We spent most of our time in Venice in St Marco Square and the surrounding areas, the architecture was really something else.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Basilica San Marco
We spent most of our time in Venice in St Marco Square and the surrounding areas, the architecture was really something else.
Beautiful Venice
I don't think I've ever been to a more beautiful place in my life, except maybe Bath.
I took so many great photos I can't cull many of them, so I'll place them here and if I think of something to say about them i'll come back later and add something - so ...stay tuned!
The Duodo Palace Hotel
The Duodo Palace Hotel was great, the rooms were spacious and very comfortable, the bathrooms were huge and came with a bidet a strange and foreign invention (to me), acquiring the necessary skill to use one of these was further complicated by the fact that the taps turned toward the outside to turn on and the inside to turn off. Working out how to turn off the water whilst squatting over the bidet in this fashion lead to many puddles of water over the bathroom floor and hours of hubby's entertainment at my expense.
The consierge was very helpful.
Their internet was a bit 'hit and miss' but adequate enough for our needs.
The brochure said that from your room you will be able to see the picturesque waterways complete with gondaleers. They failed to mentioned however that you can smell the picturesque Venician waterways from your hotel room window too. Thank goodness for photography.
Having said that, the streets themselves were immaculate, the locals really seemed to take genuine pride in cleanliness and appearances.
Venice
Tired and hungry and I'm sure looking at least completely lost we went down to the barge for the water taxi. We don't speak any Italian, so I approached a young friendly looking guy, it seemed that perhaps he was on his way home from work. Map in hand I did my best 'I'm not really a mono-linguistic stupid tourist' impression as I pointed to where we wanted to go. He gave us the thumbs up (thank goodness for hand gestures), I pointed to the water taxi stop and he pointed to the sign and the listing for the next taxi. When the taxi arrived he motioned for us to aboard. We tried to stay awake on the journey and it wasn't long before I felt someone looking at me, it was the guy I'd asked directions from earlier, he reverse-nodded towards the next stop. I bowed slightly, but deliberately as we stepped off the barge and into the night.
Google maps - great sometimes, only sometimes.
Don't get me wrong Google got us pointed in the right direction, the general vicinity of our hotel. We circled time and time again as Venice is built so as once inside the city at night time you can't see any landmarks. Here in Australia, you look to the horizon to see where you are, in Venice you look right, you look left, you look up, only buildings, and they look very similar in the dead of night with tired eyes.
Many times I asked for directions, firstly from only the most 'trustworthy looking' (whatever that means) people we passed and many times we ended up where we started. No matter how lost we got, we could always seem to make our way back to the water taxi stop we disembarked from, we figured it was a good sign. Eventually I started asking for directions from all passers-by, twice we passed these guys that looked Sudanese I was tired and sick of asking for directions so I approached boldly and said that I needed directions to the hotel and if they could give me the right directions that I'd be forever in their debt, they were very helpful and their directions were indeed spot on. They explained that our hotel was a newly re-furbished hotel, which on the down side meant that nobody seemed to know exactly where it was but on the plus side was luxurious and spacious and very cost effective.
It wasn't until the next day that I realised that the Sudanese that I had assumed to be tourists were in fact knock-off bag sellers.
Paris - Venice
The actual flight from Paris to Venice was a short 3 hours maximum.
We booked a transfer shuttle to the Airport, there were various transfer shuttles traveling throughout the day so we figured that we'd get an early transfer and hang out in the Airport, do some shopping, have a leisurely meal and chill out before boarding. We were wrong.
As it turns out the free transfer is only applicable for the shuttle bus that arrives at the airport moments prior to your departure.
The day was wet, the wind was fierce, tempers were short and warmth a rare commodity as we sat cuddled up under open jackets, looking homeless. I noticed hubby's lips were turning blue between the sounds of my own teeth chattering uncontrollably. Thankful that it was my turn I rose to brace the cold and shiver my way across the road to the local shopping center.
I know, I know, you're thinking what the hell are you doing sitting in the cold when there's a shopping center just across the road?
Well, my friends we're not as foolish as it may seem ...
Upon our first visit to the 'shopping center' we noticed how classy, modern and fashionable the shops were - this was designer central. Large open spaces between the boutiques without one stick of seating - nothing. We made our way through the center and stood in line for the only food servery in the center, we waited for ages before we found a crowded table and squeezed our backpacks in. Once we finished there were still loads of people waiting to be seated so we didn't linger, we instead investigated if there was somewhere to sit and chat out of the cold. Some teenagers were sitting on the stairs that formed the entrance to some unknown 'opening soon' store, as we passed a security guard motioned for them to move on. Obviously loitering was frowned upon. Sure, the security guard may have been cautious because they were kids, but with the language difference and the fact that at this stage we looked like backpackers, we thought it poor form to take up residence were the teenagers had been evacuated from. We summoned up our available Euros and knew there was no way we could afford another meal each from the restaurant, just to be warm and seated.
So, we took it in turns to trek from the bus stop to the shopping center for hot drinks (to keep the hands warm if nothing else) every hour or so, the coffee cart guy must have thought it was his lucky day when more tourists started to cotton on.
It was an interesting experience.
We booked a transfer shuttle to the Airport, there were various transfer shuttles traveling throughout the day so we figured that we'd get an early transfer and hang out in the Airport, do some shopping, have a leisurely meal and chill out before boarding. We were wrong.
As it turns out the free transfer is only applicable for the shuttle bus that arrives at the airport moments prior to your departure.
The day was wet, the wind was fierce, tempers were short and warmth a rare commodity as we sat cuddled up under open jackets, looking homeless. I noticed hubby's lips were turning blue between the sounds of my own teeth chattering uncontrollably. Thankful that it was my turn I rose to brace the cold and shiver my way across the road to the local shopping center.
I know, I know, you're thinking what the hell are you doing sitting in the cold when there's a shopping center just across the road?
Well, my friends we're not as foolish as it may seem ...
Upon our first visit to the 'shopping center' we noticed how classy, modern and fashionable the shops were - this was designer central. Large open spaces between the boutiques without one stick of seating - nothing. We made our way through the center and stood in line for the only food servery in the center, we waited for ages before we found a crowded table and squeezed our backpacks in. Once we finished there were still loads of people waiting to be seated so we didn't linger, we instead investigated if there was somewhere to sit and chat out of the cold. Some teenagers were sitting on the stairs that formed the entrance to some unknown 'opening soon' store, as we passed a security guard motioned for them to move on. Obviously loitering was frowned upon. Sure, the security guard may have been cautious because they were kids, but with the language difference and the fact that at this stage we looked like backpackers, we thought it poor form to take up residence were the teenagers had been evacuated from. We summoned up our available Euros and knew there was no way we could afford another meal each from the restaurant, just to be warm and seated.
So, we took it in turns to trek from the bus stop to the shopping center for hot drinks (to keep the hands warm if nothing else) every hour or so, the coffee cart guy must have thought it was his lucky day when more tourists started to cotton on.
It was an interesting experience.
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