A Woman's Reflection on Travel: Venice, Italy July 5, 2015

Venice, Italy July 5, 2015

To be perfectly honest, I have been to Venice a couple of times before and have been to St. Mark's Basilica both of those times and wasn't totally impressed that there is much more to see in Venice but this time I was proven wrong. First of all, I took a tour by boat this time and second of all, I stayed at a bed and breakfast.

As soon as I made my reservation I started to wonder if it
was a good idea to stay at a B&B in an unfamiliar city, let alone country but boy, was I proven wrong. There are only 57,000 residents in Venice now and 20,000,000 tourists a year. So, how do you see a new Venice? Go and experience, what few tourists do?

I was leaving on my cruise from Venice so I left Paris, spent a few days in Milan, then traveled on to Venice where I would meet my cruise ship. Upon arriving by train I missed my stop. I was supposed to get off at the prior stop but I hesitated, the doors locked, and I was on my way to the Port Lucia stop before I knew it. I thought I had to get back to the former stop but when I got to Port Lucia I realized that this is where the locals live so, staying at a B&B, I probably would be closer to my destination - and I was!

When I got here I asked how to get around. I was told, the water bus. That was a learning experience! There is a company called Actv which runs a water bus which is like the Metro on water. There are lines and you find which line you want to travel on and wait for your boat and hop on. The alternative is a water taxi which can cost you somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 euros to go a short distance. The water bus costs 20 euros for a 24 hour pass. So, here we go!

First of all, once I was on the water bus, I actually got to take in just how beautiful Venice is when you are out on the water. Venice is magnificent! It's breathtaking! I need more words to describe it's beauty. But definitely the way to see this city is by boat! And, fortunately I have a boat tour lined up for this afternoon!

I got off at my bus stop "Ca' Doro" and made arrangements with Mattias to meet me at the McDonald's nearby and we walked down the walkways to his B&B. By the way, he calls it a "Guest House". Love it!

Mattias has been the owner of the charming

Ponte Chiodo, the B&B where I stayed, for over 10 years. This is the street side entrance, called the back door. You can reach anywhere in town by land.

This is called the front door as it faces the waterway.

This is the garden that you walk through upon entering the property.

It is charmingly furnished in traditional Italian décor. It is beautiful and peaceful. It is away from the tourist areas.

Take a look at this room - and the view! And air conditioning!!! (Did I mention my apartment in Paris does not have air conditioning? The locals don't have it. It is just for hotels and tourists)

This is a walkway near the B&B

Anyway, after getting my room and my bearings, Mattias was very helpful in showing me on a map, the off the beaten paths, places to see and where the locals eat and hang out.

I hadn't eaten lunch yet, so when I spotted a Italian seafood restaurant near my B&B I decided to check it out. They had a dish with lobster, shrimp & squash with linguini and that sounded good so I tried that. Being Sunday, the locals part of town was pretty quiet this time of day. I ate "al fresco" on the patio under the grape leaves arbor.

After lunch I went for a walk. Mattias gave me a good map and directions but I got lost anyway.

There were lots of winding streets and tourist shops, pasta, leather, gelato, (I loved the chocolate gelato!),

and the masks. I wondered what all the masks were about. They were beautiful and some of them were very ornate. It is the Italian version of Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras. It is a very big event here in Venice.

I tried to use my GPS to get me to the boat trip office but the GPS kept saying 7 minutes to destination, then 9 minutes. When I backtracked the GPS said 7 minutes and surprise, I was standing right in front of the boat tour office!

I was a little early so I went into a patisserie nearby and got a limone soda and bottle of water.

Then I sat on the steps of a nearby church waiting for my tour guide and got to visiting with 3 Filipino ladies. One lived in London and was coming down to Venice to run a bed and breakfast for her boss and the other two were on holiday. It seems like it is very easy to strike up conversations with strangers when traveling. We all have a common interest, wanting to see the world! Then my tour guide arrived.

Massimo ("Max") Tessari was my guide. We went on an adventure together.

There are common sights such as the Santa Maria della Salute church

The Rialto Bridge

Santa Maria Formosa

and the Grande Canal

But the things I didn't know was the fact that

Venice used to be a marsh

and they built stilts by pushing long wooden poles into the marsh until it hit solid ground. They did this as a square framework and built up from there. Some of the areas of Venice, that look like they are on solid ground, are actually built over water, not solid ground. Also, I thought Venice was sinking and I was worried about it because I have seen St. Mark's Basilica during a time when there was water on the ground in that area. Actually, as we were riding around, I saw that the water level was low by the lines on the side of buildings where the water level used to be. Max told me that during high tide, which is during, I believe, November and December, the water level is much higher. Well, during summer it is low tide, and the water level is much lower.

Also, it was fascinating to me to see "street lights" in the water!!! Way out there! But it was to light the waterways for boats to travel. Max said that was quite a feat laying pipe to connect the electricity to the water "street lights".

Also, I learned about the drinking water. All around town you see these small watering faucets. I saw many people go to the faucets and fill up their water bottles. Max says that the city water is very good. There was a time when it wasn't but now it is and again, there are these beautiful "faucets" if you will, where you can drink or fill up water bottles.

Max told me that to rent a slip in Venice, for a small boat, was about 100 euros a month that you paid to the city.

He told me that the rich would strongly support a neighborhood church close to their house. That is how the churches got most of their money.

Also, some rich people would leave their property to a benefactor. Such a benefactor received a mansion that was later turned into a hospital. See the emergency vehicle boats

The sign on the side of the building reads

"Campo De Gheto Novo"

which means the new ghetto.

Another very fascinating thing that I experienced in Venice was the Jewish Gheto. In Italian they called it the "Campo De Gheto Novo" meaning the new gheto. But it actually was their old gheto. And, in Italian, gheto meant a "foundry" so a factory kind of thing.

This island, where the Jewish gheto was, was not in use at the time and the Jews who were immigrating, needed a place to live so the Venetians gave this island to the Jews. At this time the Roman Catholic Church was ruling Italy and the Church did not like the fact that the Venetians were allowing another religion into the state.

Also, at that time, Venice was mostly made up of 2 story buildings. There were a lot of Jews and not much space so they built up. Some of the buildings here were 5 and 6 stories tall. You can see from this picture, that the 2nd story was not very tall. In fact, some men couldn't stand up in the 2nd story of this building.

There is a monument to the holocaust there which is a bronze plaque placed in the wall of the main square,

and you can see, in the background, the top of a synagogue. I believe Max said that worship services were held on upper floors.

I had an absolutely wonderful, magical tour of Venice with Max. I am so glad that I did a boat tour of Venice.

On Monday, July 6th, my cruise didn't start until 5 pm so I had time to look around more. I walked the back streets that Mattias told me about. I got an image of Venice that I will long remember.