Magical Venice

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Magical Venice

Tuesday 19 June, 2012



Ha! Magical Venice will have to wait. I slept all day. I had no choice; my body wouldn’t let me do a thing. But I’ll do an update to this point.



Things were going fine until I took a wrong turn through the tiny alleyways of Venice. I caught the bus in from the airport and that went well. It was so hot that I decided to go to the back seat of the bus and point all four aircon vents straight onto my face. That helped… I was lucky there weren’t many people on the bus. Last stop, Venice proper; boats only from here!



Okay, here we go again. Luggage in tow, I bought a 3-day ATV ferry/vaporetto pass and boarded for Rialto, the nearest terminal to my accommodation. The map the monastery had sent me via email didn’t help much; it just confused me actually. Consequently I think I crossed over and crossed back the same bridges countless times. Now these steps ordinarily would be okay, except that I was hauling suitcases up and down and one thing I soon realised was that when these bridges were designed and built, suitcases with wheels weren’t invented and so there aren’t any ramps… just steps, steps and more steps. I don’t know how people with wheelchairs cope when visiting Venice. I can only assume they cannot visit at all. How sad. Actually, I've noticed that a lot in Europe. Australia really have got their act together in that respect.



I was getting more frustrated and fed up at every wrong turn. This was all very tiring in 35 degree heat and the thing is, you just can’t hop into the nearest cab and let the driver sort it out… in Venice that just isn’t possible. You have to just keep walking until you find your destination. After about one and a half hours, I finally found Istituto San Giuseppe, and not a moment too soon. I was about to collapse. When Sister answered the bell, I was almost in tears from frustration and pain. It had all been a bit too much and I’m sure the heat mad it doubly worse. Anyway, I soon cooled down in my airconditioned room and went straight to bed… do not pass go, do not collect $200.

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Photos

Kitchen
For guest use with WIFI and TV

Istituto San Giuseppe
The front entrance to the monastery and school

Childrens play area
The Institute is also a school for primary and infant children

Comments

[Kimberly Harris]

Finding Your Hotel in Venice
I had to laugh when I read your description of trying to find your accomodation in Venice because it mirrored mine so closely. I also had a map which was very confusing and walked in circles for about 2 hours until I FINALLY found the hotel... not because I actually FOUND it, but because I just happened to glance out of the corner of my eye and catch a glimpse of the hotel sign down an alley! Of course once I knew where the hotel was I realized that it was only about a 2 minute walk from the Rialto Bridge! I think guidebooks need to have a special warning... something like "Even if the map says your hotel is 'steps from the Rialto Bridge' be sure to allow at least 4 hours of walking time to get there."