Venice

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While flying Ryanair does save you some money, it also means that you have to travel miles before you even get to the airport. To fly out of Paris we had to catch a bus from the central city and travel about an hour north to the town of Beauvais. The airport was about the size of Queenstown’s and with a steady stream of flights coming and going the check in hall and departure lounge was packed with people sprawled out on the floor waiting for their flights. To avoid people crowding round the gates they only announce what gate you’re departing from when they’re ready for boarding, then there’s a mad rush to get on the plane first for a good seat. The flight was comfortable enough if you don’t mind the advertising Ryanair subjects you to during the flight, and even though we were delayed leaving due to waiting for the last passenger to drive up the motorway in a taxi and get checked in, our Kiwi pilot still managed to get us to Treviso 10mins ahead of schedule. Ryanair are very proud to have the best ‘on time’ record in Europe (even though they manipulate their schedules to ensure there is plenty of time to arrive ahead of time) and when you land ahead of schedule they play cheering sounds through the cabin and receive applause from their passengers. Weird.

When we arrived at Treviso we immediately felt the difference in temperatures. It was quite chilly in Paris when we left, maybe even less than 20 degrees. However after a hot day in Treviso the temperature was still high 20’s at 8pm. We were met in the arrivals hall by the proprietor of our Treviso B & B and it was amusing to see someone holding a sign with our name on it for the first time. It made us feel pretty important I tell you. The B & B was only 5 minutes from the airport so we were there in no time and settling into the cute, homely accommodation (the same place Emma’s parents had stayed during their big trip in 2007). Having not eaten for a while we decided to walk into town to look for food, but also being very tired we decided to sacrifice taste and nutrition in the name of a quick feed and made do with dirty old McDonald’s. It actually turned out to be some pretty good McDonalds as far as fast food goes, and it was probably the nicest setting of a Maccas we’ve seen. We sat out on their patio beside the river enjoying the warm evening, until a big old rat came up from the river and started running from table to table. Nice.

After a good nights sleep we readied ourselves for a big day and headed to the train station to try and catch the early train into Venice to make the most of the day. Unfortunately we were a little tardy and the train was just pulling away as we arrived. The next one wasn’t for a couple of hours so we decided to make use of the extra time by wandering around the town centre of Treviso. Treviso is a really nice Italian town, with all the old buildings and history and a pleasant non commercial, non touristy vibe. In true Italian fashion its very chilled out and I would recommended it as a great place to escape to and rest after a busy day sightseeing in Venice. During our morning stroll Emma dropped our camera. The camera still turned on but would not open the shutter as the lens had been knocked out of place. We had a few nervous moments as we tried to repair it and contemplated the prospect of not being able to take any keepsake photos of Venice. With a bit of brute force we managed to get the camera fixed, much to our great relief.

The train ride to Venice takes only 30mins and is a bargain at only 4 Euro return. On the journey you get a glimpse of rural Italy with all its vineyards and cornrows (I think it was corn) before crossing the kilometre long causeway and into Venice. The St Lucia train station is right on the outskirts of the city and when you walk through the front doors you’re floored by the sight of the Grand Canal with all its traffic and terrific old buildings.

We had no plans to see anything in particular so decided just to go wherever our footsteps took us and get ourselves lost. And that’s exactly what we did. I don’t really know what else to say about our first day in Venice. We basically just wandered around enjoying the sites and the old buildings and grand old churches, watching how a city built on a lagoon operates and enjoying the novelty of seeing fireboats, police boats, ambulance boats, delivery boats, taxi boats, bus boats, garbage boats and every other type of boat you can think of. The sun was extremely hot so we divided our time walking in the burning sun and sitting in the shade an enjoying true Italian pizza or a cold beer or refreshing gelato. We also made photo stops at the crowded Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco before finding a nice spot at the end of the Grand Canal where we could dip our feet in and cool off.

By the time the sun started to fall out of the sky our achy feet were beginning to get the better of us so we decided to call it a day and headed for the train station and back to Treviso. In Treviso we walked into the centre of town and found a nice restaurant in one of the squares and had a beautiful meal of fresh pasta. We finished the evening with a pleasant stroll around the wall that surrounds central Treviso before retiring to the comfort of our B & B.

The next morning we managed to get to the train on time. We had decided we would spend the last night of the trip in a nice B &B in Venice itself so we could spend a nice relaxing evening in the city without having to worry about catching a train home. We got to St Lucia train station in Venice and made a call to the owner of the B & B we had booked to let him know we were there. He gave us some directions to meet a young lass who would walk us to his establishment. She took us to a local café and led us out to the room out the back where a tall dark middle aged Italian man called Alberto sat at a table with his white shirt wide open at the collar with his gold bling necklace gleaming and patting his fluffy little white dog with his gold ringed hands. He stood to shake our hands with a mightily firm grip and made us very welcome as two of his minions looked on from the other table. He then checked our ID’s and confirmed our details before telling us to follow the young lass to our accommodation where we could pay her the agreed amount. He then sat back down at his laptop and had a discussion with the young lass before pulling out a wad of cash and flicking her a few notes, some sort of commission. We followed the young lass out of there feeling like we’d just had an audience with Tony Soprano. As soon as she left us we both burst out laughing at what had just happened. It really did feel like a scene out of Goodfellas and it was like we were part of some sort of dodgy deal (who knows maybe we were and we just never knew it).

We dumped our bags and caught up on some BBC news before heading out again. After walking so much of the day before we decided that today we would save our feet and make use of the bus service to get around. Again we didn’t really have many plans so jumped on the first bus that arrived and spent the next hour or so cruising the main canal routes. The route took us right around the back of the island where we got to see the more industrial side of the city and the main Police station.

We eventually got off at Piazza San Marco, and because we hadn’t been up any towers lately, decided to take the lift up St Mark’s Tower. The views were brilliant. You really got an appreciation of the size of the archipelago, although due to the density of the buildings on the main island you weren’t really able to see the intricate canal network. We unwittingly timed it so that we were up the tower at the top of the hour and the massive bell began chiming away. It was loud!

After the tower we jumped on a different bus and went for another cruise on a new route. After that cruise we ended up back at Piazza San Marco again and decided to check out Palazzo Ducale di Venezia (the Doge’s Palace) and Piomba (the Prison next door). The current Palace was built in 1300s/1400s and was the seat of government for the Republic of Venice. As you tour the rooms inside the Palace you go from the rooms where the less important Venetians were permitted to the rooms where only the most important government officials were allowed, with the rooms becoming more and more grand and more and more impressive as you go. It’s exciting to sit back in one of the halls and imagine Medieval Venetians crowding into the hall to observe some great Council debate on matters of foreign policy and war. And the Golden Staircase was unbelievable. The Bridge of Sighs connects the Palace with the Prison (the sighs meaning the sound of prisoners sighing disappointingly as they cross the bridge and catch their last glimpse of Venice before incarceration). The prison is nothing special but was the prison Casanova once escaped from in 1757.

After spending a couple of hours inside in the Palace we were pretty keen to head out on the water again and jumped on another bus to the island of Lido. Lido was a bit different to the main part of Venice. It seems to be a lot younger and there are proper streets with cars and buses. It still very chilled out though so we strolled down the main street to the other side of the island and hit the beach. Not the nicest beach in the world but it was packed with sun worshippers. And the water was toasty warm. As the sun began to drop we headed back to the bus station, stopping for some more refreshing gelato and a cold drink along the way.

Back on the main island of Venice we strolled through the streets as the shops began to close and the restaurants began to open up. We found another pizza spot and grabbed a couple of slices and a couple of Peronis and found a nice quiet little spot by a canal for dinner. We finished the evening with more strolling and just absorbing the pleasant evening atmosphere before doing some last minute shopping before retiring for the night. I’m not a shopper by any stretch of the imagination but some of the stuff in Venice is very cool. The masks and glass are amazing, and then there is all the art and food etc. It’s a great place to spend a few bob, if you have a few to spare.

Unfortunately a mid morning flight the next morning meant there wasn’t a lot of time the next day for anymore sightseeing so we just got the bus to Marco Polo airport and made our way back to London. Paris was cool but our little trip to Italy was awesome. Venice was so different to anywhere else we’ve ever been. And Treviso was such a relaxing chilled out little place in which we had a really pleasant time. I can’t wait to go back.

It was raining in London when we arrived.

Cheers
Gaz and Emm

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Photos

Treviso
Our B&B in Treviso

Treviso
Our cute room to have breakfast.

Treviso
Ohhh what a beautiful day, he he he

Treviso
Gateway into Treviso city.

Treviso
Small church

Treviso
River in Treviso.

Treviso
Wall around Treviso

Treviso
Streets of Treviso

Treviso
Gorgeous apartment building.

Treviso
Ciao

Treviso
1st photo taken after Emma broke and then fixed the camera.

Venice
First look at Venice, Grand canal

Venice
Canal Venice

Venice
Busy tourists

Venice
Delivery men, by boat of course

Venice
Mmm real italian pizza

Venice
Foot bath