Destination - Venice, Italy

"I will never forget experiencing Venice for the first time. It feels like you are transported to another time - the art, music, food and pure romance in the air is like no other place."

Elizabeth Berkley

 

 "Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go."

Truman Capote

 

Venice

Today is my husband and my 46th wedding anniversary.  Seems like just yesterday, sometimes.  The reason I mention our anniversary, is because we visited Italy to celebrate our 25th anniversary and plan to go back to Italy in 2017 to celebrate our 50th.  One of my favorite places when we visited on that trip, was Venice.  There was just something about the atmosphere of the city that I loved.  Maybe it is all that water, since I am definitely a water person.  Or maybe it was all the colorful crumbling palazzos that line the Grand Canal, which I found to be charming and added such character to the place.  Or maybe it was St. Mark's Square or Harry's Bar, which I loved.  Whatever the reason, I plan to make it a definite stop on our return trip.



Some of the crumbling walls of Venice
I loved the textures and the atmosphere.

Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital of the region Veneto and is world famous for its canals.  It is made up of 118 islands formed by approximately 150 canals in a shallow lagoon.  The islands are connect by around 400 bridges.  Transportation within the city is by foot or by water.  It is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world.  The classical Venetian boat is the gondola, although now it is mostly used by tourists.  Most Venetians now travel by motorized waterbuses known as vaporetti.

If you go to Venice you will arrive on the mainland and will probably take a water bus over to the old city.  You will cross the Grand Canal, which is the main waterway of the city, to do this.  There are many things to see and do while visiting this city.  Below is my list of things.

Gondola on the Grand Canal

The Grand Canal is an ancient waterway, lined with buildings that were mostly built from the 13th to the 18th centuries.  It forms one of the major water-traffic corridors in the city.  The two mile trip from the railway station on the mainland to St. Marks Square provides a suberb introduction to the city.  Public transport is provided by water buses (vaporetto) and private water taxis, and many tourists explore the canal by gondola.  Whatever form of public transportation you decide on, make sure you tour the Grand Canal.

The glorious past of Venice returns once a year to the Grand Canal during the Regata Storica (historical regatta) on the first Sunday of September. The first of these regattas - boat races - were held in the 14th century. The races are proceeded by a spectacular boat parade, led by the Serenissima, a sumptuously decorated boat.

St. Mark's Square and the famous pigeons

Piazza San Marco (Saint Mark's Square), is the principal public square of Venice, where it is generally known just as "the Piazza".  A remark usually attributed to  Napoleon calls the Piazza San Marco "the drawing room of Europe."  It is one of the few remaining great urban spaces in Europe where human voices prevail over the sounds or motorized traffic. The Piazza is dominated at its eastern end by the Basilica of Saint Mark.  Towering over the square is the Campanile, which is the bell tower for the church.  It is famous for it massive amounts of pigeons.  At night there are cafes where you can eat or just have a drink and listen to the music.  The piazza is a great place to stroll around and do some people-watching.

Basilica St. Mark

The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice.  It is the most famous of the city's churches and one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture.   It lies at the eastern end of  Saint Mark's Square, adjacent and connected to the Doge's Palace. The church is beautiful and well worth a visit, but make sure you dress appropriately, no shorts or bare shoulders even for children - you will be turned away if you ignore the rules. 

The Doge's Palace is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice.  The palace was the residence of the Doges of Venice. A Doge is the elected-for-life Duke, the supreme authority of the Republic of Venice.  This was the most powerful half-acre in Europe for 400 years.  It was built to show off the power and wealth of Venice, and to remind all visitors that Venice was number one. It opened as a museum in 1923.  You can now tour the palace and see how the Doge's lived.  The tour includes the Bridge of Sighs and the prison.

The Campanile is St. Mark's Square

The Campanile is the bell tower of Saint Mark's Basilica.  It stands separate from the church in St. Mark's Square.  It is the highest structure in the city, offering a pigeon's-eye view that includes the lagoon, its neighboring islands, and the red rooftops and church domes and bell towers of Venice -- and, oddly, not a single canal. On a clear day, you may even see the outline of the distant snowcapped Dolomite Mountains. You can ride the elevator 318 feet to the top for the best view in Venice. For an ear-shattering experience, be on top when the bells ring.

Rialto Bridge at night

The Rialto Bridge is one of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice. It is the oldest bridge across the canal, and was the dividing line for the districts of San Marco and San Polo. 
The Rialto Bridge is an elegant, arched stone bridge lined with arcades on each side. The central archway at its pinnacle, accessed via the wide stairs that rise from either side of the bridge, serves as a lookout perch. Under the arcades are numerous shops, many of which cater to the tourists who flock here to see this famous bridge and its views of the gondola-filled waterway of the Grand Canal.

Bridge of Sighs

The Bridge of Sighs is a bridge located in which is actually part of the Doge Palace. The enclosed bridge is made of white limestone and has windows with stone bars.   It passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the New Prison to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace. It was built in 1602, and was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment.  The bridge name, given by the poet Lord Byron in the 19th century, comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice through the window before being taken down to their cells. In reality, the days of inquisitions and summary executions were over by the time the bridge was built and the cells under the palace roof were occupied mostly by small-time criminals. In addition, little could be seen from inside the Bridge due to the stone grills covering the windows.
A local legend says that lovers will be granted eternal love if they kiss on a gondola at sunset under the bridge as the bells of  St. Mark's Campanile toll.

Murano

Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon. It lies about north of Venice and has a population of just over 5,000. It is famous for its glassmaking. This Venetian island has been world-renowned for centuries for its blown glass creations, from jewelry to tableware to sculptures. Visits here often include a tour of one of its fascinating glass factories, demonstrations of how it’s done—and of course, a visit to at least one of the affiliated showrooms and shops.  You can get to the island on your own by taking a water taxi, or you can sign up for a tour which will take you to the glass factory for a demonstration.  Be prepared to also be taken to a showroom, for purchases.  We came home with some beautiful Venetian glass, which was expensive, but will become a family heirloom.


Lido de Venezia - The Lido is an island located in Venice, home to about 20,000 residents. The Venice Film Festival takes place at the Lido every September.  The Lido di Venezia is one of the Venetians’ favorite destinations during summer time. Its beaches are extremely charming and elegant, the seabed forms a gentle slope that allows even the smallest children to bathe safely.  There are many establishments that will rent you a hut for the day, or a chaise lounge to enjoy your day of relaxing by the water.



Picture I took while wandering across bridges and down alleyways

So those are the main sights to see while in Venice.  But don't get to hung up on the sights.  Yes, you should see those things, but the main thing about Venice is the atmosphere of the place.  Take time to wander aimlessly about the alleys and across bridges, into the side-streets.  See where the people live.  Get lost.  We did our second day there, and it was the best part of our visit.  We wandered through little courtyards, watched people hanging their clothes on the lines, and had some gelato. We got a feel for what it would be like to live there. 

Gondola

And take a gondola ride.  Yes, its touristy, but its worth it.  Go under the Bridge of Sighs and if you are with someone you love, than kiss under the bridge - why not!  Take a tour of the Grand Canal, either by gondola, or by water taxi. 

Enjoy the local cuisine, have a glass of wine.  Enjoy the atmosphere of dining in Saint Mark's Square and listening to the orchestras play.  Watch the people, other tourists like yourself and the locals.  And you just have to try the gelato while anywhere in Italy.  I have been told that the best gelato in Venice is at the Boutique del Gelato, a tiny outlet on busy salizzada San Lio.  Be prepared to be patient though, I'm also told there is usually a line.          

Shop for a few souvenirs to take home, or gifts for those loved ones.  Venice is famous tor its Venetian glass, for wonderful Carnivale masks, and for its lace and its jewelery.  When we were there I bought our daughter a wonderful Carnivale mask which was made of plaster and had lace on it.  It is beautiful, and she has it mounted on a wall in her home.

My last suggestion may not be valid anymore.  I would have said to go and have a Bellini (a drink made of white peach juice and Prosecco) at Harry's Bar.  I would have also suggested dinner there.  However, I understand that Harry's Bar in Venice is having financial troubles and it undergoing some management changes.  The ratings on it have dropped, and it may even close, which would be a shame.  It is an institution in Venice and has such an interesting story.  I loved the bar when we were there before, and if it is still around when we return, I will certainly visit it.  I do remember that we had a horrible time finding it.  It is just off St. Mark's Square, but it does not have signs above its door.  The only signage is a side window.  We probably walked past it several times before a local pointed it out to us.  I have posted the story of Harry's Bar below.

History of Harry's Bar
^{Giuseppe Cipriani may never have had his own bar if he had not met a 'sad' young American, Harry Pickering.  And even if he had somehow got the money, it certainly would have been called something else.  While working as a barman at Hotel Europa in Venice, Cipriani struck up a friendship with Pickering, a student who was staying in Europe with his aunt.  After she left him alone in a foreign country with no money, Cipriani offered to lend his new friend, who he called 'such a fine young man', 10,000 lira so that he could return home.  He was not at all sure he would ever see the money again.  Two years later, after he had given up hope, Pickering walked in and said thanks for the money and gave him back his original 10,000 lira plus 40,000 lira so he could open his own bar. Cipriani recalled his friend saying: 'I think they'll call it Harry's Bar. Not a bad name.'  He rented a nearby warehouse and transformed it into one of the most chic bars in town.  He had many famous patrons, including Charlie Chaplin,  Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote, Orson Wells, Barbara Hutton and many more.}  

My Favorite Places

"Laugh at yourself, but don't ever aim your doubt at yourself.  Be bold.  When you embark for strange places, don't leave any of yourself safely on shore.  Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory." 

Alan Alda

Probably everyone has heard of the book 1000 Places To See Before You Die.  Most of us will only see a few of those places in our lifetime.  There isn't enough time or money to visit them all.  I keep a list of only 10 places I want to see, but as I see them I cross them off and add new ones, because there are certainly more than 10 places in the world I want to see.

Quite often people ask me what is the place you have enjoyed the most.  For me that is always very difficult to answer.  I have enjoyed every place that I have been - really.  Whenever I go someplace new, I enjoy exploring that place and I find things I like about it.  But obviously some places I have liked better than other places.  I do have some favorites, but I can't really say that one place is my very favorite.  I can tell you my top 8 and why.

In no particular order, my top 8 are:
Venice, Italy
Crete, Greece
Moorea, French Polynesia
Paris, France
Great Britain
Beijing, China
Tenerife, Canary Islands
Philippines

Venice

Venice, Italy - The first trip to Europe that my husband and I took together was to Italy.  It was the one place I had always said that I just had to go to.  When we were finally able to go I was so excited.  It was our 25th anniversary trip.  I was almost afraid that it wouldn't live up to my excitement about going, but it did.  Everything about that trip was very special.  I loved Rome, and all the ruins.  The Forum and The Colisseum.  And then we went to Venice, and I really fell in love with that city.  I loved all the peeling paint on the buildings sitting in water.  I loved the boats and all the little alleyways between the buildings, and the bridges over the canals.  We also went down and spent a week in Sorrento, and visited Pompei and Capri, and enjoyed the beautiful town of Sorrento.  It was beautiful.  I loved every minute of that trip.

Crete, Greece - I actually loved all of Greece, and should maybe just put the whole country of Greece on the list.  But if I think about my favorite part of our trip to Greece, then Crete stands out. Maybe because we spent a week on the island and had more time to really explore it.  We did spend several days in Athens, and though it is a big city, I absolutely loved it.  I love the Plaka district, which is the old city, and I loved the Parthenon up on the hill.  And the people in Athens were all so nice.  And we took a tour over to Delphi and Meteora, both of which were wonderful, and not to be missed if you go to Greece.  I also loved the island of Santorini, where we spent 2 nights.  It is really lovely. 



Rethymno Harbor

But our week on Crete was fascinating.  We stayed in a condo near Rethymno, and our friends from Scotland joined us for that week.  I loved wandering around Rethymno's streets, looking in the shops and especially loved having lunch down by their harbor.  We drove all over the island, even went over and hiked the Samaria Gorge.  I did have blisters after doing that!  And we visited Knossos, which is a Bronze Age archaeological site.  We also had probably the best meal I have ever had in my life, at a farm in the hills above Rethymno.  They grow everything they serve on the farm, and we had a 10 course meal, on a hill overlooking the town, at sunset.  Even the feta cheese they served and the olive oil was made on the farm.  We swam in the sea and we explored the island, and it has to rank as one of the best weeks of vacation I have had.

Moorea, French Polynesia - We have a timeshare, and had to use the week we had deposited, or we would lose it.  I started looking online at places that were available.  A week in Moorea came up.  I had always wanted to visit Tahiti, so this seemed ideal.  I decided to go for it.  Since I worked at AAA at the time, I actually had some benefits that I could use towards the trip.  Air Tahiti Nui offers half price air to Tahiti for travel agents and I was able to take advantage of that.  And because I had sold a lot of Pleasant Packages, I had points with them that I could use for free inter-island flights and a free night on the island of Tahiti and 2 nights in an over-water bungalow on Bora Bora.  So we booked it and off we went. 

Cook's Bay, Moorea, French Polynesia

We spent our first night on Tahiti then flew to Moorea where we spent our week in our timeshare.  We had a condo with a balcony overlooking Cook's Bay.  We spent the week swimming, snorkeling and exploring the isalnd.  It was a relaxing fun-filled week on the beach.  The waters are sparkling clear, with lots of beautiful fish.  We took a catamarran trip to a motu - which is a small island, where we had a picnic lunch and did more snorkeling.  I thought Moorea was beautiful.  I had been told by others that while Moorea was beautiful, everyone usually liked Bora Bora the best, so we did 2 nights there at the end of our trip.  But for me Moorea was prettier, and there is more to do there.  I liked Bora Bora, but I loved Moorea.


Paris, France - Paris - the city of lights, the city of love.  Who could not love it.  My daughter and I breifly visited Paris back in 1989.  My husband and I went back in 2003.  I have not seen much else of France, but I do love Paris.  The city is beautiful, and vibrant.  Regardless of what people may tell you, I think the people are mostly charming.  There is so much to see and do.  I think I could live in Paris for a year or two and be quite happy.  As my husband says, "we'll always have Paris." 





Great Britain - England is the first country in Europe that I visited.  My daughter spent one semester of her sophomore year in London, and at the end of her semester I flew over and visited her, and we traveled around England, Scotland and Ireland, and even took a quick excursion over to Paris.  I have very fond memories of that trip.  And because it was my first European country to visit, it holds a special place in my heart.  I have visited Great Britain since that first trip.  I can't really name one place in Great Britain that I love more than others, although certain places stand out more than others.  


Crail Harbor, Scotland

I loved Cambridge, I found it to be charming.  And Penzance was a fun place to visit. And who could not love London, there is so much to see and do there.  I particularly loved Scotland, and we went back to Scotland this year.  We saw some new places, and re-visited a few places I had been.  I love the Highland cows, and all of the castles.  The harbour towns are very picturesque.  And the Scottish people are some of our favorites - we do have good friends there, so that helps.

The Great Wall
Just outside of Beijing, China

Beijing, China - I had been to Hong Kong years ago when we lived in the Philippines, it was a short hop away and a good place to get away for a weekend, but it was under British rule when we were there.  So a few years ago I suggested to a girl friend that a trip to China would be fun.  We went for a 12 day tour.  It was an adventure.  I knew I wanted to walk on the Great Wall, and we did that.  But I found all of China to be wonderful.  It certainly was one of the best trips I have ever taken.  We had a wonderful tour guide in Beijing.  His name was Tony, and we got to know him fairly well in the few days we were with him.  He took great pride in showing us around Beijing, and he was proud of the history of his country, and the sights he showed us.  He acknowledged that his country had problems, and he envied us our freedoms, but he was still quite proud to be Chinese.  I particularly enjoyed getting to know him.  And I loved all of China.  We went to Xian and Shanghai, and a cruise on the Yangtze, and re-visited Hong Kong.  But my favorite place was Beijing, and getting to know Tony, and learning about China through his eyes.  And of course walking on the Great Wall.

Tenerife, Canary Islands

Tenerife, Canary Islands - In 2003 our friends from Scotland invited us to join them in the Canary Islands for 10 days.  There are several islands that make up the Canaries, Tenerife is the largest, and that is the island that we went to.  They had a timeshare which was a 3 bedroom condo, so we had basically a full-size house, with a lovely patio, that we lived in for those 10 days.  We rented a car and we explored the island.  That was the first trip that we took with those friends, we have traveled with them since, but there was something special about our new friendship and the fun we had together on that trip.  I had never even thought about going to the Canary Islands, and I don't know if they ever would have showed up on a list of places to go to, but they invited us, and we went.  I absolutely loved everything about the place.  It is part of Spain, but actually closer to Africa, so it had a different feel about it then when we were in Spain.  We were close to a small village, and stumbled across one of their local celebrations, which we joined in on.  We swam in the ocean and enjoyed the beaches, and we explored the towns.  We had some wonderful meals also.



Banca boat on Capone Islands,
Philippines

Philippines - My husband spent 26 years in the Navy, so we moved around quite a bit.  Most of the times we were in the states, and quite a few of those times my husband was gone, to places where we could not go as a family.  We were only stationed overseas together as a family once.  That was the 2 years we spent in the Philippines - from Dec. 1978 to Dec. 1980.  We lived on a small base about an hour from Subic Bay. The base was called San Miguel.  One of the gates from the base led straight out onto the beach, where we could go and enjoy the warm waters of the South China Sea.  There were small boats - called bancas that we could get into and be taken out to the Capone Islands, where we could snorkel, or we could just stay at the beach and swim from there. 


In the two years we lived in the PI, we explored as much of the country as we could, taking trips to different areas, and seeing the sights.  The people near where we lived were all very nice.  We got to know some of them, and spent time in their villages, and their homes.  We were invited to celebrations as their guest of honor.  It was a wonderful two years, where we learned a lot about the country and the people.  Those 2 years hold wonderful memories for myself and my family.  I am so glad we were given that experience.

But even though these places stand out most in my mind when I think of the places I have traveled, I really have enjoyed every trip I have taken, and I have fond memories of them all.  And I know that with my future travels, some of those places will probably bump some of these places off my favorites list.  We are planning a trip to Africa for this coming year, and who knows, that trip may move onto my favorites list in the future.

Our anniversary trip to Italy

"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep permanent, in the the ides of living." 
 Miriam Beard

Besides travel information, I thought I would occassionally throw in a story from my travels.  This story is about the best Christmas present I ever received and goes back to the start of my travel days.

When my husband first proposed to me, I actually turned him down. I loved him, but felt I was too young to get married, and besides, there were so many places in the world I wanted to go, and if I got married I wouldn't be able to just go.  However, he was persistent, and he finally wore me down. I said yes, and he said “I promise to take you to Italy someday.” That was the number one thing on my list of places to go. The years went by, we had a daughter. He was in the Navy, so I was seeing some new places, in the states and then for 2 years in the Philippines. There wasn't enough money for trips to Italy.  In 1989, I was able to take a trip to London, our daughter was going to school there. George stayed home, we didn't really have enough money for 2 of us to go. Kim and I spent 3 weeks exploring England, Scotland and even got over to Paris for a few days. It was fun, but Italy was still the number one place on my list.

 

The Forum in Rome, Italy

So on Christmas 1991, I was surprised when my gift from George was a new set of luggage, and inside the luggage was an anniversary card and brochures of Italy. He told me he had been secretly saving money, so that on our 25^th anniversary we would be in Italy. I had 9 months to plan the trip I wanted.  George's only request was that we do a tour. He felt that since we didn't know the language and neither of us had been to Italy before, that we should do a tour. Now I'm not really a tour person, I'd rather go it on our own, but I was willing to compromise. I found a tour through Perillo Tours – they specialize in Italy. It was a 10 day tour and it covered Rome, Venice and Florence, with stops in Sienna, Assisi, Perugia and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Of all the tours I looked at, it had the most free time. I booked that one, and then talked George into adding a week on our own at the end of the tour, by then we'd be seasoned travelers of Italy.

 

Venice, Italy

Our 25^th anniversary was September 17^th, 1992. We were in Italy for our anniversary. We started our trip in Rome, then to Venice (which is where we were on the 17^th), made the stops in Sienna, Assisi, Perugia (for some chocolates), spent a few nights in Florence, saw the leaning tower of Pisa, and then ended back in Rome. It was actually a good group of people, and we loved our guide Nilo. When the group departed, we got on a train south to the city of Sorrento, which is just across the bay from Naples. I had researched and found a cute little family owned hotel perched on the cliff overlooking the bay of Naples. From our balcony we had a fantastic view. The town of Sorrento was delightful and famous for its lemons and an alcoholic version of lemonade – lemoncello. We visited the isle of Capri while there, and went over and spent and afternoon at the ruins of Pompeii. We swam in the sea, and we wandered around the town. It was a delightful week.

Taken from our hotel in Sorrento, Italy

We spent 2 more days back in Rome on our own before flying home. George got more comfortable with going on our own, but we had the best of both, the tour was good, and the week on our own was also.

George kept his promise when he said that “someday he'd take me to Italy.” And since then we have made it a point to travel somewhere on our major (every 5 year) anniversary. This year will be 45 years and we plan to take a cruise from Boston to Montreal – down the St. Lawrence River. And I have never regretted saying yes all those years ago. For anyone out there that wants to surprise their spouse with a great present, I can tell you that this was the best one I ever had.