Our trip to Venice was amazing! We left our car in the town of Mestre which is like a suburb on the mainland. We arived here after a full day of travel from Florence. The trip took us through rough forested hills then down to a never ending delta. The shoreline was a mixture of populated beaches (populated by mostly empty beach chairs and umbrellas) and huge belching factories. The closer we got to Venice the more factories and ports we had to pass. Made for a loss of magic as well as wonderful smoggy sunsets. Anyway, Mestre is a good place to get a cheaper night in a hotel and park your car for one quarter the price of Venice's public parking.
On Wednesday morning we were on the bus with our lugguage by 8am.... in Venice by 8:30... checked in to our hotel by 8:55 (which wasn't easy considering we had to buy boat tickets and find the place)...and then, much to our surprise and theirs, we found our neighbours from Canada before they checked out of their hotel. Brad and Pauline left Venice at 10am and we actually managed to have a cappuccino with them before their water taxi whisked them away. We are all still shaking our heads and wondering if that really happened!!
After that crazy rush we wandered down to Piazza San Marco to really begn our visit to Venice. This is where every tourist in Venice seems to congregate. It seemed to us to be terribly busy but we were told that it is, in fact, quite slow this year. Could have fooled me!
If you want to find peace in Venice you really do have to get lost. It isn't hard to do, just trust me on that one. Shane is good with directions which is a very good thing. How do you get your bearings when roads don't run perpendicular and some just stop in a square!? Just stop with no way out but up (or down the well I guess).
How do I describe Venice? It is a city of history... a medieval town with an amazing past and a dubious future.... it is a city of love and for lovers... it is sunlight, colours and pigeon poop. It is people watching and people avoiding (like the drunk that stomped on my foot when the boat hit the dock!)... and, yes, it is a romantic gondola ride with music and mystery!
By the end of our three days here we can honestly say that we saw the tourist Venice and the real Venice. We went through the Doge's Palace and a couple of museums. We listened to the orchestras playing in San Marco square. We walked over the Rialto Bridge (a lot of times) and the bridge of sighs (fortunately not to our death as those poor unfortunates in years gone by). We shopped and ate (well!) and saw hundreds of really interesting little art shops.
On top of that we watched masons at work, firmen (with great little fire boats all you Wilson's Landing firemen out there.... Shane thinks one of them would come in handy back home!), we saw water ambulances and lots of police boats. We watched narrow barges delivering goods in the morning... we even saw a wedding procession down the grand canal.
On our gondola ride we went down narrow canals where we could see doors that had been sealed off due to high water damage... rust, erosion and lots of homes that are no longer lived in. As well we saw laundry hanging, hundreds of flower boxes and school kids excitedly telling Grandma about their day.

On our first day Shane and I had a mission to go to Lido Island. My sister and her friend were here not that long atgo and found an amazing restaurant. Now my sister is a great cook so when she says it is a good restaurant you don't want to miss it. The restaurant is called Ristorante Le Travernetta (on Via F. Morosini) and indeed it does have great food! Our mission was to deliver pictures of the family who own the restaurant ... pictures taken with my sister and her friend. After a little walking (tourist info was closed and we didnàt have a map) we found the place and were rewarded with big grins and bigger hugs! They did indeed remember them fondly and were most gracious to us. Thanks Dorth for giving us the opportunity to meet the family and enjoy great food. Shane had the noodles and wild boar and I had the pumpkin ravioli with duck sauce.... Yummy! and of course the grilled vegetables and house wine. The place was filled with locals which is always a good sign (and the prices aren't bad at all);
Enough of the commercials....
If you go to Venice don't get too wrapped up in what the 'Information Touristica' tells you to do. Get a two or three day boat pass and travel around. Take lots of pictures, sit in any number of squares sipping coffee, eating your meal or sipping a good wine, people watch and, most of all, allow yourself to become part of the chaos.
Venice is magic. The magic is what you mke it. Some people become frustrated by the chaos but that in itself can lift you up if you let it. Absorb it all but find those quiet lost places.
Next stop is the Dolomite Mountains. They will be a cool relief from the 37C temperatures we've had the last few weeks. Bring out the long underware... here we go!!