A week in Italy: Venice

Getting to Venice was an adventure all it's own. We used a ride sharing site called BlaBlaCar to catch a ride with an Italian man named Alberto and his wife and five year old daughter. We never did manage to have the internet other than at our hotels and a restaurant or two, so keeping in contact and figuring out a meeting place in a city we didn't know was...interesting.

Oh, and Alberto and his family didn't speak English... haha.

Luckily Alex's four semesters of Italian in college paid off and he could quite easily carry a conversation anywhere we went. Anyway, once we did meet up with Alberto and his family they took us to their home outside of Milan for a quick packing trip before we left. The little girl shared her Easter chocolate with us while we petted their dog and six cats. And she got even more comfortable falling asleep on me during the 3 hour ride to Venice.

Visiting Alberto's house

We stayed at a hotel about half an hour outside of Venice and caught the bus to Venice the next morning. As it was Sunday, we attempted to go to our church, but the nearest one would take two hours by bus. Instead we completed our longest Sunday walk ever, walking around Venice for hours.

Sunday in Venice

Venice is one of those cities that has lovely churches and museums, but really the best thing to do is just walk around and soak in all the extraordinarily enchanting views. For anyone who is unfamiliar with Venice, it is the floating (or sinking) city. There are no cars on the island; roads are replaced by canals. You can take a Vaporetto, or water bus, from island to island, or pay €80-100 for about a half hour ride in the famous gondolas (definitely not in our budget!) Bridges appear at almost every turn to connect the narrow streets.

Venice at its finest

One of about 400 bridges in Venice

Brief video we took of a Venetian musician performing with water-filled crystal glasses for the tourists:

Although the excitement of San Marco's Square with musicians, "artists," and vendors selling Venetian masks, roses, and other souvenirs was appealing, our favorite part of Venice was discovering the locals. We walked all along the waterfront to the last accessible part of the island and found a residential area and park where locals were walking their dogs, jogging, and playing soccer.

Venetian kids playing soccer

A picturesque street of Venetian homes

Another day we talked to a man whose children were outside their home riding bikes and such. It was unlike any home you can dream of with the narrow street ending at a canal that was only feet from their front door. When out walking, the locals could be distinguished by their more sure step that showed they knew exactly where they were going and their more relaxed everyday-life manner. We talked to a few young people who told us how to get to a square where the locals ate--cheaper and more authentic food.

This bread was actually in Milan but I wanted to include it somewhere

Speaking of food, for anyone who ever visits Italy, my tip on getting good authentic gelato (Italian ice cream) is to only buy it from the places that scoop it up with a spatula. That shows it is rich and creamy. If they use the American ice cream scoop it means the gelato is harder and more ice-y, like regular ice cream. And oh my heavens, there is a huge difference!

We hunted down the typical attractions: Piazza San Marco, Saint Mark's Basilica, Rialto Bridge, Accademia Bridge, Doges Palace, the Grand Canal, San Marco Campanile, the Music Museum, etc.

Piazza San Marco--the center of it all

San Marco Campanile

We also hunted down a less-known attraction. I dragged Alex through the maze of streets with a map until we came upon Ca' Rezzonico. This palace, built in the 1700s, is meaningful to me because from 1880-1881 it housed the studio of one of my favorite artists: John Singer Sargent.

Left: palace turned museum that once contained Sargent's studio Right: John Singer Sargent self portrait

Walking through Venice, I was constantly reminded of Sargent and his fabulous watercolors of the city. Although quicker and more sketchy than the refined portraits for which he is known, Sargents watercolors capture the impression of Venice's light, color, and architecture in a way that shows how this island city has remained locked in time through the centuries.

Just a few Sargent watercolor favorites

A Sargent oil painting depicting locals in the narrow residential streets

On our final night in Venice we booked a hotel on the island and got to experience the island at the very late and very early hours when the number of tourists dwindle. Normally this would never have been possible because of the high price. Most people choose to get a hotel on the mainland, like we did the first two nights, but because we had already been paying for a hotel each night we put our American Airlines skymiles to good use. (Originally we planned to stay with locals for free through Couchsurfing.com, but apparently everyone wanted to travel for Easter. And its difficult to find a host for a married couple in the dominantly single population of CSers.)

Maybe I fell in love with our hotel because it reminded me of Sargent's Florence painting

We made a goal to actually take photos on this trip...at least 10 together per day. I think we did a pretty
good job of meeting our goal.

Missing Venice already