Autobahnanza

Day in Venezia

First, the disclaimer: if this blog getting too wordy, don’t feel bad just looking at the pictures. This is as much an electronic history for Chris and I as it is a way to update our families and friends. We have been enjoying the chance to sit down and summarize our trip as much for ourselves as for everyone else. Internet access has been a bit of a challenge. Munich brought us the good old western standby, Starbucks, as a hotspot, but we’ve found no wireless in Venice (and we’re glad to have found no Starbucks!). We’ve solved this by obtaining a CD on which to burn blogs, pictures, etc. Who knows what the rest of the trip will bring? [PS. Added later - CD failed, found a hotspot. Like I said, who knows what the rest of the trip will bring?]


Now Venice…is truly a miracle. It rises out of the middle of nowhere, buildings with their facades dipping into the water. Your front door is a pier, and your back door opens into a stone lined “street” that may not be more than one person wide. All streets look the same, enhanced by the souvenir shops all selling the same thing, giving you the feeling that you are always walking in circles. It is a city that feels part luxury and part ruin at the same time, and Chris and I have enjoyed getting lost in the alleys and finding ourselves again along café-lined waterways. Enchanting.


Our hotel here is very…European – simple, small room, very clean, with great open-air windows that open on a stone lined courtyard – very comfortable. We have had gelato (of course…more than once), great pizza, and panini. The public transportation is by boat, and we have made good use of our pass today, even visiting the small island of Murano, famous for beautiful, multi-colored glass. Chris wants to know where all the blinds are made. We’ll let you know if we find out. Traditional tourist sites are both crowded and expensive, so we have admired most of them from the outside. We, did, however, spend an enchanting morning at Venice’s most famous museum brushing up, or rather starting from scratch, our Italian art history.


Venice was not part of our original itinerary. The drive here was long and arduous. We sat in a Venetian traffic jam for what seemed like hours, then were forced to leave our new car in the hands of the largest parking garage in Europe (really). How glad we are that we made the effort, however, because we have been rewarded with the most romantic, surprising, and beautiful city.

posted by natalie @ 11:24 AM