The Floating City - Venice (part 2 of 5)

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Venice - Section 2 of 5 - this is a long one, so grab some munchies!


Our arrival to Venice was actually on Tuesday night at about 10:45pm.
We walked off the plane to feel the muggy heat that surrounded us and our first night in Italy.
Waiting for our bags was first on our checklist, then finding our bus. We walked through to baggage collection and waited for our bag to finish its ride on the conveyor belt before leaving the arrivals hall and outside to the taxi and bus rank.

We found our bus and sat waiting. We arrived just in time, as the last bus was only 10 minutes away. So we waited for 10 minutes, watching other busses coming and going, and swatting mosquitoes. 10 minutes passed, then 15, then 20… finally we were starting to worry and thinking about a taxi. The clock clicked over to 35 minutes after the expected arrival and our bus casually rolled into its parking bay. Relieved, we boarded and went on our way.

Four stops later, our camp site was in view and the hailed the bus driver to stop. Us along with five or six others jumped off and walked through the entrance. The initial sight of the place was very nice. It was a hot, balmy night and everyone was enjoying a drink by the bar with the music was pumping.

We walked to the reception and checked ourselves in, going through the usual paper work et cetera, received our key and went in search of our accommodation.
When we booked our beds two months earlier we were under the impression that we would be staying in a two bed cabin… so we were a little taken back when we found our sleeping quarters and instead of a cabin it was a tent!
More so, we were worried that beds and linen would not be provided inside the tent, as we had not bought anything with us.

Opening up the tent, we were relieved to see two folding beds each with a pillow and a sheet.
We settled in, set up, and went for a little walk around the camp site. Finding the bar, we got a coke each to relieve our thirst and headed back to our tent. Exhausted by both a full days walking and the heat, we fell asleep shortly after.


Wednesday -

Our alarm buzzed us awake at 6am, but its task of waking us up was super seeded by the airplanes taking off over our heads. Our campsite was located right behind the airport, and planes would be leaving the run way which sounded like it ran between our two beds every 20 minutes or so. The airport was nice enough however, to not have any planes enter of leave the airport between midnight and 5:30am so we could sleep peacefully for a few hours, only having the giant mosquitoes to tackle.

Rolling out of bed at 6:10, we gathered our belongings and headed for the showers… and waited. Soon after we discovered that there were more showers about 50 metres down the road, which were better, quiet and always available with no queues. So we showered, got ready and departed the campsite ready for the arrival of the first bus at 8:30am.

Our bus trip would take us through suburbs on the main land for about 30 minutes, then across the bridge that linked Venice with the mainland and drop us off at the bus terminal shortly there after.

We hopped off and got our bearings, then started walking. We walked towards a canal , which I thought was the Grand Canal, oops; I was horribly wrong as a local pointed out. Regaining our bearings and locating ourselves on the map we found the ‘real’ Grand Canal and headed in the direction of the water taxi stop. Standing there for a few minutes we decided that the prices for the water taxi were too ridiculously expensive so we set out on our way to walk all of Venice.

Starting our walk we followed the Grand Canal then crossed it and walked though the main footpathed streets following the signs to San Marco. We dodged the many tourists, and locals, and street merchants; trying to sell us Venice souvenirs and ‘original copy’ Louis Vuitton hand bags. Walking along we would cross little canals with incredibly green water and washing hanging out to dry. We were casually walking along the streets, taking in all there was to see, while a Gondola guy approached us. Initially we had decided that the romantic novelty was too expensive for us so we politely told him we were not interested, and went on our way. As it was 10am in the morning, it was rather quite and he was waiting for his first customers, so he chased us down the street, selling his little spiel about it being early and not too hot and the canals are nice and quiet and that he would give us the longer ride for the price of the shorter one. He quoted us 60 euro and then walked off, knowing we would think about it and eventually come back. So we stood and discussed it and finally decided that we would splurge on a romantic boat ride through the canals of Venice. We walked back to him and agreed on the price once more before boarding the boat. We sat down and off we went… I time stamped our journey starting at 11:42am.

He paddled us down a small canal, under bridges , and out onto the Grand Canal. Here we got our first sighting of the Rialto Bridge, the oldest bridge in Venice . From here we went further down the Grand Canal, past the local fish market before heading back into the small ‘streets’ of Venice. He pointed out Marco Polo’s house and the house of Casanova among other attractions .

We arrived back at his docking point at precisely 12:12, which if you calculate (don’t bother I’ve already done it for you) is only 30 minutes. Which by the way is the ‘short’ trip duration. Having agreed to go on the longer tour (supposedly 50 minutes) we were a little disappointed but didn’t bother disputing the matter. We paid our euros, thanked the guy and continued on our way. Despite being ripped off, the Gondola ride was very nice. It was a relaxing journey through the canals that we would not have been able to see other than by boat. And although the price was a little steep, it was worth it.

From there we walked a little further before coming across a Disney Store. For most of you, this will mean absolutely nothing, but my mum understands the significance of the shop. So this photo is for you mum - !

Progressing on our journey, walking through small streets, crossing small bridges - our goal ‘San Marco Piazza’ was finally found when we turned the corner and there we were. The initial shock was the amount of people that were there . Secondly the size of the Piazza. As most of the streets in Venice are barely two people wide, the Piazza was enormous. We made our way through the crowds and stood before the Basilica. It was an amazing sight, the size, the detail, the age of the building… all added to its awe .

Then after taking in the sight of the Basilica we turned to have a look at the Piazza behind us. And not only did we see a lot of people, we saw ALOT of pigeons. There were thousands of them. They were swarming people who had purchased birdseed from the nearby stand to feed them. So in keeping tradition I had to buy some and feed these very hungry birds.
Not expecting to be swarmed so quickly I was found a little of guard . They were flying at me, trying to land on my arm to get the food out of my hands . Their little claws startled me and I spilled some feed on the ground. Only inviting more birds to the party . The felling of these little critters was awfully odd . They would piggy back each other just to get some food, fighting each other for the best position.

Seeing how much fun it was, Rog wanted to feed them also. However in all my excitement I dropped most of seed around me and didn’t leave him very much. So the birds weren’t too attracted to him . Only a small handful just wasn’t enough for these hungry scavengers .

After the bird novelty wore off, we went on to further explore the Basilica and look inside . Unfortunately you are not allowed to take photos inside the Basilica, so we have nothing to show you of the inside, but you’ll have to take our word for it, it’s pretty amazing inside. The roof, consisting of four main domes is completely covered by artwork on the interior, which we later discovered was made with small tiles, about 1cm square. Just looking at it, I felt sorry for the people who would have worked on it - it was one huge jigsaw. We walked around for some time and looked at a small gallery area with ancient artefacts from the Basilica.

Shortly after, looking around we left the Basilica and continued to look around the Piazza . The Piazza is the ‘ritzy’ end of town for Venice, with the likes of Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Ferrari, and Gucci stores all lining the three sided façade. As well as expensive restaurants with tuxedo clad waiters and three piece bands playing romantic Italian music. We then walked out of the Piazza towards the end of the Grand Canal, which then runs out into the ocean. This was the largest collection of Gondolas we sore in Venice, a Gondola car park you could say .

We walked along the Canal attempting to find shade, as the heat of Venice was severe. It wasn’t a burning heat, as everyone there has awesome brown skin, but it was a tiring heat.
We walked along, on our way in search of the large white church across the Canal (the one in photo 27 with the huge dome). So we walked following the signs - which might I add, Venice is very good for directions, their street signs and directions are very consistent and helpful. So we crossed the Academia Bridge and eventually found it along with other interesting buildings .

Our journeys of this church took us through more small canals and little lane ways . We walked and walked and walked (which is all we tend to do) and got there, being exhausted and thirsty we had a quick look . We sat on the steps outside for a short time before continuing.

We just strolled back in the direction of the bus stop as by this time it was 5pm and we were exhausted. We passed some very sweet little canals, interesting architecture and really nice little houses .

And then going in the direction of the bus terminal, we came across the square which was famous (according to lonely planet) for very cheap, very good, very big pizza. So we decided that pizza it was for dinner. We both had a slice of peperoni and yes, it was very good pizza and really cheap. Thumbs up!

Eating our pizza we came across a small gallery (which is not hard to find in Venice - they are everywhere) which had a display of wood carved objects. They were absolutely amazing to look at. Everything he carved was wood and the objects looked so real. Here is a bag he carved, with every wrinkle in it and down to the last zipper tooth . And these pair of shoes was also amazing, the reality of them was incredible . From here, gelato was calling. We walked past a small café and were tempted by the sight of it. It was very good as you can tell .

After our gelato, we continued through the streets of Venice towards the bus terminal, over more bridges . We finally found our way back to the bus and jumped on board, happy to feel a slight breeze of air conditioning. We sat and relaxed for our 40 minute ride back to the campsite. We stumbled to our tent at approx 7.30pm and soon fell asleep from exhaustion.

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