Italian Odessey Part 2: Venice

Ahh, Venice. Often referred to as one of the most romantic cities in the world. Well, if you like see teenagers making out on every corner and think droves of tourists romantic, then I say go for it! In all honesty, while I don't think Venice is very romantic, it is an incredibly interesting city, and I think it should be visited at least once.

You may remember from my previous post here that there was a public transportation strike the day we arrived in Italy. Well, Venice was no different and when we got to the rental car drop off we learned that there were no taxis or vaperettos going to the island. So, we decided to keep the car, drive across and deal with that later. Pain in the ass that turned out to be.

Finally we arrived at our apartment, which was very cool and modern, which was strange to see inside such an old building (but also the reason that we picked it). Venice is a maze, a tangle of streets, canals, and piazzas with dead ends everywhere. Get a map. A good one, and then cross your fingers that you get where you are going because even the street names change every block in some places! If you do find your way around, Venice is packed with museums, great churches and neat little shops. One of our favorites was a tiny Venetian mask shop. And by tiny I mean it was maybe 10x10' and packed, there was probably only 10 sq ft of space to stand in and the four of us pretty much were cramped in there. The thought was that as a thank you for traveling to my sisters wedding in Italy, she would give them a Venetian mask (along with some other items). The store was so charming filled with all these masks, just magical.

 

 

The Wedding party and guests in our masks

One of the masks from the tiny shop

We did check out the Rialto Market, which was pure insanity. So much hustle and bustle, and everything from beautiful stores selling Murano, to stands selling key chains-and people everywhere, lots of tourists. I love open air markets enjoy the hustle and bustle of them, just know what you are getting yourself into-this place is busy with tourist shopping for souvenirs, chefs strolling the pesceteria, and everything in between. I believe that having a realistic expectation of what you are getting into is part of the key to enjoying travel. If you expect to stroll charming markets and get crazy market, you will be dissapointed. If you expect crazy market you will get and experience that treats all your senses, sight, sound, smell. taste, everything.

In fact, expectation is key to everything. I have heard from so many people, and read so many unhappy reviews, and I often ask, "Well what were you expecting, and why?". When you read reviews, take the exceptionally good and bad with a grain of salt-the truth is in the middle somewhere. And, lighten up some. I read a review once that said "BUGS!! Do not stay here!" in the title. I was totally thinking bed bugs. Ick! It turns out that he saw some ants by the window and it ruined his experience at that hotel. Really. Ants. They ruined his trip. Lighten up-you are in the tropics there are way worse things there than ants.

A typical Venitian canal at night

All in all I can say that we checked out Venice and I truly appreciate the engineering that went into building this city, but it is over run with visitors and for me at least, was not as charming as others made it out to be. I did however take some great photos, and can see why people see this labyrinth of a city as being among the most beautiful in the world.