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We went to Venice!

I'm going to have to make this post a little shorter than some others because I'm very tired and want to get to sleep. We did a lot of walking. We left at 10am and got back around 8:30pm. It was a very long day.

To get to the main Venice area, you first drive over a causeway very similar to the one that gets you to the Tswassen ferry terminal from the mainland. Then you park the car in a giant tall parkade on an island called Tronchetto specially made for that. Then you walk or take the "People Mover" train from there to the start of the grand canal. We walked and it probably would have been better to take the train. We took it on the way back.

The first thing we did was just wonder. We chose whatever small alley looked the most interesting or was least crowded and looked less tourist-y. There were SO MANY tourists, especially in the morning. Almost everywhere is crowded, so we sought out less crowded areas.

We walked and explored and got some gelato for maybe an hour, finding some dead ends that lead into the water and other residential-type deserted alleyways. I was very excited to be in Venice, but it's hard to take a lot in when it's 33 degrees and there are people everywhere trying to sell you stuff and beg for money. Luckily this wasn't actually too bad on the whole, and it could have been much much hotter. We found our way to the Rialto bridge, which was packed and only worth seeing once to say you've seen it because of the crowds; a bit like the Mona Lisa. I really think I got more out of the normal Venetian life and locations than I did out of piazzo de San Marco or the Rialto.

We brought 6L of water, drank all of that and actually refilled from water taps throughout the city to end up with mostly empty back home. I think we were all sweating profusely and were probably a bit dehydrated despite our best efforts. We ate lunch we had brought with us on a bench in some shade in a square. It was very hot, so sitting in the shade was a welcome break.

Getting down to the end of the grand canal after walking and seeing the main tourist places was the worse half of the day. It was still amazing, but what I got to experience after that was better for me. After seeing the main gondola docks at the edge of San Marco square (and admiring the fact that the big city feel transitions so quickly and smoothly to docks and maritime), we started walking on a new route to eventually get back to a restaurant we had starred on the map to remember; it had a gluten free menu. None of the other ones we had passed said anything about gluten free, but this one had some pasta options. So we started the trek.

Along the way, we passed a junction of several tiny canals where power boats and gondolas were jostling for space. We sat and watched the amazing precision and communication of the gondoliers for about twenty minutes. There were at least 7 in view at all times, with the gondolier pushing and skulling away at the back. Occasionally they would push off from a wall with their foot. More than occasionally, actually. It seemed to be a valid move in line with j-stroking. I watched them move their boats with added interest; it's very similar to dragon boat steering, which I've done before, as well as very familiar to me because of all the boating and coaching and paddling I've done. I think it would be fascinating to learn to steer a gondola (although I noticed there were a distinct lack of female gondoliers. I wonder why). I think if I lived in Venice, I would absolutely take advantage of the many, many tourists; either by busking or entertaining or gondoliering or other. It seems like you need to be assertive and careful when gondoliering: there were so many near-misses as gondolas passed inches away from walls or other boats, but they seemed in control at all times. Sometimes they would yell or give hand signals to other boats, saying "stop, there's a boat just around the corner here" or something. I saw two of them get in a mock fight as their boats passed. They smiled and laughed as they went on their way, so my guess is they were friends teasing each other. I think I could have sat and watched these boats all day, but soon enough everyone was ready to keep moving. It was just so fascinating. Also,there was this construction-boat with a digger attachment loading concrete onto a wheelbarrow for some project, and it was parked in the skinny canal just like any other construction vehicle on any normal road. It was constricting gondola traffic even more: added challenge.

About 3/4 of the way to the restaurant we came across this tiny shaded square with free shaded seating at tables. It was mostly deserted except for the occasion crowd that would walk through on a B-line. There was a water fountain here like in so many other places around the city, spewing it's potable water from the month of a carved lion's head vertically to the ground in a never ending stream (so you know how I said this post would be short? It seems I lied). This place for us was an oasis. Not too crowded, lots of shade and seating, and free potable water just steps away. At this point in our walk we were all feeling the heat a bit too much and really starting to get grumpy and done with all walking ever. So this lovely little square was tremendous good fortune.

We all sat at a table, refilled our empty water bottles, relaxed, cooled off, and used the water as a bit of a shower. We all rinsed our arms and faces and we wetted a bandana to put on faces and hair. It was wonderful. And we started a trend: as soon as we used the water everyone passing by seemed to suddenly notice it was there and stop to fill bottles and rinse arms. After some ten minutes in that square and feeling much refreshed, we set out again.

The food at the restaurant was really good. We mostly got pasta. I got "senza glutine" tortellini with cream and ham. Very good. It was a well enjoyed dining experience by all. We made sure to use the WC on premises before leaving.

By then it was maybe 5:30, 6pm. We were all tired and satisfied by Venice (despite the certain alleyways that smelled of piss and the beggars and the millions of tourists and the boiling heat and the foot-killing cobblestones and the litter-all of which are just big city things you can't really avoid). We caught the water bus back to the start of the grand canal, where we struggled for a bit trying to find the People Mover train. We eventually found it, and got to our car (again, eventually) and drove off. We stopped at a grocery store on the way home and I had watermelon, peaches, and maybe a tad too much pasta for dinner (what can I say, I'm in Italy. It's really good).

Tomorrow we drive to Annecy, France. A country where I will feel a bit less lost and helpless in than Switzerland or Italy.

 

I very much enjoyed Venice. Next time, I want to go in the winter and live there for at least a month. Less tourists, maybe a few degrees colder, and enough time to really get into the city.

The start of this video is from the mountain in Bern with the coaster, the second half is the crazy gondolas in Venice: