A Day in Venice

October 1 A Day in Venice

What a treat to be able to sleep without the heater on. It is much warmer in Venice than it has been for weeks.

We caught the 9 am ferry and we were in Venice 20 minutes later. After landing at the dock we went to buy a 12 hour ticket for the vaporettos so that we would be able to travel around all day and not have to pay each time we got on. As we approaced the ticket office we had scouted out the previous evening, we noticed that the wicket was closed and the sign on the wicket read (in both Italian and English) "Ticket Office Closed Due to Strike, Sorry for the Inconvenience". I have read that strikes are frequent in Italy. The interesting thing is that since we couldn't buy tickets we just rode for free! When we were leaving Venice at the end of the day we noticed that the ticket office was open again...a very short strike!

We boarded Vaporetto # 1 for a ride on the Grand Canal, the main canal in Venice. Since it was still early in the day, we got to see Venetians going to work. We saw delivery boats going to restaurants, boats heading to the market to set up for the day, garbage boats, police boats, ambulance boats and of course, water taxis and gondaliers. The canal is a very busy place with traffic going in both directions. The bus stops are floating docks and the drivers or skippers, I suppose, must have nerves of steel. The engine of Vaporetto #1 came astern suddenly on several occassions, to avoid hitting another vessel. Needless to say, it was very entertaining.

We got off at the Market and bought some fruit...1 Euro for a kilo of nectarines...about four large. We were quite taken with the fish market where we saw octopus, squid, shrimp, flounder and lots of other fish whose names I cannot pronounce nor remember. After the market we stopped for a coffee and watched the sights go by.

Venice is a maze of canals, and narrow streets. We walked for hours and saw several districts, including a district where we saw kids coming home from school and people hanging out laundry. (In touristy Venice, you would almost think that no one actually lives here.) We popped into a church and a couple of museums. Otherwise we walked, and walked and then we walked some more. We did, of course, visit the tourist areas of Piazza San Marco and the Realto Bridge but enjoyed the quiet campos we stumbled upon much more than the crowds.

Venice is polluted, often smells of sewage, is somewhat dirty, a little delapitated, crowded and yet somehow a must see...no make that a must experience. It is so unique...you need all of your senses for Venice. Venice did not disappoint today.

Tomorrow we will head for Florence...one more big city before we take a break and head for a quieter few days.