My Travels: Venice

Well, this is going to be quite a long post, but we'll go slow and try to get through it together. I can't write one word about Venice without writing a hundred, and there are still things that I wish I could have included. This is the "Cole's Notes" version, and I hope you enjoy...

We only had one day to sight see in Venice, and I wanted to ensure I made the absolute most of the opportunity. Our tour stayed in a very large campground across the Laguna Veneta from the city, and it was bustling with activity all day and all night, but even the body of water separating me from Venice couldn’t take away the magic of the city. As soon as I dumped my bags in our trailer (which was actually quite cute), I grabbed Jill’s hand and we ran eagerly to the water’s edge.

We could see Venice in the distance, and clearly make out the shape of the Campanile di San Marco (a.k.a the bell tower). I was so excited. Ever since I was a little girl, I had dreamed of spending time in Venice. It was always the number one place on my list growing up, and I was obsessed to the extent that one year my brother bought and constructed a 3-D model of a canal and gondola for me. Later that night, Jill and I bought a spectacular bottle of white wine, and sat on the rocks at the shoreline. We drank, watched the lights of Venice, and talked about life, love, and everything in between. In a strange way, I felt at home.

The following morning, our entire tour boarded a small boat, and travelled across the water to Venice. As we approached the island, it actually began to seem real that I was about to see the city for the first time. Buildings started to appear on both sides as we neared the dock, and it took a moment before I realized we were actually in a canal. We docked, jumped out onto cobblestone, and began walking towards Piazza San Marco. Old, Italian-style buildings lined the pathway, and vendors selling souvenirs, gelato, clothing and Murano glass beckoned us as we moved. There were people absolutely everywhere. The whole scene was slightly overwhelming, given the fact that it was just before 9 a.m. on a weekday. Roughly every 200 metres is a small bridge built over small canals that make up the interior waterways of the city. Each canal branches off into more canals, creating the most intricate road waterway system I will ever experience in my life. The canals in the Netherlands were impressive, but this felt like something different.

Before turning into Piazza San Marco, we stopped to admire the Bridge of Sighs. This bridge is significant because it is where criminals were transported from the Doges Palace to the prison. It is called the bridge of SIGHS because it is the last glimpse prisoner’s have of the outside world before being locked away in one of the dark and uninviting prison cells. In fact, Casanova himself once crossed the bridge.

Finally, we walked into Piazza San Marco. It is one of the most photographed places in the world, and with good reason. It is a place where there are tons of birds, patio tables, chairs, and vendors, but there are also many beautiful buildings. Unfortunately, there was also construction scaffolding taking up part of the square, so I had to be crafty and artsy when taking photos. Our tour guide, Ollie, explained at the beginning of the tour that construction happens in Europe, just like anywhere else in the world. No tourist can control it, so they just have to deal and work around it. I was frustrated that I couldn’t get the best photos possible of Piazza San Marco, but the ones I did take were still able to convey the beauty of Piazza.

I should take a moment to describe the square, because it’s both gorgeous and complex. There are four main sides (which makes sense because it’s a “square”). The first side contains a large opening leading to the outermost pathway, where we entered after disembarking from the boat. Along the rest of the side stands the San Marco Church and bell tower - which offers the best views of Venice – and a number of small, retail spaces sitting underneath beautiful alcoves. The second side is all retail spaces, as is the third. The fourth side is where the lovely Doges Palace stands. There is also another large opening leading further into the city. Small passageways have been created in between the retail spaces, and they also lead further into the city. If you are at all confused by this, you’re not alone. I got a headache simply trying to write it down.

Before setting us loose on the town, our tour guide took us to a glass blowing shop and a lace making lesson. I was initially sceptical, and wondered if both detours were just a money grab, but they turned out to be incredible opportunities. I didn’t purchase anything at the lace place, but I wanted to buy EVERYTHING at the glass shop. It was real, handmade Murano glass, and each piece came with a certificate of authenticity. I learned in Prague that the only way to really KNOW the jewellery is real is to ensure it is accompanied by certification. I spent about €50 Euros, wanted to spend €300, and had to forcibly remove myself from the store.

The day was getting warm, and Chris, Jill, Jeff and I had two missions: lunch, and wandering. We worked our way through countless passageways, past crumbling walls and hidden churches, and gradually stumbled upon the Rialto Bridge, spanning the Grand Canal. I wish I could have carried a video camera with me the entire time I was in Europe, because it’s hard to do everything justice. We were walking down a narrow passageway, heard the sound of water, and BAM! There was the Grand Canal, right in front of us. Both the canal and the surrounding pathways were bustling with so much activity that it was difficult to walk. It was here, along the bank of the Grand Canal in Venice, that we had lunch after running a gauntlet of loud, abrasive male waiters waving menus in our faces and trying to force us to sit down. Finally, we found the perfect place. I had ravioli, we all chatted and watched people pass by, and it was absolutely divine.

After eating, we continued to wander. We walked back to the main pathway where we got off the boat in the morning, and took pictures of each other with a lovely backdrop of boats, canals, and Italian buildings. Gelato was also on the menu, and you haven’t experienced ice cream until you have REAL gelato in ITALY. As the day grew warmer and warmer, I began to notice that my brother looked ready to pass out. The heat got to all of us during that trip, and in Venice it was Chris’ turn to feel ill. We stopped at a deli just outside of Piazza San Marco, and bought him a Fanta (another European staple). It wasn’t helping, so we took off in search of an air-conditioned haven.

To ensure that Chris didn’t pass out in the middle of Venice, we stopped in a little wine bar that is attached to a hotel and located directly on a canal. The gentleman who served us was less than impressed to see us, as I’m sure he knew we were only ordering wine so that we could sit in his air-conditioned bar and use the bathroom. When Jill explained that we were only there to have a drink and sit, we were ushered into a corner with different, less-comfortable chairs than the rest of the bar. People who ordered food were allowed to sit anywhere; people who ordered only drinks had to sit in the corner. Surprisingly, I didn’t find this rude, as similar treatment is found all over Europe. In Athens, mom and I were not allowed to sit down in an empty dining area at an outdoor gyro vendor. Apparently we had paid, the “stand and eat” price, not the “sit and eat” price. That, however, is a completely different story.

The difficulty of travelling Europe is that a person is usually out and about at the crack of dawn, and doesn’t return home until after dinnertime. While this adds an air of excitement to each and every day, it also results in very long days with very little time to relax. I think it was about 40 degrees in Venice that day, and we were all feeling it. In the wine bar, Jill ordered me a glass of Pinot Grigio, and I fell in love. She had already been to Italy once before, and knew a bit of Italian, so she could read the menu and order effectively. Thanks for the wine choice Jill, wherever you are. It was fantastic. Afterwards, we met our tour for a spectacular gondola ride. No trip to Europe is complete without it. Contrary to popular belief, howere, not all gondoliers sing. Ours was kind of an ass.

Our group met up with the rest of the tour just before dinnertime, and we boarded a much larger boat than we had taken that morning. We sat outdoors, on the front, so we could watch Venice as we left. That evening, Jill, myself, and Rachel, our lovely roommate from New Zealand, hosted a “wine and cheese” party in our trailer at the campsite. It rained, so it was a perfect night to stay indoors and talk.

That night, we became better acquainted with a group of people who became our family for the rest of the trip. Jill – who I have mentioned before – is a teacher in the U.S. After the common Canadian-American banter, we became great friends. It was terribly sad when we parted company on a train in Paris, and I hope we will have the opportunity to meet again. Jeff is a pharmacist from British Columbia, and I can’t tell you how helpful he was when we all started getting sick around the time we hit Switzerland. He is also one of the most friendly, interesting people I have ever met, and I hope that he is doing well wherever he currently is. Rachel, as I mentioned, is from New Zealand, and she is a travel agent. She has a heart of gold, and is simply a beautiful person inside and out. My brother –Chris- you know of already. We also met and became instant friends with Steve and Sam, a hilariously funny couple from Melbourne, Australia, who could always make me laugh. Add me into the mix, and there was our group for the rest of the trip.

We spent the evening in our trailer drinking wine and “Venice” sunrises while eating overpriced Baby bell cheese and reminiscing about the first few weeks of our European adventure. It was a fantastic evening, and the perfect end to our stay in Venice.