Ciao for Now

I’ve been struggling with how to communicate the wonder that is Venice through a blog post. Somehow my usual “amazing,” “beautiful,” “incredible,” and “awesome” adjectives wouldn’t seem to do the place justice. Then my mom nailed it…Venice is enchanting.

We rented an apartment (Ca’ Venexiana) surrounded on two sides by canals…like the coolest corner lot you can imagine…in Venice’s lesser-traveled Dorsoduro district, a quiet area of the city we came to love. It wasn’t uncommon to be enjoying a glass of wine in the kitchen while a gondolier rode right past the window. A truly magical spot. We spent most our days wandering aimlessly throughout the city, both on foot and by vaporetto, Venice’s water bus system. With our 24-hour vaporetto passes, we were able to cruise down the Grand Canal, hop off to explore whenever we wanted, and then hop back on for more cruising. If you’re ever in Venice, I highly recommend buying a vaporetto pass for the duration of your stay…it’s a perfect way to see the city.

Venice is, well, enchanting. Every twist and turn through its labyrinth of canals offers such unique beauty. Half of the time we felt like we were transported to the 14th century. The other half of the time we felt like extras in a James Bond movie. Venice also has its own unmistakable architecture, Venetian Gothic, characterized by Gothic lancet arches combined with Moorish and Byzantine influences.  Most definitely a city like no other.

The outdoor patio at our apartment

Where’s Waldo? (Hint: hanging out of our apartment)

Typical alley in Dorsoduro	Venetian Gothic

Wandering around the canals	Tiny bridges everywhere

Big Jay and Linda on Ponte dell’Accademia

Big Jay and Linda	Johnny and Anna

Ponte dell’Accademia	Piazza San Marco and Doge’s Palace from the vaporetto

Riding the vaporetto	Riding the vaporetto

You serious, Clark?

Walking home along the Zattere

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie…

Riding the vaporetto at night	Wandering the chilly streets at night

When we weren’t purposefully getting lost all over Venice and spending time in favorite piazzas, Piazza San Stefano, Campo Santa Margherita and Piazza San Barnaba, we caught some of the city’s premier sites.  We spent a lot of time in Piazza San Marco, toured Saint Mark’s Basilica and rode to the top of Saint Mark’s Campanile.  The Sherwoods love food, so it’s no surprise that one of our favorite places to visit was the Rialto market, where locals have been coming to buy their fish and produce since 1097.  That’s a long time.  We also stumbled into some delicious and noteworthy restaurants for dinner, Osteria 1518 and Ristoteca Oniga.  Side note…check out the place my brother will be spending  the next three months training as a chef.  Villa Crespi, ooh la la.

Another highlight was taking the vaporetto to the island of Murano, famous for its glass making.  In the late 1200s, all glass making in Venice was moved to the island of Murano due to risk of fires from the furnaces.  Glass makers on the island who tried to leave were viewed as traitors and were assassinated to protect the secrets of their craft.  Needless to say, glass making on Murano is serious business.

Doge’s Palace	Saint Mark’s Basilica

Pigeon feeding in Piazza San Marco

Piazza San Marco	At the top of Saint Mark’s Campanile

View of Doge’s Palace from Saint Mark’s Campanile

Inside Saint Mark’s Basilica

Doge’s Palace and Saint Mark’s Basilica	Piazza San Marco at night

Ponte di Rialto from the vaporetto

Grand Canal from the Ponte di Rialto	Ponte di Rialto

Rialto produce market

Rialto fish market	Rialto fish market

Murano has its own beautiful canals

Anna and I have been in Western Europe for over four months now, and I’m embarrassed to say that occasionally the “wow” factor of being here wears off.  This old church looks a little like that other old church, this piazza like another piazza, this old building like that old building.  But then comes a city like Venice that totally sweeps you off your feet.  We’ll definitely be making a return trip one day.

Cheers Venice!

Posted on October 15, 2011 at 9:45 am in Italy   |  RSS feed |   Reply   |   Trackback URL