Venice

I finally made it to Venice on the 30th.
I've been there once before though only for 24 hrs and in the midst of a downpour.
This time was for fun.
The first piece of advice I have is to bring lots of cash.
The trip from the airport to the city is going to cost you.
On the way in I took a taxi to the main square then a water taxi to the hotel.
130 euros all in.
Going back to the airport I took a water taxi all the way.
110 euros.
The population in Venice has halved in the past 15 years from 110,000 to 59,000.
With so few people living there, tourists outnumber residents.
The number of hotel rooms and bed and breakfast places has trebled.
Apparently 24 million tourists descend on the city every year concentrated primarily in the summer months. I find that hard to believe.
Venice just doesn't have the infrastructure to absorb the population of Australia every summer.
The smell and crowds must be tough to bear.
From my experience winter is the time to go.
Smaller crowds give a decent feel for the place, and prices I assume are a little more reasonable (though still pretty steep.)

Yes I did the Gondola thing.

2 people , 45 minutes=100 euros.
In some places its a flotilla of Japanese/Chinese gridlock.

Clearly a new destination for Asia.

I can only imagine the nautical traffic jams in August.

My advice is to venture away from the obvious staging points and engage a singular boat off one of the smaller bridges. You'll start off in peace and for a while at least enjoy a measure of solitude. The guy we had gave a fairly credible commentary and was friendly.

I always feel there's a sting in the tail in situations like this: a mercenary surcharge lurking at the end turning smiles into awkward grimaces.

No such thing happened.

Maybe I'm getting too jaded for my own good.

There are 181 bridges connecting a city of 117 small islands.

In its time Venice was the center of global trade, the staging post for crusades and the cross roads of commerce between Europe and Asia.

At its peak it was the richest city in the world; the magnificent marble palaces and churches (many dating to the 15th and 16th centuries) stand in testimony.

Marco Polo and Casanova both count as famous residents, and though I saw and snapped pictures of houses for both, I'm afraid I can't tell which pictures (of the 300 odd I took) belong to who.

Nice one T.

I'm prone to being a little crooked when I take pictures and have to straighten them out afterwards. The one above is a faithful representation. The sinking city has produced a Venetian version of the tower in Pisa. The city is a warren of bridges and towers perched on islands between the canals. A perfect romantic setting to get engaged...which I did.

I wonder how many people will notice that line?

Most of you just look at the pictures!

That's it for today.

I'm in Ann Arbor for all of 48 hours and am off to San Diego tomorrow afternoon.

Then its back to Europe, the Middle East and home at the end of January.....Brazil in early February!

Starting the year much like the last.

Love to all and stay well.

Happy 2011!!!

T