It didn't start out well though. We had booked a cab to take us to the train station on Wednesday morning, but at exactly 6 minutes past the time we had booked the cab (have I mentioned that all Italian cabs run exactly 6 minutes behind schedule?) we got a call from our cabbie saying she way waiting outside our house.
I looked out the window. "No you're not."
"Yes I am, number 5 Via San Donato."
Well eventually we figured she was at some similarly-named street, and not San Donato at all. We tried giving her directions but eventually she just asked one of the locals and then followed a little motor scooter that happened to be going in our direction. Then, on the way to the train station, she spent most of the time on her cell phone complaining to all of her friends (in Italian) about her lousy morning. Hey, we don't speak Italian, but we're pretty sure you're speaking about us!
We finally got to Venice and checked into our little apartment and then went out to explore the town. We had dinner at one of our local restaurants (we were staying a little bit off the beaten path, so not too touristy) and we were even treated to a performance afterwards!
Our first full day in Venice we:
Visited St Mark's Basilica;
Toured the Doge's palace;
(The main square inside the Doge's Palace looks a lot like St Marks Square outside the Doge's Palace.)
(Most of the palace was off limits to photos. This is one of the staircases.)
(The famous "Bridge of Sighs". That's the Doge's Palace on the left and the "new prisons" on the right. We got to cross the bridge and tour the prisons. Check out the throng of tourists on the bridge outside the Bridge!)
And in the evening went to a performance of "Rigaletto" at one of the local palazzo's (palaces). We thought it was at Palazzo Barhauger (or something like that) so we took a vaporetto (water bus) to the closest stop, and then (since we were early) found a nearby cafe for a drink. Of course we were at the completely wrong place, as we found out after our drink, and it was 12 minutes until showtime. We asked a couple of well-meaning locals, who also lead us astray, and then asked at a nearby hotel. The hotel desk person happened to know the show (it was at the Palazzo Barhauger-something else) so she gave us directions. It was on the other side of the Grand Canal, so a short footrace later we made it to the show JUST ON TIME. Of course then the show started about 10 minutes late ...
However it was very interesting. I think it was an abbreviated version of "Rigaletto" (there were only 4 actors and it was a bit under 2 hours long) and took place in several rooms of the palace. We the audience followed the actors from room to room. This is a highly recommended way to see an opera!
(Note no pics allowed during the performance, of course :-( So here are a couple of crappy pics of the palace as we were filing out:)
The next day, still in "full tourist mode", we:
Took a vaporetto the full length of the Grand Canal;
Near St Mark's Square, the traffic was unreal - gondolas, vaporettos and other craft. Pretty much everything in Venice is delivered or taken away by boat.
A lot of the homes and hotels have their main door on the canal rather than one of the streets.
Near the Rialto Bridge. More traffic.
Went on a gondola ride;
And explored a bunch of Venice neighbourhoods.
(Our gondola ride started out on the Grand Canal, near the Rialto Bridge, but it was too crowded and choppy so we made our driver take us down some of the small side canals.)
Overall it was a very enjoyable visit. There are some areas of Venice that are as crowded as anywhere on earth (trust me I spent 3 months in China) - St Marks Square, the bridge next to the Bridge of Sighs, the Rialto Bridge - but once you get even a bit off the beaten path the crowds die down and it's very pleasant to wander about. Of course other than Florence this is the most expensive city we visited, so be prepared for a hit on your wallet!
Tomorrow we are headed to Volterra for a medieval festival. Motto - "Party like it's 1349!" We're down to our last week so no more rest days!
(Just a picture of the Venetian sunset. No big deal.)
No comments:
Post a Comment