Venice walkabout 2

It is, on the one hand, sort of unfortunate, if inevitable, that Venice has effectively become a town dedicated almost entirely to the tourist trade. On the other, of course, Venice was one of the ancient centres of commerce, so perhaps it was even more inevitable that it would return to that. The stores filled with glass and masks are, initially, eerie and spectacular, and then quickly fade into the tedium of repetition and lack of distinction. The street vendors hawking odd mixes of Italian-made and China-imported goods, despite a pedigree as old as the shopkeepers, significantly diminish the old-world charm.

Even in the off season the main thoroughfares are crowded, especially in the early-mid evening.

Venice walkabout 1

Saturday we spent most of the day walking around Venice. I also took some photos walking around Monday and Tuesday. Venice is so idiosyncratic, and yet so similar-seeming that it's difficult to segregate the photos by area or other themes. The photos of the Arsenale, where we had wine and dessert (despite the somewhat off-putting waitress) show the exception to the rule, of course. There's nothing like eating outside (despite the cool temps) practically at the feet of huge stone lions.

Walking the byways and alleys of Venice is fascinating, not least because a) while it's far too easy to get lost, it's just as easy to find one's way, b) there are beautiful churches, monuments, and architectural wonders/nightmares just an alleyway over, and c) there's always a lingering sense that at any moment it will all simply crumble into the green waters.

Pub night in Venice...

We were very lucky that our Italian hosts were available on Saturday evening to share a drink with us. They took us to a watering hole that was truly authentic, in that the owner had inherited it from his father and refused to change anything in it at all-- from the dragon hanging by its tail to the black and white pinup (of sorts)... We shared antipasti and a lovely vino rossi siphoned from huge earthenware urns.

It was relatively quiet, with Italian opera playing in the background, and the bar/restaurant owners spoke no English at all. Fantastic. But the company was even better.

Look! Lynn's enjoying herself in Venice...

Venice at night

We arrived in the evening on Friday and walked to the Piazza San Marco, which really is a glorious sight, especially after all the closed-in alleys, odd turnings and sometimes eerily quiet campos on the way. It was probably a 25 minute walk (though there are a seemingly infinite number of possible paths), but well worth it.

As with much of our visit, however, we learned that some cities (like Edinburgh, in fact) present unique photography challenges. Many parts of Venice rarely get direct sunlight, and many other areas are poorly lit at night-time. Some of the challenge lies in the quality of the camera equipment, but surely as much falls onto the skill of the photographer, and there we have no excuses. Venice at night ranges from the shimmering lights, boat engine noise and socializing on the Grand Canal to the endless hodgepodge of shops, both local and chain stores, along the walkways, to the dusky dilapidated silence of the church-bound campos.

Here are night-time shots of the hotel, some views of the various canals (Grand and otherwise), Lynn calling the kids to say goodnight, and a terrible photo at San Marco.

High tide

Although we were warned that Sunday would have a high tide, we didn't really experience the whole "walking on water" type of day that we've heard about. On Tuesday, however, the tide definitely rose significantly, coming right up to the edge of the canal sides. I'm not sure how well this shows up, especially with the photo scaling required for the blog, but even small waves were sending water over the edges onto the walkways. Massimo said that the water can come significantly higher, effectively ending foot traffic on some walkways and flooding some of the buildings.