My 3 night trip to Venice was remarkable for the fact that the splendid
weather was exactly the same as that in Dublin. However the Venetians
are concerened about the lack of snow in the mountains as it means that
the prognosis for a decent vegetable crop is very poor, and this will
badly affect the restaurants into the summer. I was amazed at the way
the locals were dressed in furs and other heavy clothes in the warm
weather, where the Irish are almost dressed for the beach!
I flew
over with Aer Lingus to Marco Polo airport, and returned from the more
distant Treviso with Ryanair. The timings of the flights suited the
annual leave left available to me. I found the bus connections easy
to/from both airports, although the trip to Treviso is that little bit
longer. On my way into the city I though the bus had broken down as it
slowed almost to a halt without obvious good reason. Then I saw a sign
for the 30kph speed limit through a village. Everybody obeyed this speed
limit, contrary to the reputation of Italian drivers. It was obvious
that the Venetians are a very law abiding lot. The local crime rate is
extremely low, and on the vaparetto water buses the seats dediacted to
the elderly, disabled and pregnant remained empty in spite of the hordes
on boarding standing in a crush.
Finding my accommodation at the
historic and fairly priced 2 star hotel Al Ponte Mocenigo was some feat,
and I failed miserably. I got the vaparetto from Piazzale Roma to the
San Stae stop, and followed instructions to get to the premises. I ended
up in circles, asking people who helpfully obliged in giving me
directions. I kept missing the hotel, there was no sign of it down the
myriad alleyways and across the many little bridges. A couple took pity
on me as I sat exhausted on some steps with my suitcase and offered to
help me. I phoned the hotel, and the manager came out to where I was
sitting and brought me down an incredibly narrow alleyway to the hotel. A
tiny brass lionhead beside the door had the name embossed, and the
lion's nose was the doorbell. My bedroom was in an annex around the
corner. It was well sized and a Murano glass chandeleier hung from the
old beams in the ceiling, but there was only one tiny window giving me
the sense of being in jail. It was a great, safe and quiet location.
Single
vaparetto journeys are very expensive, so I bought a better value 72
hour pass, which covered me for all my trip. After settling into my room
I took the vaparetto to Lido, the seaside island where Mum stayed when
she was in her early 20s. She told me how 2 40 year old sisters from her
work place, British Rail, asked could they join her for the holiday.
Those sisters seemed ancient to her and they wore thick heavy stockings
on the beach at the Lido, which mortified her! I had to make the
pilgrimmage to that beach with those stories in my head. I smiled as I
walked on Lido beach and waded into the shallow warm water which Mum
spoke about. It reminded me of Dollymount, but with some posh hotels in
the background.
The cheapest and nicest meal I enjoyed in Venice was
the one nearest to my hotel, and had no name. I had to book a table in
advance and had it for the night, with one single waiter dancing
attention to everyone. My choice was grilled gilthead fish with potatoes
and salad, my favourite dish of all time. Everywhere I went the coffee
was superb, but varied in price from 80cent to €4! The latter price was
in the Doges Palace, and not surprisingly the cafe was empty.
I
really enjoyed the water buses, even though at times they could get very
crowded, but everyone on board behaved in a very civilised manner. Dogs
are popular everywhere, and I met a local pilot bringing the beautiful
Pharoah Hound to work with him on a boat to the airport. The follwoing
morning after I arrived I caught the vaparetto to San Marco and visited
the San Marco Basilica and its Treasury, and then the Doges Palace. In
the middle of my visit to the latter my phone calendar reminder rang the
alarm that I was due to go on the Venetian Islands tour by boat. I had
to cut short my visit and "rush" (vaparettos dont rush!) back to my
hotel to retrieve the voucher out of the safe.I had mistaken the day of
the excursion. I arrived at the departure point near San Marco just in
time to join the beautiful excursion to Murano, Burano and Torcello. On
Murano I saw a glass blower at work, on peaceful Torcello I visited the
oldest basilica in Venice, and Burano proved to be the most beautiful
and colorful settlement in the lagoon.
On my final day I largely
took to my feet walking the various regions of the city from Dorsoduro
to Canaregio where I visited the Jewish Ghetto area and had a kosher
meal. In my ignorance I thought this was merely a historic Jewish area,
but I could see how thriving the present Jewish community is, with its
cake shops, restaurants, art and craft shops and of course synagogues.
There were Jewish people everywhere, enjoying their happy peacfeul lives
here. I walked the main throughfare of Venice and crossed the wooden
Academia bridge, routing back through many pretty alleyways and piazzas
back to my hotel. It was a real challenge finding my way back without
getting too lost. Venice is the most fascinating maze in the world and
one must come armed with a lot of patience!
The Venice Photo Album
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