BACK TO 13/08/07 The Magic of Venice

On Monday the 13th of August we arrived in Venice after a long, hot journey on an unairconditioned train. But do not fear, Gelati is here to cool us down. And believe it or not there is a breeze off the canals. Our hotel was only around the corner from the train station so not too far to go with our packs! And we had a lovely little room with a balcony and free alarm clock every morning (the bells pealing from the church just across the canal around 7am).

On day 1 we caught a vaporetto down the Grand Canal (read boat/bus jam packed with hot sweaty tourists), sitting in the best spot out the back. We took lots and lots of photos and arrived at the Piazza San Marco with not a spare spot on the camera´s memory card.
Two disadvantages of travelling in August are that

A: the Italians all go on holidays too so many places are closed and

B: many buildings are covered with scaffolding and drapes whilst they undergo restorations

Hence the imperfections on the photo of The Basilica of Saint Mark. The queues were huge so we booked into a walking tour of Venice which included fast entry into this amazing church. Inside the walls and roof are covered with stunning mosiacs (lots of gold). Perhaps the most beautiful church Jane´s seen so far.

We resisted the temptation to do a Gondola ride due to the expense. Walking through the tiny alleys and catching numerous vaporetti was enough romance for us (plus we saved the money for future romantic adventures).

On Wednesday we visited the island of Murano where all the glass factory`s are. We watched a man blow a glass horse in about 2 mins! Ate lunch in a wonderful Trattoria whilst being serenaded. And Jane only bought 3 pairs of bead earrings! Good work Greg on restraining her. Its not only magpies that are attracted to colourful shining objects.

Overall we really enjoyed Venice and its unique canals however we were shocked at how expensive everything is. Our walking tour guide said the supermarkets add an extra 30 euro cents to all products in Venice. 300,000 Euros will buy you a tiny apartment which then ahve to renovate because its so old. And that`s a nightmare in itself because everything has to moved in by boat and there are no lifts.
12 million tourists visit Venice every year. There are 55,000 people who live here permanently and two thirds of those are over the age of 65. This tends to indicate Venice is a dying city. Its too expensive for young people to live here and with so many tourist around, its not somewhere to bring up a family.

We feel privileged to see this amazing and unique city whilst its still functioning and it will certainly be a tourist attraction for many generations to come.
We randomly found this chip (crisp if you`re English or Jane`s Mum) whilst sitting, drinking an aperitive in a piazza in the Jewish Ghetto of Venice.