Italy

Venice is really a city on the water and the canals replace streets in all respects. There are passenger ferries, ambulance boats, police boats, private boats, water taxis, construction boats, gondolas and even the occasional hoon. Walking is the only other option to going by boat.
We bought an all day ticket to explore a few of the 117 islands that make up Venice.
Murano is famous for the production of Venetian glass. We saw a glass blowing demonstration and they make it look so easy. Of course there are glass shops and glass jewellery and all sorts of souveniers everywhere. But it is very nice. Next we motored over to Burano famous for lace making and restaurants. These islands are similar to Venice with canals and bridges but a bit less built up and some of the houses are painted in attractive, bright colours. It is all very tourist oriented though and felt like we were a commodity they had to deal with. Next was Torcello with an old monastry, but by this stage we were all a bit worn out from walking and tourist sites. The boat back took about 1 1/2 hours but we got to see Venice in the setting sun and it was great for photography. After some pasta for dinner we thought we would try one more boat trip down the Grand Canal through the centre of Venice. It was very pretty and stopped at the Piazza San Marco where we saw 3 classical groups battle it out for the crowds’ attention. The problem was the boats were slow and very crowded and we didn’t get back to the bus stop to go home until the last bus, so we had to end our day by getting a taxi home and taxis can demand any price they like at that time of night.

Venice really is different to any place we have seen. Yes, we knew it had canals, yes, we knew it was beautiful … but to see it, is really like a fantasy world.
Venice itself is a collection of 117 islands separated from the mainland and the only access is by a long causeway for cars and trains. Even from the distance the silhouette of the domes and towers is clearly visible.
I thought there were perhaps a few canals and those places were always on the tourist promotions and postcards – but in reality EVERY street is a canal. There are lane-width canals, street-width canals and highway-width canals. There are cute curved walking bridges 0ver the smaller canals and just 3 bridges or water transport over the larger Grand Canal. All the supplies, produce, and a lot of visitors arrive by boat. There are police boats, water ambulance, water taxis, gondolas and private boats … the canals are very busy … it is fascinating to watch. And there are no cars at all on the walkways through the canals. All the buildings are old and some a bit dilapidated, but that just adds to the appeal.
It is beautiful with picturesque scenes at every bridge. I have been drawing throughout my travels and there is no shortage of suitable scenes here. There are a few larger open piazzas (squares) where you can find bars, restaurants, pizza, gelato, spritzers and pasta.
Everyone told us Venice is expensive, but after Germany and especially England – things don’t seem too bad at all.
We had booked accommodation on the net, 25 minutes outside Venice. It is a nice B&B called Verde Venezia in the country outside Venice and the bonus is it is just near a big Casino that offers a free shuttle bus service to Venice every hour for its customers. So we just have to look like compulsive gamblers and can happily jump on the bus to get to and from Venice each day. I think the driver might catch on soon. (There is a regular bus service too.)
Venice is famous for Venetian glass, Vivaldi music (he was born here) and theatre masks. There are a lot of tourists but the canal area is large enough that we have been able to get away from the masses to less crowded areas.
I have found Venice to be one of the highlights of my travels and it is good to see it before it disappears.