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Published: November 25th 2017
Claire's plan was to drag me out of bed at 6am, haul me to the canal edge and make me take long exposure photos of the canal. But things didn't quite work out how she planned....
Yesterday was graduation day for wreath wearing students and they were still chanting and partying at 2am pretty much outside our room. I managed to get some sleep but Claire was awake until 2am. I had some bizarre and horrific nightmares and toothache keeping waking me up as well as Claire coughing. So when the alarm went off at 6 neither of us were feeling ready to hit the town, well the canal anyway. I had some painkillers but the coughing continued and neither of us got much more sleep before the next alarm went off at 8am.
This time we had to get up as we were due on a free walking tour at 10am. The meeting point was a 16 minute walk away....but this is Venice so we allowed plenty of time to get lost. And explore as well of course. On the way Claire bought some cough lozenges from a chemist who didn't explain how to take/use them but as
he called them lozenges she proceeded to suck one. By the look on her face she was eating Shrek's earwax and thought maybe the thing should have been swallowed or dissolved. But no, our guide later told her she'd done right and now she's looking forward to her next one....
Remember yesterday when I told you that graduates are tortured here...well I was actually right! Not only do they make them wear wreaths but they throw eggs and flour at them and dress them up in silly costumes. We did see some of that last night but were so horrified by the wreaths that we let it go. I think I'd give Uni a miss here...
So we did some meandering and took some photos before meeting our guide Rocco. We have done free walking tours in other cities and the idea is that you give a donation for what you think it's worth. There were only four of us on the English tour which was nice.
This tour took you off the beaten track to places of interest not normally frequented by tourists. We started in the ghetto and somehow I managed not to burst into
song. The tour was good, lasted about two hours and we learnt quite a lot, saw quite a bit of the city and my Apple Watch was happy with the amount of steps I'd done. Rocco was an enthusiastic guide and he now has a few euros to buy himself some full length socks.
He did show us some fighting bridges where people used to sort out arguments by brawling on them. Whoever lost, by being beaten or ending up in the canal, was deemed to have been wrong in the first place. These bridges still have carved footprints in each corner which is where the scrappers started off the bout. Claire was happy with some other information where she learnt that the wells have drinking bowls for cats. The cats were good at killing the rats who were spreading the plague at the time. Now apparently the rats are a lot bigger....
After finishing the tour we had a huge slice of pizza each and then headed to San Marco to get the big ones done. The square hosts the basilica of San Marco, the Doge's palace, museo corner and many, many pigeons. We headed into the
basilica first, well tried to. We were stopped and told to take our bags to a baggage office which was somewhere else... I found it eventually after following some Italians who had asked someone else. It was free but we were only given an hour. The sign said don't leave cameras but the basilica said no photos and we'd already put our cameras away so in there they stayed.
And back across the square to the queue and finally we were let in. Entrance to the main bit is free but you can pay extra for entry into various other bits. Inside there were people taking photos, many of which must have including the signs telling them not to take photos. I've never seen such blatant disregard for these instructions-some of them were even using flash they cared so little!
It was also supposed to be silent in there but when people wander round shouting into their forbidden phones it's time to pack in!
We wanted to get outside upstairs and going to that bit cost €5 but it was worth it. From downstairs it looks quite drab but you get to see the gold decorations better
from upstairs and it really is quite spectacular. The outside bit is good as you get a great view over the square and there are other things to look at too. Like most of Venice though it's no good for disabled people.
Next stop the Doge's palace and a whopping €20 to get in. It's pretty spectacular and there's lots to see including strangely a section devoted to modern art. You get to cross the Bridge of Sighs though, wander through prisons and see some amazing painted ceilings reminiscent of those in the Vatican. You can also ignore the signs telling you not to take photos....
After taking pictures of said Bridge it was time to get lost again. The thing is though that, unless you need to be somewhere, this doesn't really matter as every corner produces something new and interesting. Venice really is one of the most fascinating cities in the world and despite having walked almost 10 miles today I don't think we've even scratched the surface.
Eventually we found Calle Viscario which is the narrowest street in Venice and only 53cm at its narrowest point. Not surprisingly it leads to a canal and
nothing else.
I had lasagne for tea as I wanted to try it here and it was one of the cheaper things on the menu. So €13 and all I got was a square of lasagne on my plate with no salad, no nothing. So I piled on the parmesan! The food was lovely but not plentiful, the tip was small as the waiter stood over us while we decided what we were having so we pretty much panic bought our meals. Claire's pizza was okay but she suspects the mushrooms were out of a tin. (Note: mushrooms are not food. You're better off eating the tin. Claire disagreed with me on this so I took her to a fighting bridge and pushed her in the canal which proves that mushrooms are not food).
It is illegal to fall in the canal here but, if you are pushed in during setttling an argument I am unsure of the ruling... If you are riding a bicycle at the time that is definitely worse as they are forbidden in Venice too...
We had looked at having a gondola ride but at €80 for just 40 minutes they're rather expensive.
One firm does group trips which last longer but are €31 each or there's a traghetto which is a gondola that takes you across the grand canal. This costs just €2 each so yes we went for that option, especially as it was dark by the time we found it. It was quite a rocky boat and a few locals were using it as well but it was good fun and we might do it again but in the daylight. Not quite as romantic as a private tour but a helluva lot cheaper.
No-one has really upset me today or maybe the two double espressos and another single espresso have helped my mood. Even the people who took photos of the no photos signs got off quite lightly so maybe I need to drink more coffee....or less if you want me to get pointing out a peckerhead....
After drinks at a local bar type place it was/is blog writing time again with the plan again to get up early. It sounds a lot quieter out there tonight with no student torture going on and Claire is due another tasty lozenge....
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RENanDREW
Ren & Andrew
Random foreign medications
Poor Claire! I have lots of sympathy as I've endured many odd/foul tasting throat lozenges. I think we need to keep an eye out for these free walking tours... they sound interesting. I'm intrigued that neither you nor Claire have mentioned the hordes of cruise shippers... are those coffees really mellowing you out? ;)