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Published: September 5th 2017
Vaporetto
Water taxi coming to pick us up. Weather was cool, about 65F, and rain possible.Geo: 45.4345, 12.3384
We arrived in Venice in the morning and after breakfast, we headed out about 9:30am to the old town. We bought a ticket good for unlimited use on the public vaporetto and boarded it right at the harbor. It's about 25 minutes to St Marc Square, sort of the center of things. Once off the water taxi, we worked our way into the city, burrowing our way through the streets and alleys, over the arched bridges spanning various canals and attempting to avoid the hoards of people swarming the city too. We checked out areas loaded with fancy shops like Prada, Armani, Gucci, Bvlgari and Vendi. Tennis shoes for $2500? Leather belt for $400? Purses $5000? I tried to purchase a few of these but we ran out of time. Outside the shops on the street (really just a walkway since no cars can get there) are the knock-off sellers carrying their wares with them and always on the move to avoid police.
Seriously, Mom did find a few shops that were more in line with our budget. They had lots of interesting things Venice is known for: masks, glass, jewelry and gelato. The gelato was good but it's popular
Typical street
Fancy stores here and beyond all over Europe. We checked out the nooks and crannies as we weaved our way toward St Marc Square. This is a large gathering place for both Venetians, tourists and pigeons. We spent some time there listening to the small orchestras playing at the restaurants throughout the square. Vendors hawk their wares while tourists photograph anything that moves. 85,000 tourists can visit Venice on busiest days. There were 4 cruise ships in port while we were there and planes landed nonstop at the airport.
Using our 24 hour pass, we boarded the water taxi (or vaporetto) and headed for Murano, the island just off Venice famous for its hand made glass. The industry was moved from Venice to the island after several fires from the foundries threatened Venice with destruction. The glass manufactured here was famous for many centuries, in fact, mirrors were only manufactured from this area since the secret for making them was closely guarded for hundreds of years. We walked through the town of Murano and Mom checked out all the shops, eyeing their handmade glass specialties. The work was beautiful and each unique in its own way. She bought some items at a store with their small
Nothing to see here, Miss
Expensive jewelry in and expensive store shop located just behind the store where all the items were made by the family, artisans from generations past passing their skills on. Karen picked out some beauties.
We had a snack at a canal side restaurant, a calzone and beer. There were raindrops in the air but the crowds were nonexistent. It was after 5 and we decided to head for the boat and back to Venice using our pass. When we arrived, I took Mom over to a special area I had read about before we left home, a great place to ride the gondolas. But she wasn't going for it. I talked to the gondolier and he brought two friends over and, with their help, assured Mom that she could get in safely. She did, complaining all the way. Now we were cruising through the canals, listening to music and song while traversing the narrow, scenic and romantic canals. Tourists atop the arched bridges called out greetings and took pictures of us as we floated leisurely below. Mom was finally settling down and just enjoying the ride, taking pictures all the while. While most others grabbed gondolas from the main pier where travelers arrive by taxi, we had
Need some shoes?
No, this is not Payless Shoes. Tennis shoes are $2500. gone to the "secret spot" where we enjoyed calm waters and fantastic scenery. Mom thought Queenie would go after the buffed gondolier if she were here.
Forty minutes later we returned, our ride being over. All the guys were focused on getting Mom out of the boat without incident and they did, pulling out a plank so she could exit safely. They were kind enough to take a couple of pictures of us before we left. We thanked them and tipped generously. I told Mom, "How do you leave Venice without riding in a gondola?" She agreed.
With that out of the way, I was content in returning to the ship. Mom says not to worry since we have tomorrow morning but I know better. She'll never leave the boat tomorrow since we have to be back by 1:30pm. Not much time.
That's OK. She got in that gondola!
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Angelina monte
non-member comment
You look beautiful aunt Karen!!! Miss you guys! Looks like you are doing great! Hi big Al!Love you