Venezia

We woke up on the first morning to glorious sunny weather, just perfect for sightseeing. From the campground the boat ride to Venice offers a fantastic view coming in.

Despite all the tourists, and yes there were still hordes of tour groups, Venice is still a magical city. The tiny canals, amazing architecture, gondolas bobbing up and down on the water, interesting little alleyways leading off in all directions and fantastic mask shops - it is a living museum piece.

We had fun exploring the backstreets and alleyways and wandering off the beaten tourist paths, discovering beautiful leafy parks, quaint antique shops tucked away in secluded corners and quiet campos (squares) dominated by huge statues and churches, even little squares in residential areas where washing lines were strung out high up from one side of the courtyard to the other. Getting lost in Venice is all part of the fun! And everywhere you looked there was the winged lion, the symbol of Venice - on top of columns, on big door knockers, wall friezes, banners and boats.

The gondoliers nonchalantly stood on the ends of the their boats and looked like they could steer them in their sleep! The gondolas themselves were just beautiful all lined up along the canals. Black sleek looking boats, with fancy gold or silver lions or sea horses (Roman style), brocaded seats etc.

We caught a trachetto (like a gondola but with 2 gondoliers and the boat fits up to 10 people who often stand up) across from one side of the canal to the other - a short trip of about 30 seconds all up but also cheap.

The shops in Venice are beautifully presented and offer modern styling in centuries-old buildings. There were the usual typical designer label shops and shoe shops with lots of big bling shoes with big bling prices. Then there were masks shops, Italian paper shops filled with beautiful marbled and leather bound books and calligraphy material - quills, individual seals and waxes, fancy letter openers, antique map shops and little curio shops with handcrafted wooden marionettes of Pinocchio and the fox, decorator shops with ornate brocades, silks and lush velvets. Not to mention all the glass shops that were a riot of colour, overflowing with jewellery in vibrant colours and all shapes and sizes, huge chandeliers and statues etc.

Anika and Jood loved the mask shops and some of the window displays were art works in themselves. We wandered in and out of dozens of mask shops admiring the fantastic range of designs from phantom style masks to classic theatre style, animals, masks with scenes of Venice painted on them, ones with feathers and glitter, and others so delicate and fragile. Some of the mask shops also sold or rented fancy dress costumes for Venice's Carnevale. The clothes and masks were really quite magical and could fire anyone's imagination with dreams of mystery and masked balls.

While we were in Venice we also went to the Venice Biennale a modern art expo with artists representing countries around the world. It was typically a hit and miss affair, just as modern art so often is. Some of the pavilions featured some really interesting and innovative art while other pavilions we were able to instantly dismiss, for eg. The German display of pine cabinets straight from an IKEA kitchen catalogue, the French black room with prison bars and industrial fans which smelled of rubber, the Korean room full of blinds. The highlight was the main exhibition hall showcasing Italian artists with some very clever ideas using lights, film projectors, books and old toys (better than it sounds). The Biennale had heaps of student groups there (mainly Dutch and Italian I think) and also a lot of quite arty, bohemian looking people - not your usual sort of Venice tourist.

Dinner in Venice gave us a chance to see the city at night time when a lot of the tour groups had left for the day. We found a small ristorante on a tiny canal that was quite nice. In the early evening we watched the various watercraft passing by as well as locals walking home for dinner.

We limited ourselves to single meals (not the 3-4 course full tourist menu which all the places were trying to push). Dinner was delicious but naturally portions were smaller than at home. Cappuccinos were on the menu for 4.50 euros, (about $10). A visit to the public toilet in Venice cost about $3! You pay for the ambience – not sure about inside the toilets though.

Classical concerts are held in various churches throughout the city, but we didn’t get a chance to catch a performance. Maybe next time. Vivaldi’s "Four Seasons" was on offer in a few of the ornate churches and we watched an ensemble practicing. The San Marco Piazza had competing ensembles playing classical pieces as well as classic hits (ie. "The Entertainer") into the evening which attracted appreciative crowds. Not many people were sitting down at the cafes and restaurants – probably because of the the premium surcharges just to have a seat.

Venice is a photographer’s dream with a masterpiece location at every turn. Gondaliers linger nonchalantly near the bridges, mostly happy to chat with each other, only occasionally touting for business. The many bridges and houses have so much character it’s impossible not to be impressed by bricks, iron and paint. We took about 1000 photos between the four of us. Should be a great powerpoint presentation. Book your tickets for the slide night.