Monday, 9 August 2022
From Milan, a speedy 2 hours by train and we were in Venezia (Venice for English speakers.) It was absolutely jam packed with tourists. The throngs, plus our giant bags, made for an interesting ferry transit – where we very nearly weren’t able to get off of the ferry for too many people.
When we ‘arrived’ at our hotel, we discovered that it didn’t really exist. Or it did, but not where it was supposed to be.
We eventually found the reception, and they said that the hotel we’d booked at was one branch of 4 hotels that they owned on that street, and we’d actually be staying in a slightly different place – we’d still get our canal view though.
Technically we got a canal view – but you just about had to fall out the window to see anything. (Definitely not worth paying extra for)
We booked a gondola tour for 6pm, so set out and happily joined the rest of Venice in queueing.
We watched the waning sun and got to know the other couple in our boat – newlyweds on their honeymoon – and enjoyed Venezia as it should be enjoyed – a view from a gondola on the Grand Canal.
Tourist tip: A friend said to us to get a private water taxi instead of a gondola ride, and I’d be inclined to agree. The canals were lovely and everything, but felt very much like you were on the tourist conveyor belt. Our gondola ride was informative but fairly short. Another option is take the ferries around – they traverse the main canal and, I believe, out to a few of the islands, and way more bang for your buck.
We had a very lively young guide, only 18, who was very sweet and surprisingly knowledgeable.
After our shorter-than-expected gondola ride (basically just around the block) we ‘climbed’ the bell tower in St Mark’s square, and watched the sunset.
We had an aperitivo of prosecco and were serenaded by live music, looking out over the canal and St Mark’s square while we got our bearings.
After assessing a few options, we headed to Wine 5000 – an excellent wine bar! We ordered some food, salad and dessert obviously. I thought it would be a good idea to try all the wines on the wine list. (Have you ever noticed that the word wine has ‘win’ in it?) but after about 8 glasses between us, Jared decided that that was probably enough – besides we only had roses and proseccos to go and he was less enthused about them.
We stum-ambled our way back to our room – discovering that GPS doesn’t help you in Venice because the streets are too narrow – and collapsed in a tipsy stupor.
Tourist tip: If you don’t get lost in Venice at least once, you’re doing it wrong.
The next morning, we packed up our things, stored them in the hotel reception, and headed to our walking tour.
Our guide was a lady who had grown up in Venice, from Lithuania, and had a very brutal sense of humour, joking that she’d need to explain history slower to us because we were from New Zealand… (harsh, but sometimes not untrue haha.)
We briskly walked (‘on the right’) down many alleys and across many bridges, taking in the ‘most beautiful hospital in Europe’ which used to be St Mark’s social club.
Other features of our walking tour included Marco Pollo’s house – famous explorer who wrote about his travels to Asia – was a stop along our trek. The house was a bit of a non-event – you can’t go inside or really see anything other than a plaque.
We also learned that Casanova used to live in Venice, and he was more than just a lady’s man. He was a scam artist and scofflaw, an alchemist, spy and church cleric. He wrote satires, fought duels, and escaped from prison more than once. Casanova stayed with a wealthy friend in a fancy house next to a prestigious canal for a long while.
One consistent resident of Venice is flooding. Our tour guide spoke regularly about how various apps notify locals of the severity of flooding that might occur. The highest recorded flood was in 1966 and was 1.94 m high, and most recently the city was inundated in 2019 to a similar level.
Obviously there are normal tidal flows, but there is a new system for flood protection being tried that regulates the amount of water that is allowed into the lagoon.
Everyone knows exactly how high their front door is, and some have a metal gate that covers the door to protect their home from the water on the ground floor.
We finished the tour of Venice learning about the history of the masks and the amazing balls Venice used to host.
Bonus: Special shout out to Venetian glass!
After our walking tour, we collected our bags and headed again for the train station – with the ferries mercifully less crowded – and set off for Vienna.
