Bridges and Canals

Well, it’s been a while since I returned from my trip and I still haven’t posted about Venice. Many changes have happened in my life in the last 4 months: I have retired early, taken a huge trip, downsized my stuff by about half, moved back to Vancouver Island, rented out my Grande Prairie home (have a property management company in control), and am now looking for work in the Nanaimo area to supplement my drastically reduced pension. LIFE IS GOOD.

So . . . . back to Venice:

Arriving in Venice was a magnificent experience, with the ship arriving into the Venetian Lagoon that has many islands, including those of the city. We passed alongside Piazza San Marco and we able to look down at it and the other squares, canals, bridges and buildings from the 12 floor of the ship. I hadn’t realized that Venice is an island, or rather, many islands - about 120, inter-connected by over 400 bridges arched over them.

We took a water taxi from the Piazzale Roma down the Grand Canal, past the Piazza San Marco, at water level this time, and down a myriad of interior canals right to the dock next to our hotel.   I was really amazed at how easy it was to walk almost anywhere within the city and our hotel was so magnificently located. and very reasonably priced.  (I’ll take full credit for the research on that.) Hotel Canaletto was between the Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco, with quick and easy access to most of the city.

Of course we walked to the traditional sights, already mentioned, but we also found the beautiful outside spiral staircase of the Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, and some nice restaurants on the side streets between our hotel and San Marco that were reasonably priced and had excellent food. (I got my cannelloni.)

We also met up with one of the women that we met on the cruise for a day trip to the islands of Burano and Murano. There is a vaporetto route that goes from San Marco, around to the outer islands and the Burano & Murano. I absolutely loved Burano, where the traditional Venitian lace has been made for centuries. I would love to return one day for a month or two and learn from one of the old women, just the basics of their skills. We may not have this handmade lace for many more generations as few women want to spend their lives doing this anymore. It was a beautiful, magical little island with colourful houses and lovely people. We also stopped on Murano which is known for their blown glass works. Beautiful stuff here too. Between these two islands and my previous shopping my Christmas shopping was complete by August 4^th!

My favourite part of the city of Venice was the area we found on our last day there. We took a vaporetto and walked to (and through) the Cannaregio. It is the area of town that had an old foundry, ‘geto’ in the old Venetian dialect, and where the Jewish people in the area were forced to live from the early 1500s to almost 1800. This is where the word ghetto originated as the neighbourhoods of isolated minority groups. It was lovely, quiet, peaceful and felt miles away from the bustling, crowded, noisy, touristed areas of the city.

Our last views through Venice were also spectacular. The canals were empty and silent (except for our boat motor)as we made our way in the predawn through the canals and across the lagoon by water taxi. A beautiful farewell to a beautiful city.