Bellissimo Venezia

Well, I can hardly believe it, but our very last group of visitors for the year has now come and gone.  Tom and I had a great time showing my dad, step-mom and little sister around Rome, but we actually began the visit by spending a couple of days together in Venice.  Neither Tom or I had ever been to Venice before, and, since I had heard some mixed reports, I didn't exactly know what to expect.  I have to say, though, that I'm so glad we went because it's one of the most unique places I've ever visited.  

Venice's Grand Canal

Sure, it's true, Venice does have a bit of a "Disney World" feel to it, and on any given day (at least in the summer) there are probably 5-10 times as many tourists as locals in the city.  If you're looking to get a glimpse of the "authentic" Italian way of life, this is probably not the place to do it. But, at the same time, Venice is such an interesting and stunningly beautiful place that I can't imagine avoiding it altogether for those reasons.  And, really, you only have to wander a little bit off the beaten path to avoid most of the crowds.

Venice is located just off the northeastern coast of Italy, about 4 hours (by train) from Rome.  Its world famous canals are due to the fact that this "island" city is actually made up of over a hundred tiny islands.  Many bridges connect the islands to each other, and of course, the intervening canals are filled with gondolas (and many other boats, including ambulance boats fire boats, and trash boats).  As you may have gathered, there are no motor vehicles (aside from boats, of course) allowed in Venice, and so this is a place where "taking the bus" means taking the vaporetto (water bus) up or down the main canal, which separates the small island in two.  Once you're in the general neighborhood, though, it's pretty easy to walk (down tiny alleys and over various stone bridges) to get to your destination (although a "direct" route is rarely possible and you'll likely run into several dead ends along the way).  The lack of cars made the city feel unbelievably peaceful, though, and despite all of the crowds, my memories of Venice are filled with the sounds of lapping water and squawking sea gulls.

Gondolas 

Peaceful Side Street

Water Bus on the Canal

You may have heard that Venice is "sinking," but the more accurate statement is that the water level is rising (due to global warming and other factors). Although the water level is rising at fairly slow rate (most estimates put it around 2 mm/year), this still poses a big risk to the city, since massive destructive floods are becoming more and more common. Fortunately, the MOSE Project, a massive flood protection system (scheduled for completion sometime in 2014), should protect the Venetian Lagoon from much future damage.  I imagine that many Venetians haven't been thrilled about some of the changes that tourism has brought to the city over the past several decades.  However, if there's any silver lining, perhaps the booming tourism industry (and resulting influx of money) has actually helped to fund the types of projects that will protect the city over the next several decades.

Piazza San Marco (from the water bus) with Campanile on left

Venice is actually fairly small, and you can easily walk around the bulk of the island in one day.  We really enjoyed just wandering through the narrow alleyways off of the Main Canal and taking in the sights and sounds of the city. Venice's main square, "Piazza San Marco," is located on the southeastern shore of the city, and once served as its political and religious center. We stayed nearby and visited both the Piazza's beautiful Gothic Basillica  di San Marco and the Palazzo Ducale.  The Palazzo was once the residence of the ruler of Venice, and also housed the courts and prison.  Today, you can tour much of the ornate building as well as enjoy a lot of art and other displayed period objects, such as swords and armor.

View from the San Marco Campanile

More Campanile Views

Enjoying Burano

There are also many other small islands near Venice, and one of my favorite activities was taking the "bus" out to two of them, Murano, and Burano.  These islands are known for their glass work and lace work, respectively, and we had a really good time learning a bit more about the local crafts and visiting the dozens of gift shops on each island.  Of the two, Burano, which is is full of rainbow colored buildings, was definitely my favorite (at least from a visual standpoint).  But, both had their own charm and the weather was perfect for wandering and just hanging out.  The islands were fairly small (Burano, in fact, was tiny), and so we were able to explore them both thoroughly in just a few hours.

Murano

Colorful Burano

Burano

I'm not sure what it would be like to live in Venice (sadly, for the locals, I'm sure the touristy feel would get old fairly quickly), but I thought it was an absolutely fantastic place to visit.  The food was good, the people were friendly, and the scenery was absolutely breathtaking.

Speaking of living somewhere, as you may have heard, I recently accepted a job that will be taking me to Williamsburg, Virginia this fall.  (Tom will be back and forth between Pisa and VA.)  It's going to be quite a change (after living San Francisco and Rome), but I'm sure it will be quite the adventure (even if Home Sweet Williamsburg doesn't quite have the same ring to it!).    

Alla Prossima,
Erin

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Fri. June 20:  It's gone from pleasantly warm to HOT.  Temps have been in the low to mid-90s for the last few days.  We're feeling really grateful for our ceiling fan right about now!