Viewing and Visiting Venice

Another installment of our voyage through Italy.  The city of Venice conjures up many romantic images and it is certainly a place where romantics just have to go.  Surrounded by water below sea level and with visions of gondoliers paddling you around it has a unique flavor unlike any other.  Our quartet arrived via train on Saturday, May 5, 2012 from and then proceeded by water taxi to our hotel.  Traveling by water taxi is crowded and noisy but with no cars anywhere in this city which actually is composed of many islands connected by numerous bridges it is walk or take the water taxi.

Just as in Rome, our accommodations were just what we wanted and needed.  First location.  Our Hotel Pagnelli was just steps from the water taxi which meant that our over packed American suitcases only had to be drug a short distance into the lobby and up the stairs to our rooms.  The hotel Pagnelli was once a convent and our charming albeit small courtyard rooms overlooked nearby rooftops.  Soon after our arrival we were thrilled to hear the bells ringing from the nearby church.  As the title of this post indicates Venice is definitely a city with beautiful and picturesque views around every corner.

We settled in in time to set off for one of Rick Steve's suggestions the pub crawl. Another noisy water taxi but we soon found ourselves in another part of the city past the Bridge of Sighs and wandering in and out of shops in search of  of wine and dinner.  Ok so maybe the pub crawl is better for the younger crowd so we decided to choose instead to sit down to dinner in a restaurant and have wine and food served to us instead of jostle for space and limited table space in pubs where people seemed to mostly be standing.  Cannot remember the name of the restaurant and what we ate but  can suggest that if you visit Venice and see something you like you should probably stop then and there because in the maze of very narrow streets, you will never find it again but more on that later...following a quiet and wonderful dinner experience we set off to walk off the latest round of Italian dining which is not hard to do in Venice where walking is the best option.  Nighttime had set in a we wandered over bridges and through the narrow streets to a much quieter city than when we had arrived.  Venice is a popular cruise stop so during the day the narrow streets are very crowded with day visitors making evening and night when the big boats sail away a much better option.

Imagine at night with only light from windows...

Our evening still held a few more adventures in store.  First we took Rick Steve's suggestion about finding a gondola off the beaten path. 9 to 10 PM was a perfect time to hire a gondola and we did so far away from the Grand Canal.  The full moon was as the song says like a big pizza pie and the perfect setting for amore as we paddled quietly along the waterways and past the bridges and buildings and sights like no other in the world.

 Next Rick, that's Rick Bavec, set out with a mission to find the best dessert in all Venice. Did I tell you walking was the way to go?  Anyway Italy is supposed to be about canolis right we have all had them at the Olive Garden or Carrabbas...Just do a quick Yelp or Google search and you can find anything...well not walking in Venice! And probably not cannolis as they are Sicilian and Venice is in Northern Italy far from Sicily!  Nor with a declining battery in your Iphone.  We never did find it but we did walk off dinner and find our way back to the water taxi.

Bill  analyzing politics & leading the way

When you are in Europe everyone knows you are American, go figure.  Anyway while waiting for the water taxi, we encountered a group of French tourists who upon discovering we were American wanted to ask us for the name of President Obama's latest book.  Warning skip this section if conservative Republican politics offends you....Bill responded without skipping a beat, "How I destroyed America. " Just as in Rome when Sherrie and I went for gelato in our PJs pretending it was Walmart, we did America proud by letting them know that this group of Americans were not Obama lovers!

So no dessert but we did find another open restaurant nearby the hotel where we wandered in. Note European spaces are very small be extremely careful when walking through a restaurant especially after drinking wine!  While sitting down for a late night coffee  (could have been our 2nd night there) but is too funny not to share, I accidentally bumped into a gentleman's table and his bottled water spilled into his lap.  Being a polite semi Southern American, I did my best to apologize in my very best Italian.  I turned around to discover that all my companions had fled the restaurant leaving me!  Apparently, my loving and devoted husband upon discovering my mishap signalled Sherrie and Rick and led the way out of the restaurant leaving me abandoned in a foreign country.  Don't worry, I love you all and do forgive you!

Rainy day in Venice

Shopping!

Did I say the weather was perfect?  Ok forgot, it did rain in Venice!  Bad morning for walking through narrow streets past many cruise tourists with umbrellas.  Good day for some shopping and to wander through an art museum in St Marks square. Venice is a good place to shop for glass and is also fun to look a souvenirs from the annual Carnival which is the big festival prior to the beginning of Lent when elaborate costumes are worn with masks. St Marks Square is beautiful.  The Cathedral of St Mark houses the bones of the apostle Mark.  We went to Mass in this beautiful cathedral one of our days there, a highlight for us all on our trip.  Also walking into the square en route to the Correr Gallery, we walked past a string quartet playing music.  I have always thought that Sherrie and Rick were some of the most romantic people I know and still are after 25 years of marriage. Right there in the middle of the square Rick and Sherrie began dancing and twirling while the bad played. Check out the video below!  I guess the romance is still there!

St Mark's Cathedral, Piazzo San Marco

 Next stop the museum.  Sherrie and I both found that we love to look at paintings and try to comprehend the message of the art.  I myself was in awe of the beauty of so much religious inspired works of art.  Our boys like the quick tour and then to find a place to sit and take in the sights and people watching along the square.  They were patient with us but as Bill says," How many pictures of Madonna and baby can you look at?"

Rick & Bill loving the Art

Did I say Venice is crowded?  Next, we escaped the hoards of cruise tourists via water taxi to San Giorgio Maggiore another spectacular church across the Grand Canal. Wherever you are in Europe, Catholic churches are a great place to see amazing architecture and some fabulous artwork.  We also encountered  outside this grand cathedral some type of local rose festival where Sherrie and were crowned with roses by some of the locals.

San Giorgio Maggiore...no crowds!

 Back to the main part of Venice looking for a quiet place overlooking a canal for some lunch. If you walk back off the main streets of Venice you can hope to find somewhere away from the tourists where you can have lunch in a more peaceful surrounding right? Rick took the lead with use walking behind. Remember earlier, I warned to stop whenever you see something? Well we did find the less crowded parts of Venice but we never did find the perfect lunch spot next to the canal again!

Ideal spot for Lunch

Walking!

Resting from Walking

Finally we eat! 

By the time we stopped walking I'm thinking 2 hours later all the cruise people had mostly cleared out and it was dinnertime. Our Last evening in Venice had arrived.  Tuscany and Wine Country awaited us in the morning.  We were glad to have visited Venice as it is completely unique.  After Rome and Venice, we were ready for a few days of the Italian countryside and still saying each day, "We're in still in Italy."

View across is St Marks Square & Doge Palace