stevenpiziks (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stevenpiziks) wrote2023-08-11 02:54 pm
stevenpiziks) wrote2023-08-11 02:54 pm
The Cruise: Venice!
Darwin and I are taking a cruise, our first!
We started in Venice, where we stayed a couple days before the cruise. Our flight was uneventful and only got interesting when we landed. Venice, you see, is built on 120 islands out in an ocean lagoon, but the airport is on the mainland. So getting to the city from the airport is a bit of a puzzle for newcomers. However, our thoughtful BnB hosts had sent us careful instructions. There's what's basically a shuttle bus (but it's a boat) that runs from the airport to various stops around Venice. Jetlagged and with lots of luggage in tow, we arrived at the water taxi stop.
It was strange to see water instead of a parking lot and boats instead of cars, I have to say. To Michigander me, boats are for recreation, not transportation. But Venice has a different point of view.
Anyway, I bought tickets at a kiosk. Darwin, who's a Europe newbie, doesn't like trying this kind of thing, but I'm fearless about it. The shuttle only cost fifteen Euros each, a bargain when a private taxi to the city was at least 100!
We joined the line of people at the dock and the water taxi arrived. It really was a floating bus--long, with rows of basic seats and a diesel engine. The (enormously handsome Italian) ticket taker asked, "Where are you going?" in English.
I paused, confused. "Venice?"
He laughed. "What part of Venice?"
Ah. "Zattere. Does the bus go there?"
"Yes, yes. They will announce it."
So we boarded with a pile of other people. It was great fun for me. The empty water stretched in all directions. Traffic was expected to stay within a narrow lane between Venice and the mainland marked by pilons. Other boats breezed past our chug-chug-chug bus, but I didn't mind. We got a great initial view of Venice. Astounding architecture everywhere you looked! Delightful!
We landed at the Zattere dock, and after a problem sorting out the directions to the flat, we arrived, hot, tired, and panting. But the flat was cool and inviting, right on the big canal (not the Grand Canal, which runs through the city--the giganto canal that runs south of it). Our third-floor windows had a spectacular view of Venice, and when we opened the windows, soft ocean breezes wafted through. The building was at least 300 years old, and we could see the original hand-hewn beams in the ceilings.
We powered through jet lag, forcing ourselves to go out and about. We explored Venice quite a lot, and it was lovely. We had to walk nearly everywhere---no cars allowed in Zaterre--though I became adept at using the water-borne mass transit system.
Venice is everything you've heard. It's an incredible mix of ancient buildings and new technology. Romantic canals snake in every direction, and bridges that range from toy-sized to mega-huge cross them. Lots of narrow streets that Americans would call alleys with shops and restaurants and private dwellings. High balconies, wooden shutters, cobblestone streets. The weather was sunny and hot, but among the stone buildings the air was pleasantly cool.
We arrived Saturday afternoon and were leaving Monday morning, so a lot of the more famous attractions were closed during our visit, but we didn't mind. It was plenty interesting and diverting to explore the streets. We wandered St. Mark's Square and learned the photos don't do it justice. It's HUGE. You could play a game of NFL football in it and have room for a couple little league games. The Basilica sprawls across the south side near the Doge Palace, and at night everything is lit up. There are thousands of people there at any given time, including at night, but it doesn't feel crowded at all. We also came across what I think was a dance school that did an outdoor street performance. These kids (young teens) could DANCE.
We ate, too. Lasagna and pizza and gelato and squid ink pasta and more. Sorry, Italian-Americans, but Venice has your cooking beat in every way.
One of the nicer moments was the little seafood restaurant where I tried the above-mentioned squid ink pasta. Darwin and I sat right under an umbrella on the sidewalk next to a narrow canal. The weather was charming, the service wonderful, and the food fantastic. It was excruciatingly romantic and delightful.
We went on a gondola ride, of course. Darwin wasn't sure he wanted to do something so tourist-y, but I told him, "We're going to go on a gondola ride. In Venice. With a gondolier. As husbands. BECAUSE WE CAN."
There are gondola rides all around Venice. They're tightly regulated by a guild, so they all cost the same and none of them try to cheat anyone. We went to a cluster of them near St. Mark's Square. They were in a spot where several canals came together in a big pool. I promised Darwin a Handsome Gondolier Guy, and right when we arrived at the dock, just such a gondolier moved up to pick us up. His name was Alessandro. I asked about going under the Bridge of Sighs (if you kiss at sunset under the BoS, legend says your love for each other will remain eternal), but it was way far away and would increase the cost by quite a lot, so we decided against.
The gondola was lushly appointed, with velvet seats and black lacquered wood. Alessandro stood behind us with the tiller/oar under his arm and we were off. It was wonderful. It was an entirely different view of Venice--back "alleys" and docks and narrow, twisting ways. We drifted past sparkly people dining in golden-lit restaurants and heard distant music. Alessandro didn't sing, but he did whistle from time to time. He had to duck when we went under most of the bridges, and I asked him about that.
"It's because Venice is sinking," he explained. "Three hundred years ago, the water was a meter lower, and no one had to duck." He also told us that the buildings are all built on wooden foundations, not stone, but the clay under Venice is anaerobic, so the wood doesn't rot. The oldest building in Venice is over 1000 years old. It's the one they wiped out in CASINO ROYALE, if you were wondering. The whole trip was lovely and romantic and a delight.
Sunday evening, we repacked and got everything ready for our taxi to pick us up. We decided to hire a private taxi rather than risk misreading the bus schedule, you see. In the morning, ready to leave for the cruise itself, we ran into a small problem....
We started in Venice, where we stayed a couple days before the cruise. Our flight was uneventful and only got interesting when we landed. Venice, you see, is built on 120 islands out in an ocean lagoon, but the airport is on the mainland. So getting to the city from the airport is a bit of a puzzle for newcomers. However, our thoughtful BnB hosts had sent us careful instructions. There's what's basically a shuttle bus (but it's a boat) that runs from the airport to various stops around Venice. Jetlagged and with lots of luggage in tow, we arrived at the water taxi stop.
It was strange to see water instead of a parking lot and boats instead of cars, I have to say. To Michigander me, boats are for recreation, not transportation. But Venice has a different point of view.
Anyway, I bought tickets at a kiosk. Darwin, who's a Europe newbie, doesn't like trying this kind of thing, but I'm fearless about it. The shuttle only cost fifteen Euros each, a bargain when a private taxi to the city was at least 100!
We joined the line of people at the dock and the water taxi arrived. It really was a floating bus--long, with rows of basic seats and a diesel engine. The (enormously handsome Italian) ticket taker asked, "Where are you going?" in English.
I paused, confused. "Venice?"
He laughed. "What part of Venice?"
Ah. "Zattere. Does the bus go there?"
"Yes, yes. They will announce it."
So we boarded with a pile of other people. It was great fun for me. The empty water stretched in all directions. Traffic was expected to stay within a narrow lane between Venice and the mainland marked by pilons. Other boats breezed past our chug-chug-chug bus, but I didn't mind. We got a great initial view of Venice. Astounding architecture everywhere you looked! Delightful!
We landed at the Zattere dock, and after a problem sorting out the directions to the flat, we arrived, hot, tired, and panting. But the flat was cool and inviting, right on the big canal (not the Grand Canal, which runs through the city--the giganto canal that runs south of it). Our third-floor windows had a spectacular view of Venice, and when we opened the windows, soft ocean breezes wafted through. The building was at least 300 years old, and we could see the original hand-hewn beams in the ceilings.
We powered through jet lag, forcing ourselves to go out and about. We explored Venice quite a lot, and it was lovely. We had to walk nearly everywhere---no cars allowed in Zaterre--though I became adept at using the water-borne mass transit system.
Venice is everything you've heard. It's an incredible mix of ancient buildings and new technology. Romantic canals snake in every direction, and bridges that range from toy-sized to mega-huge cross them. Lots of narrow streets that Americans would call alleys with shops and restaurants and private dwellings. High balconies, wooden shutters, cobblestone streets. The weather was sunny and hot, but among the stone buildings the air was pleasantly cool.
We arrived Saturday afternoon and were leaving Monday morning, so a lot of the more famous attractions were closed during our visit, but we didn't mind. It was plenty interesting and diverting to explore the streets. We wandered St. Mark's Square and learned the photos don't do it justice. It's HUGE. You could play a game of NFL football in it and have room for a couple little league games. The Basilica sprawls across the south side near the Doge Palace, and at night everything is lit up. There are thousands of people there at any given time, including at night, but it doesn't feel crowded at all. We also came across what I think was a dance school that did an outdoor street performance. These kids (young teens) could DANCE.
We ate, too. Lasagna and pizza and gelato and squid ink pasta and more. Sorry, Italian-Americans, but Venice has your cooking beat in every way.
One of the nicer moments was the little seafood restaurant where I tried the above-mentioned squid ink pasta. Darwin and I sat right under an umbrella on the sidewalk next to a narrow canal. The weather was charming, the service wonderful, and the food fantastic. It was excruciatingly romantic and delightful.
We went on a gondola ride, of course. Darwin wasn't sure he wanted to do something so tourist-y, but I told him, "We're going to go on a gondola ride. In Venice. With a gondolier. As husbands. BECAUSE WE CAN."
There are gondola rides all around Venice. They're tightly regulated by a guild, so they all cost the same and none of them try to cheat anyone. We went to a cluster of them near St. Mark's Square. They were in a spot where several canals came together in a big pool. I promised Darwin a Handsome Gondolier Guy, and right when we arrived at the dock, just such a gondolier moved up to pick us up. His name was Alessandro. I asked about going under the Bridge of Sighs (if you kiss at sunset under the BoS, legend says your love for each other will remain eternal), but it was way far away and would increase the cost by quite a lot, so we decided against.
The gondola was lushly appointed, with velvet seats and black lacquered wood. Alessandro stood behind us with the tiller/oar under his arm and we were off. It was wonderful. It was an entirely different view of Venice--back "alleys" and docks and narrow, twisting ways. We drifted past sparkly people dining in golden-lit restaurants and heard distant music. Alessandro didn't sing, but he did whistle from time to time. He had to duck when we went under most of the bridges, and I asked him about that.
"It's because Venice is sinking," he explained. "Three hundred years ago, the water was a meter lower, and no one had to duck." He also told us that the buildings are all built on wooden foundations, not stone, but the clay under Venice is anaerobic, so the wood doesn't rot. The oldest building in Venice is over 1000 years old. It's the one they wiped out in CASINO ROYALE, if you were wondering. The whole trip was lovely and romantic and a delight.
Sunday evening, we repacked and got everything ready for our taxi to pick us up. We decided to hire a private taxi rather than risk misreading the bus schedule, you see. In the morning, ready to leave for the cruise itself, we ran into a small problem....