A maze of enchanting alleys, canals and bridges with awful pantaloons accompanied with a gentle whiff of stale stench

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My mum told me that the best way to arrive at Venice is via water, so I did that; not because I listen to my Mum (lol at the thought!) but because it turned out to be the cheapest route. Glyn bought advance return tickets for the water shuttle service with Alilaguna for €25 each and the boats were moored outside Marco Polo Airport just like a bus station. Lucky for us, our boat was just about to leave and so we stepped down inside the bowels of the packed passenger area where we all sat beneath window level and had to risk standing if we wanted to look outside. The boat was small, holding around 20 passengers all facing inwards and twisting uncomfortably to try and get a first peek of Venice.

Crossing the lagoon and passing small islands with large seabirds, we soon came upon Venice - a silhouetted ye-olde-towne skyline with a plethora of churches, domes and towers. It was after 3.30pm and the sun was sinking behind a random tower. The boat left the lagoon and headed along the Grand Canal passing many motorboats and a few gondolas. Wending our way under quaint stone bridges, we passed historic and majestic buildings (some with washing hanging out of the windows, I always like that!), many of which were in need of repair and paint. We stopped a few times to shed passengers, until eventually we had it to ourselves, probably because we were staying in the cheapest area which naturally is going to be near the end of the line (or canal when in Venice).

So Venice: it is amazing, quaint, beautiful and unique. But it does smell. And this was the first thing that hit me as we disembarked at Ca' Rezzonico. If you've ever owned a fish tank where the pump became faulty and you couldn't get a replacement for a few days resulting in your house beginning to gently stink of stale water and sick fish; this is the aroma of Venice. It isn't pungent though, so I soon forgot about it. But it is always there or at least on my first day.

Glyn and I walked the short distance through Dorsoduro to our accommodation, the 'Backpackers House' just off Campo Santa Margherita which is a lively square full of young people as it's a cheap student area. The entrance was down a narrow dark alley (it's all quite dark in Venice in the evening) with overhanging buildings and opposite a pizza place. I felt at home after seeing an anarchy symbol spray painted on the wall nearby, then seeing the kitten pencil drawing mounted on the wall in the foyer behind cracked glass.

Our host tried to get us to stay at another place he had 5 minutes away, we weren't sure why but decided to stay put after Glyn was shown photos of it, seeing that it was two single beds instead of a double. We are married, it's ok for us to share!

Our room was up a couple of flights of stairs, compact but with private bathroom and a fridge that turned out to be a freezer. This may turn out to be a problem later but for now my beer is nicely chilled. There is a bit of mould on the wall as our host pointed out, it's like he doesn't want us to stay. Hmm. But it's barely noticeable. We sort of have a balcony - it's big enough for us both to stand on with two sets of doors but there's no way it is wide enough to fit chairs on it. My guess is that it's primary function is for hanging out washing. We are very close to the building across the alley and I reckon if someone leaned out of the window, we could shake hands, just so long as we don't mind stretching out dangerously over the railings and risking our lives to prove me correct.

Our record for getting quickly lost was broken within minutes as we left the square to go for a wander in the dark. Venice is a maze of narrow stone alleys and there appears to be no direct route to anywhere. Zig-zagging is the norm, crossing many bridges arching over waterways often barely wide enough for a small canoe. Sometimes the most direct routes were only wide enough for two people but packed with tons of students and tourists colliding every few steps. It seems impossible to navigate but because it's quite small, I accidentally came upon places I was hoping to find but assumed I wouldn't. If you've been to Venice, that last sentence will make sense.

We stopped for ice cream and naturally I had tiramisu flavour. I was surprised it was only €1.50 each for a cone, but we are still in a cheap area. The shops were selling lovely looking food, glass, lace and other fancy stuff. One place was cheaper than I was expecting for Venice and so, despite it being our first day in Venice, I decided to buy some small glass trinkets as I knew I would never find that shop again. The guy insisted on wrapping it all in cotton wool, then tissue paper and then cut down a cardboard box to wrap it in. This was covered in tape, then wrapped in paper that was also taped then finally placed in a carrier bag. My small purchases had grown into a cumbersome package so they better not break!

We squeezed ourselves along San Polo that was heaving with throngs of students, some of which were wearing wreathes on their heads and others in onesies. But worse was to come: there were some shocking pantaloons strolling in the dark by the canals as though this was ok. I know this is very European, but lines need drawing. It's almost as bad as the English habit of wearing cheap leggings that are semi transparent at the arse due to being over worn. Despite the wreathe, onesie and pantaloon situation, the students appeared to be celebrating and were joyously chanting loudly. We knew we were getting to the more affluent areas as the prices in the shops were going up.

We crossed over the Rialto Bridge which is a big deal in Venice and eventually by luck ended up at the Piazza San Marco where people were tidying up after a major graduation do. The shops around here were full of hideously dull clothing that have no price tags and apparently are desirable yet unaffordable. However there were interesting masks and very sparkly jewellery plus I found a painting of fancy cats in hats. Speaking of cats, I've not seen any. There are plenty of dogs on leads, but no cats sauntering along the alleys as they should be.

It wasn't a long walk back to Campo Santa Margherita where the food is affordable and we found a supermarket with aisles so narrow they became a one way system purely because it was impossible get past Italian food shoppers. We found a fairly cheap restaurant and had pizza which was lovely. We sat outside (I had to run back to the Backpackers House to get my coat) and listened to the endearing chanting of tipsy students in silly hats as I drank my surprisingly cheap prosecco. A good start to the weekend!

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Creative
Fun

[RENanDREW]

Venice
I'm very impressed that you found your way back to your hotel in Venice, in the dark, in your first few hours there! I had completely forgotten that wafting smell of slightly stale water in the air...but like you, I must have stopped smelling it after a while. How lovely that you can hop over to Venice so easily :)