Venice

Monday morning saw us doing a scenic cruise into Venice.  This was interrupted by a Commonwealth Brunch to celebrate the Queens Jubilee.  Once again the food was far too tempting and we overindulged.  The day was overcast and we were praying the rain would hold off.

We docked at 1pm and immediately left the ship to go exploring.  Unfortunately this was the only port that no information was given to us about how to get anywhere and how far we had to go.  We had purchased a ‘venice card’ and a museum card for the duration of our stay but needed to find the machine or kiosk to print out our card.  We followed everyone else and eventually found a kiosk, which naturally was the wrong sort, but they told us to get the ‘people mover’ and when we got off we would be at the vaporetto (water bus) station.  Well the people mover went about 100m for $1.50 and that was after a 10 minute walk to find it but eventually we got to the vaporetto and got our tickets and figured out where we wanted to go.  There were no signs in English but managed to figure out S Marco meant St Marks Square and we were off and the heavens opened and it pissed down for rest of the day.

The rain didn’t thin the crowds at all but having already purchased our museum tickets meant we skipped the line and walked right into the Doge’s Palace.  The Doge was the highest ranking politician of the day and the Palace was not just his residence but also an official building with ballrooms, courts, prison etc.  It is huge and beautifully preserved and we both strained our neck trying to look up at the magnificently painted ceilings.  We spent quite a few hours wandering around thoroughly enjoying ourselves.  From here we went to St Mark’s Basilica, with only a 5minute wait in the rain.  We were somewhat disappointed in St Mark’s but realized that was because it was a smaller version of St Peters and due to the rain there wasn’t any natural light coming in and it was very poorly lit.  You could barely see any of the ceilings.

We then walked around the Piazza San Marco and checked out the location of other museums and generally made a plan for the next day hoping it would be sunny.  We decided to bypass the people mover and just walk back to the ship from the vaporetto station.  This was a mistake because what looked like an easy walk was interrupted by canals and railway lines.  We eventually found the correct route back but by this time we were very wet and chilled.

What a difference a day makes, Tuesday was bright and sunny with just a gentle breeze.  Once again we set off by 0800, again bypassing the people mover as we had discovered the direct route, although it was a good 20 minute walk.  We caught the vaporetto to Murano Island which is famous for its delicate Venetian glass.  OMG could I have gone mad in these shops, the glass works were masterpieces.  We both fell in love with a shark that looked clear but as you walked around it or shone light on it it exploded with magnificent gold, silver and ocean colours.  When we win lotto we will come back and buy it.  I settled for some handblown one of a kind jewelry which didn’t quite break the bank.

From here we went back to St Marks, enjoying the vaporetto ride down the grand canal, visited the Archeological Museum(which was a whole block long) and wandered around for hours, visiting most the famous sites like the Rialto Bridge and more huge museums.  Again the stores were incredible but very expensive.  Eventually our feet could carry us no further and we headed back to the ship.  The final 20 minute walk from the vaporetto station felt like I was walking on bare bone.  We barely had the energy to shower and change for dinner.

We both think that Venice is a city you need to stay in.  To be in a hotel on the grand canal where you can go rest your feet during the day, to dine in the fabulous outdoor restaurants and to generally soak up the atmosphere of the place. No doubt we will be back at some stage to finish seeing all the things we missed this time. Being on the ship and so far away from everything meant we missed the atmosphere and once we returned to the ship we couldn’t be bothered going out again as it took so long.  It was a 20 minute walk followed by a 40minute vaporetto wait/ride to get where we wanted to go so that really put a dampner on it.

Trivia: There are less than 10 licensed plumbers in Venice