Venice Revisited, 2011

Travel Date 24th May 2011.
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I unashamedly love Venice.

Yes, it's tourist central, and it can be kitsch and it is over-the-top and it is slowly sinking into the Adriatic. But it is also one of the most fascinating cities in the world to visit; a living museum if you can see past the hordes of tourists and locals trying to earn a living off them.

I won't say much this time, because this was my third visit to Venice. I wrote about previous visits here: Venice, Aquileia and Trieste

The train from Milan deposited me at the watery gate to the old town around lunch-time. It was less than 100m from the gates of the station to the ferry terminal. I bought a 16 euro all-day ticket for the ferries and used those and my progressively sorer feet to wander around the town and across to the Lido.

I'm not sure whether the workmen were having fun with the tourists, or this was just serendipitous, but the crowd of people snapping shots of this statue was very large and very cheerful. A group of Italian schoolgirls on a convent bus trip, complete with supervisory nuns, thought it was marvellous. The nuns were less amused. Like strip-tease, the crowd seemed more fascinated with a half-clothed statue than the many stark naked ones in other parts of town.

This time I deliberately chose to wander around the back blocks, as far from tourists as I could get for the most part, although I still had to see St Mark's again for its extraordinary decorations.

I made it simple and easy, with no particular sight to see or place to go I just wandered, soaking in the atmosphere and the magical wonder of this unlikely living remnant from an earlier era.

If you were wondering how the cruise line got your bags to the hotel...

As I was walking beside one of the minor internal canals six gondolas quietly passed. Then the strains of a piano accordian slowly rose in volume from a player on one of them and, after a few minutes, a singer began. Please excuse the shaky cameraman.

I followed them for several minutes, but left them to glide along the canals after I discovered a pleasant cafe for lunch.

I walked all day, resting on ferries between walks. After a tiring but very pleasant sojourn in Venice I went back to the station after a light dinner in a Lido restaurant, and a final cruise on the ferry in the sunset from the Lido to St Lucia station, to depart on the night train to Zagreb. A lovely day of fascinating sights and encounters.

Cheers, Alan, Australia