Venezia

From Lake Como... On to Venezia. We were really excited to see Venice, because we knew it would be really different to anything we had seen so far...


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We got some more use out of our crap tents, and camped on the mainland of Veneto, about a 30 min bus ride to Venice. On our first day in Venice, we took a Vaporetto (ferry) down the Grand Canal, all the way through Venice to San Marco Square. We managed to get a really cheap vaporetto pass from a German couple, who approached us because they thought we were German (not the first, and certainly not the last people who have made this mistake! Dunno why!). The ferry down the Grand Canal was so cool! Couldn't believe how the buildings were just built straight down into the water... There are heaps of old Palazzos (huge houses that belonged to rich families) all the way along the canal. Most of them have been converted into museums etc these days, but the facades have been renovated and are as they were first built.

View along the Grand Canal from the vaporetto


Gothic facade of old Palazzo, from vaporetto

San Marco's Square was amazing - the grandest of all the Italian piazzas we saw. So exciting to be there! It was absolutely packed - with people and pigeons. Here are some photos...


The square from the canal

The square again, check the crowd.

The Basilica di San Marco was magnificent, here are some shots.

We got there a bit late on the first day and the line to go into the basilica was massive, so we thought we would come back and do that on the last day.





Opposite the basilica was the 99m tall campanile

The famous gondaliers - they are everywhere and its amazing watching them manouvre their gondalas through the narrow canals.

Another shot of the gondaliers at the end of our first day.

We made the most of our vaporetto pass and headed out to some of the other near by islands. The first stop was San Giorgio Maggiore, a tiny island with a bell tower that has great views of the whole Venice island network. Looking out over all the canals, you can see how busy the 'traffic' is, and there seems to be no rules - just boats, vaporetti, and gondole going every which way.


Angie in the bell tower.


View back over the canal to San Marcos square and the campanile.

This is one of Andrea Palladios many contributions to Venice on the island of Guidecca, the next stop on our vaporetto tour. This church sits right at the end of the long, narrow shaped Guidecca on a piazza that steps off suddenly into the canal.

That night the four of us went out to dinner at a cool restaurant the lonely planet reommended called La Zucaa - 'The pumpkin'. Awesome food, the canal is right ouside the window in this photo.

Dinner at La ZuccaThis shot taken on the walk home from La Zucca.

Another shot walking home

3rd day we headed over to some of the other well known islands a little further from the grand canal. First stop was Murano, famous for its glass blowing. We got chatting to a Venetian, in his glass shop about Murano glass. He was so passionate about it, and took the time to explain to us how it is made, including showing us of photos of him making it. We loved his passion and enthusiasm to his trade, and life in Venice. Em and Corey managed to see a live demonstration of the glass blowing.

The second stop was Burano. Burano is one of the most picturesque places we've ever visited. All the houses and shops are painted different pastel colours and have been for years, the colours reflect off the canals and the whole place looks amazing.

My favourite photo so far. Burano.

Burano.

Torcello was the next stop and the furthest island from the grand canal, right next door to Burano. It is home to less than 80 people even though it was the original island settlement in Veneto. The church there is the oldest in Venice, from the year 639.

The old church on sleepy Torcello

The last morning we took another ride down the Grand Canal and managed to score one of the hard-to-get seats on the rear outdoor deck. The following are more views of the quintessential Venetian experience - the vaporetto on the Grand Canal!

Managed to get to see the inside of San Marcos on the last morning also which was great.

The terrace of San Marcos

These are replicas of bronze statues that sit atop San Marcos Basilica. The originals were taken from Constantinople around 1200, thez now sit inside the cathedral in the museum and have been dated to around the 4th cenury.

We all loved Venice. I expected a big tourist trap, but it wasn't like that at all. Such an amazing place unlike any other. The city literally grows out of the water and is tied together by a web of narrow canals, bridges and walkways. There are no cars and you can get lost for days just wandering around. One of my favvourite places of anywhere weve been and I would love to go back some day. Agreed (Ang)