Venice Jun10-13

Everyone said that we had to go to Venice and that despite the exorbitant prices and the crowds, it is probably the most beautiful city in Italy, if not the world. I agree.

We arrived by train and the tourist information booth found us a decent and affordable hotel nearby. After dropping our bags we joined the flow of people walking towards San Marco Square and were quickly enchanted by the narrow cobblestone lanes lined with shops and restaurants that cater to the tourist trade in a way that somehow manages to be charming instead of kitchy. Venice is a walkers’ city: you have no choice as there are no cars or even bicycles on the lanes partly because the countless little canals all have to be crossed on arched bridges, with steps. We walked for hours, gazing at the magnificent buildings in the piazza San Marco, gawking at the luxury boutiques, wandering among the cafes in the busy touristy area, and finding our way back home from some back alley explorations. Venice is justifiably famous for its canals we saw the city from the water by taking the vaporetta, which is the equivalent of the public bus. We bought the 24 hour unlimited ticket and hopped on and off these delightful boats all around the main island, Murano and Lido. Cruising up the Grand Canal is the quintessential way to be in the midst of Venice with gondoliers in their striped shirts singing to tourists, water taxis zooming by with elegantly dressed Italians or rich Japanese tourists and barges carrying everything needed to supply a city without roads.

Venice is an artist’s city both in the famous sights and. Our sightseeing stops included the Duomo (cathedral) to admire the mosaics, the Dogge’s Palace which is full of amazing renaissance paintings and sculpture, Murano where we saw glass blowers in action and an incredible array of glass art for sale, and one museum, the Guggenhiem collection of modern art. But in Venice the art is also in the everyday beauty and charm of the public spaces, the buildings, the shopfronts, the posters for art exhibits, and of course the people for whom style is an art.