Well, 24 hours in Venice and 2 full laps of the main island and I still haven’t seen a Venetian blind! But on the upside, Jo did her research before leaving and we were able to seamlessly navigate the canals and alleyways to find probably the only cafe in Venice that can serve a flat white. Burnt and watery it may have been, but it did kick off Sunday rather well. We chose the ‘inside’ price of 1.50 Euro’s per cup and stood up to drink our coffee and scoff our croissants, and declined the opportunity tomspend 2.50 per cup to sit ‘outside’ in the blazing morning sun.
In summary, years of dining out in Melbourne have immunised us against Venetian Tourism Pricing for commestables. We are well used to paying $25 AUD for a quick pasta while I feel the Europeans are hurting a bit.
So after brekky we hit the tourist sites. Our planned trip to Murano was off because of an annual boat race and being Sunday, it seems all the churches were busy with some non-tourist stuff. Who’d a thought? We did get a 10 minute sprint through one of the many large basilica/cathedrals dotting the islands where I had a life changing moment. Gone are my plans for a traditional burning boat Viking funeral, instead I want to be planted in my own shrine – just like this one.
Look closely at the distraught and bereft expressions on the tearful women trailing death into the tomb. I can only imagine this will match closely the impact of my passing. The winged Lion mourning over a book representing lost wisdom will obviously have to be switched for a Golden Retriever, but the effect should be the same.
So why is this entry titled ‘That will be 10 Euro’s please’? Well the entry price to absolutely every attraction that isn’t a church is exactly 10 Euro’s- so choose carefully. The good news – churches are free and they have all the best architecture anyway – often all crammed together in a single building. You can drop 50 cents into the slot and lift a candle and if you are lucky there might be a choir going. Interactive attractions with a floor show – beat that EuroDisney.
So while crossing the Rialto Bridge again we found the boat race that cancelled our trip to Murano. Whatever deep Gondolier traditions lay behind this boat race it was clear it had evolved into the worlds biggest corporate challenge.
So after a tour of the Museum at St Marks (a bargain at 5 Euro’s but not photo’s allowed and strictly no talking) we headed for the ferry stop to ride back to the Hotel. Having mastered the ticket machine previously we headed for the correct pontoon where we and about 50 other people waited patiently in the midday sun for 30 minutes. When a boat did arrive the decky threw all existing passengers off and told everyone they were shutting down that route for a few hours because of the boat race. He did kindly give us advice which pontoon to go to that would get us on a ferry that would take us round through the docks to a point a couple of hundred metres from the Hotel. So after about 2 hours in the heat we finally got home – the object lesson in Italian public transport this week is always have a plan B.
Venice – a great place to visit and you know the rest.
Now we are off to Verona. Now I reckon I could convince most people that these are photos of Werribee South. But seriously check out the wheat crop. The paddocks are too small to even turn a Mallee Combine Harvester in, but the yields look pretty high, especially when you compare them to the Eyre Peninsula in SA where the wheat plants are sown about a foot apart. Italian wheat grows like lawn and makes damn good bread. A lot of maize on the flats as well.
The train system here is great. Our last couple of tickets have been on the slower, local trains rather the the high speed FerraReccia intercity trains. But even the slower trains will hit 150 kmh at times and cruise along solidly at 130. The trains are exceedingly comfortable and whisper quiet and there are a lot of them.
One last comment on Venice – the city has done itself proud in helping tourists find their way. Helpful signs like the one below do a great job of making sure you know exactly which direction to take and if you get in trouble there are always little shrines to assist lost tourists seek divine guidance.
