the houses certainly look lovely sparkling in the Venice sunshine.
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Some tourists need to think before opening their mouths.
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Tourists see the Grand Canal as busy and crowded with gondolas, vaporettos, water taxis and private boats and a great place for photos. You sometimes hear them complaining about inconvenience if they have to move out of the way, or wait to get by, sometimes the price of things. What they forget about is how everything gets here for their convenience. Having to use the canal for their daily business are all the delivery boats. Seeing how deliveries are made here it is no wonder things are so expensive when you think about how they receive supplies. In fact it is surprising for instance groceries and bottled water are as reasonably priced as they are. Here in Venice you pay 1 euro or less for a bottle of water that at home costs us $2.50 if we purchase at a take away. First everything must be delivered by truck to the beginning of the canal system then transferred to a delivery boat. The boat delivers the goods to various points from which they are then hauled manually to shops, restaurants and other locations by small carts. Walking you get used to the calling of Attentiono - meaning get over, I'm coming through with a cart. All this is happening working around thousands of tourists in one of Europe's most visited cities. It must be so frustrating for these delivery guys, yet they appear quite cool about it all.
On the Vaporetto there are seats in front of the boat and the pilot can see over you however tourists jump up on the seats or stand up to take photos with complete disregard to the signage warning that the pilot cannot see the many boats crossing in all directions in front of him if you do not stay seated. You shake your head with disbelief.
Sometimes I think a lot of tourists think places like Venice are an amusement park for their entertainment and forget they are actually visiting peoples home cities as a guest. We have noticed many times the lack of respect by some tourists to locals not only here but also in the Greek Islands it is appalling to see and hear.
On the Vaporetto there are seats in front of the boat and the pilot can see over you however tourists jump up on the seats or stand up to take photos with complete disregard to the signage warning that the pilot cannot see the many boats crossing in all directions in front of him if you do not stay seated. You shake your head with disbelief.
Sometimes I think a lot of tourists think places like Venice are an amusement park for their entertainment and forget they are actually visiting peoples home cities as a guest. We have noticed many times the lack of respect by some tourists to locals not only here but also in the Greek Islands it is appalling to see and hear.