Our trip started in Venice: a most unique, magical place. It is called "La Serenissima" which translates to "The Most Serene One." Venice is a series of islands where there are no cars, just cobblestone lanes and alleys, and canals and bridges -- lots of them. We did a lot of walking, but you can also get around town using the vaporetto (water bus.)

Without the rush of traffic there is very little noise, and the pace of life is slow. On the down side, thing tend to be more expensive. Since there are no cars (or horses and wagons), everything you see has arrived by boat and most of it was moved by hand at least once.

Since it's an island, you don't worry much about getting lost. We felt completely safe wandering down narrow back alleys late at night, just to see where they led. It's interesting to see some bridges leading to a home's front door, and even more amazing to see the doors that just open onto the water. It's also a place where you can throw away your map after a couple of days. Navigation is mostly accomplished by following the signs that direct you to major sights rather than following street signs: "Per S.Marco ->" means this street leads to St. Mark's Square.



Above: A view of the Grand Canal from the crest of the Academia Bridge. Spectacular palaces line the Grand Canal, but due to frequent flooding, many of the first floors are abandoned. Venice gets acqua alta (floodwaters) about as often as most other cities get rain, but this still looks like a really cool place to live.

Right: Part of the residential (and un-touristy) neighborhood of Santa Elena. Drying laundry and residents on their way to the market were the most frequent sites here.

   


   Left: Piazza San Marco, including the Basilica, Square and the Campanile (belltower). There are alot of people in the square in this picture - almost more people than pigeons. The interior of the Basilica is covered in beautiful gold mosaics--a spectacular site when lit up. (No photos allowed, though.) Below is the last remaining original mosaics on the front of the church. Note the marble columns on the facade, in a palette of different colors.




Above: We visited Ca'Macana Venezia, which provided masks to the movie "Eyes Wide Shut". Making and wearing masks are Venetian traditions during festival times. What happened in Venice at festival time was supposed to stay in Venice, but the masks were there just in case.

Left: Following a narrow, unassuming alley, our tour guide brought us to this "snail" tower and garden. Wandering the streets, you never know what you'll find around the next corner.
Right: We had a chance to visit one of the last few working gondola shops in Venice. In the photo is Roberto of D'Tramontin & Figli, a third generation craftsman, who still makes the banana-shaped boats using traditional methods. Gondolas are custom made specific to the the gondolier who will use it: so it glides with perfect balance, the stern may be more or less bowed, based on the weight of the gondolier (who cannot gain or lose more than 20 pounds during his career.)


Canal photo courtesy of Dennis and Marie Smith, Copyright © 2005.

 Left: One of the many small canals. Notice the personal "vehicles" parked along side the homes. It was amazing to see doors that open right onto the water, or in some cases, a bridge that went directly to someone's front door.

Below Right: The church of Santa Maria della Salute, which was built as a thanks for Venice being spared most of the ravages of the plague of 1630 that decimated so many in the rest of Europe.




Above is one of the giant heads placed around Venice as part of La Biennale-- an international art festival, held every other year in the city. On the main grounds there are small buildings where partipating countries host their art exhibits. We spent a morning perusing the various contemporary exhibits, which was a nice balance to all the Renaissance art.
Of course, Italy was a delicious food-fest, as well. (Nothing tastes as good since we've been home.) Venice food adventures: stuffed sardines, stuffed baby octopus, and spaghetti al nero (in cuttlefish ink---very tasty.)
On to Florence 

Copyright © 2005, Robert & Diane Zormeir. All rights reserved.