We flew from RDU in North Carolina on a Saturday to Venice via London on American and British Airways. We had a long layover in London due to a cancelled flight (originally scheduled to fly Alitalia), so we didn't get to Venice until almost sunset. It was just a fact of the times, as airlines were cutting their schedules and going bankrupt all over the place. We took the Alilaguna boat directly from the airport to our hotel near Piazza San Marco. It was easy to use, and within twenty minutes of landing we had gathered our luggage, received money from the ATM (after three tries with three different cards) and were on a boat. The ride in was beautiful, as the sun was near setting when we pulled into the Grand Canal. Along the way, we saw a good deal of the lagoon. A couple due to leave Italy the next day gave us a phone card they had never determined how to use. It is still unused because nothing we tried would make it work either. |
A Classic Italian Journey - 2001 Part 1: Venice |
The One-eyed Traveler |
Italy is a feast for the senses. The eyes dine on an almost overabundance of art treasures, beautifully designed and ultra historic architecture, stunning vistas, and some of Europe's most exciting people watching - think leather, sunglasses, cell phones, and motor scooters. The ears dance to the battling bands of Piazza San Marco, the lapping waves of the Grand Canal, the omnipresent zipping traffic of Rome, the sales pitches of Florence's leather hawkers, and the buzzing of tourists at Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. The nose absorbs the aromas of fresh pasta, pizza, fish at the Campo dei Fiori market, and even a little of the Venetian canals. The skin senses the smoothness of a well-made leather jacket slipped on in front of an insistent and hopeful vendor. The mouth takes in much of what the nose has already found delightful and adds a little wine and gelato (well maybe a lot) for good measure. Italy brings together sensuality and spirituality perhaps better than any other country in the world and does it with a flair that is bound to charm any visitor. It is a place that brings together an unsurpassed history and tradition with an intense love of life in the modern world. Not everyone appreciates the art of Florence, the hectic pace of Rome, or the crowds of Venice. For those, there are places like the Cinque Terre, Sorrento, the Tuscan country side, and Venice's lagoon islands. No matter your travel preferences, you are bound to find somewhere in Italy to call your own little slice of heaven. My love for Italy began long before I finally made it over in 2001. |
I had never simultaneously looked forward to and dreaded a trip before, but this time was different. We traveled to Italy just over a month past the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the United States. Over the course of the intervening weeks, the State Department issued a travel warning for Italy (the ex-Afghan king lived outside of Rome for one thing), new threats of terrorist activity were issued in the U.S., the military started bombing Afghanistan, and family members seemed to speak to me with a sense of impending disaster in their voices. The most important thing to consider was the two-year old we were leaving at home. My wife left the decision to me, which only added to the burden. I stepped back, took a realistic look at the odds, and decided to go anyway. Besides wanting to go to Italy so badly I could taste it, I felt I needed to make the trip or give in to my own dread. I wasn't about to give in. It didn't take long to recapture the excitement, but saying goodbye to our little girl at the airport terminal (she couldn't even come past the security checkpoint to see us off) left a lump in my throat. It was much like a rodeo champion taking a horrible plunge and then jumping right back on. This journey was a much needed reminder that the joys of travel are worth a little risk and that life does go on. |
We flew from RDU in North Carolina on a Saturday to Venice via London on American and British Airways. We had a long layover in London due to a cancelled flight (originally scheduled to fly Alitalia), so we didn't get to Venice until almost sunset. It was just a fact of the times, as airlines were cutting their schedules and going bankrupt all over the place. We took the Alilaguna boat directly from the airport to our hotel near Piazza San Marco. It was easy to use, and within twenty minutes of landing we had gathered our luggage, received money from the ATM (after three tries with three different cards) and were on a boat. The ride in was beautiful, as the sun was near setting when we pulled into the Grand Canal. Along the way, we saw a good deal of the lagoon. A couple due to leave Italy the next day gave us a phone card they had never determined how to use. It is still unused because nothing we tried would make it work either. |
Days 1 and 2: Arriving |
We stayed at the Albergo Doni, located on a small canal-bordered side street (Calle del Vin), less than five minutes from the famous piazza and about 100 meters off the Grand Canal. It was a good choice for a hotel but a great choice for a location. The hotel was very quiet and only about $70 a night. The bath was one floor up from our room, the shower was one floor down, and we never saw anyone else use either - hence, no waiting. A very small breakfast of rolls and jam, plus coffee or tomato juice was included in the price. The rolls were never sufficient, but we would use them each day to hold us until we could find more substantial fare. The bed (two doubles pulled together) was not far removed from sleeping on a rock, but we slept soundly due to being so tired from all the activities. The evening staff usually consisted of younger people who spoke good English. An older man generally worked the mornings, and he knew little English. I had learned some Italian, which did help, but he and I didn't always get our ideas across. After checking in, I was anxious to see some sights, but Gina spent the first hour trying to call home. Our Sprint card just simply would not work with the pay phones; it seemed to be blocked there. Finally, we returned to the hotel, and she managed to call with the phone at the desk. We walked across Piazza San Marco and tried to get in a better mood after our frustrating phone adventure. We had dinner outside at Ristorante Al Teatro, a spot right beside the old La Fenice Opera House, still under restoration from its fire a few years back. We really didn't want to spend much time searching for food after the long journey. I particularly liked the pasta with black cuttlefish, with a sauce based on the ink of course. It is a lot better than it sounds; just trust me. |
To my temporary horror, I realized I had forgotten to pack a washcloth. I had to make due with larger towels throughout the trip. If you like washcloths, it is always a good idea to take one or two along, since most European hotels don't have them. We walked around the piazza and canal area for photos and entered the Palazzo Ducale just before it opened at 9:00. We got in without waiting more than a minute. The art-laden palace offers a fascinating look at the workings of the old city. It is the former home of the Doges. The Doge was the top dog in old Venice, at times virtually a dictator. From the palace, also the former home of the city's other governing officials, we crossed the famous Bridge of Sighs to the separate prison built nearby. It is said that prisoners crossed from the courts to their cells, sighing as they took possibly their last look at the world outside through the small windows of the enclosed bridge. We never did have time to do the Secret Itinerary tour on this trip, as I had planned. This tour concentrates on areas of the palace not in the regular tour, and it includes a look at a torture chamber. The Secret Itinerary tour requires a reservation. We picked up a phone card at a tabacchi shop; these small tobacco shops also sell bus passes and other useful items. Buying an Italian phone card was the way to go. The calls were way less expensive than with our Sprint card. We called home to talk to our daughter and then walked toward the Accademia Bridge, stopping for pizzas on Campo Santo Stefano. The food was ok, but we much preferred the pizzas in Florence and Rome. Venice is chock-full of picturesque little squares and bridges. Santo Stefano is one of the larger squares. |
We proceeded to the Dorsoduro sestiere (one of the traditional neighborhoods or sestieri into which Venice is divided) for a walk up the Giudecca Canal side, stopped for our first of a zillion wonderful gelato snacks, and toured a few churches along the way. Gina is not a big ice cream eater but she was hooked from the start on gelato. She could never get enough of the limone or cioccolato. We spent nearly half an hour in the Frari church, which richly deserves its place as a must see in Venice. If you see one church other than the basilica, make it the Frari. It is huge and contains enough great art to make many museums jealous. The best way to view art in Venice is to step into all the places of worship and see the paintings and sculptures serving their original purpose. We continued through the narrow streets of San Polo and Santa Croce until we reached the train station. These areas were bustling with locals getting out of school and work for the day, and it was fun to be among mostly Italians for a change. We bought a couple of masks at little shops along the way for our daughter, as we had promised. She loved looking at the mask photos in the travel guides and wanted us to bring her one to put on her wall. We jumped aboard the Number One vaporetto, which stops at all the stations, for a nighttime view of the Grand Canal. It was as marvelous as you would imagine, with wonderfully lit old buildings lining the dark winding canal, which glistened here and there with reflected light. |
Day 4: Venice. |
We took an early walk over to the Rialto Bridge, which was great. There was nice light for photography at this hour at one of Venice's most photogenic spots. Boats plied the canal waters, and vendors unloaded produce for the market, as we strode up sidewalks of empty restaurant tables. We hopped on a traghetto (an old gondola used to cross the canal) and rode like locals, standing up. I got off balance a bit as I looked through the camera lens on the way across. I have a feeling the camera would have dissolved upon impact with the canal's waters. We picked up a few postcards to mail to our daughter and returned to the Basilica di San Marco by 9:45 when it opened. The wait was only about 15 minutes. The basilica was wonderful, and the crowds really were not bad at all. We were able to view the jewel-filled Pala d'Oro panel unobstructed and at leisure and wander around looking at the golden mosaic-covered interior without bumping into other visitors. No photography was allowed inside. Standing on the basilica's balcony was magical, watching the people on the square below, with music playing around us. I think that was the point when I really learned to appreciate the piazza's allure. Watch your arms though. I got pigeon poop on my elbow trying to prop on the railing for photos. Thank you for the wet wipe, Gina! |
We took the elevator to the top of the campanile for great views of the city. This is a must if you are a photographer. In some ways, the view from San Giorgio Maggiori is better (see below) because you can actually see the canals from it. Yet, this campanile puts you closer to the city's main areas of interest and provides a marvelous look at the multi-domed basilica roof. Next, we walked to the Accademia museum, stopping to buy train tickets to Florence at a travel agency along the way. It didn't take nearly as long as expected to see the museum (well under the two hours I had expected), but there is certainly a lot of great art there. I could have paced myself more if I had bothered to take a better look at the museum map. I thought it was larger than in reality and went through a little too quickly. I especially liked the large paintings portraying life in Venice. I was happy to leave the museum and hit the streets of the city. Strolling is the real way to experience this stunning city. We took a vaporetto to the train station and began a walk through the old Jewish ghetto and the sestiere of Cannaregio. This was our favorite part of Venice because there were very few other tourists, and the back streets were peaceful and un-crowded. For lunch, we stopped at a small canal-side bar for panini (sandwiches) and dined al fresco by the water. We visited a few churches along the way back to San Marco (including Madonna del Orto and I Gesuiti), ending at the Zanipolo (a.k.a. Santi Giovanni e Paolo). During our visit to this wonderful church set on a very atmospheric and busy square, we walked around alone as music played in the background. In front of the church, we admired the famous equestrian sculpture by Verrocchio. For our last evening, we decided not to venture too far for dinner and to dine at a place recommended on the Fodors travel site, but it was closed. We ended up at Da Raffaele (also recommended by several people on Fodors). The service was unusually friendly, and the food was excellent. I had fried calamari and scampi for the main course, and the portions were very large. We were consistently impressed by the portions in Italy, which were generally much larger than expected. Gina had mixed fried fish, but she wouldn't eat the one that was fried whole (and I do mean whole - guts and all). Mostly tourists were dining here, but it was good, and the setting on a small, gondola-lined canal made for a perfect final Venetian dinner. The price wasn't bad either for this expensive city. |
Day 3: Exploring Venice |
Day 5: Venice, Burano, Torcello |
With at least three days in Venice, I highly recommend a visit to the islands. We decided to visit Burano and Torcello in the morning. I would recommend morning versus afternoon if this was indeed a normal morning experience. We caught the big boat at San Zaccaria stop, very close to our hotel, and the trip took just over an hour. You can also go there from Fondamente Nuove in 40 minutes, which is the route we chose for the return trip. As we awaited the boat, a huge throng of school kids was pressed up against the gate waiting to board. When the gate opened, the kids all rushed, screaming, to the boat and up the steps to the top deck. Gina said I should have gotten in front of them to get a shot of the kids racing for the boat. I could only think of the possibilities with a wide-angle lens, but how could I have known? As we sat on deck, a gondola passed, carrying a pro photographer shooting a man and woman in black cloaks and gold masks. I zoomed in to photograph them, and they smiled and said "hi." Luckily, at one of the stops someone on the boat came back and asked if we were going to Burano. We did not know we had to switch over to a smaller boat at that point. |
Burano is a photographer's dream, its canals lined with brightly colored buildings and courtyards. Regulations require that the residents re-paint every year, and they must maintain the same color scheme. We were about the only non-locals around for the first hour or more. We roamed the streets, took a look at the church interior, and grabbed some breakfast at a small grocery. We watched the shop keepers setting up for tourists, locals buying produce at a market stand, and finally school kids coming out for a mid-day break. Without a lot of shopping (Burano is famous for lace), two to three hours is very adequate for a nice walk and visits to the church and a few shops. After a couple of hours, we took the 10-15 minute boat ride to neighboring Torcello. |
From Torcello's boat stop, we walked about 10 minutes to the beautiful and highly interesting cathedral. Torcello was one of the area's earliest settlements. The sights on the island are all right there, and there are only a few. Torcello has a very small population and few buildings as well. We climbed to the top of the cathedral tower for a great view of the island. I would give Torcello somewhere between one and two hours, not including lunch at one of the handful of restaurants located between the dock and the cathedral. We were there for just over an hour but had to run part way back to catch our boat. As I was racing back to meet the boat, some Italians motioned for us to slow down. I too prefer life at a less than breakneck speed, but hey we only had a few hours left in Venice and lots still to do; I wasn't about to miss that boat! |
Back in Venice, we bought a nice wooden Pinocchio puppet for our daughter as we walked back toward the hotel. We took the quick boat ride over to San Giorgio Maggiori and ascended the bell tower via clergy-operated elevator for a superb view (the best in Venice) of the Grand Canal and the whole layout of the city. The light was just right in the afternoon as the sun was shining back onto the San Marco area. We ended with a gelato on Piazza San Marco and caught the 82 vaporetto through the Giudecca Canal (a much longer ride than expected) to the train station. This ride provided a view of some of Venice's more unattractive industrial parts and gave a more complete view of the city's layout. I always have a feeling of sadness when I leave a place, and nowhere induced this feeling more than glorious Venice. |
This page was last updated on: November 21, 2002
Text and photos copyright 1984-2002 Dan Woodlief |
