“There’s something profoundly satisfying about knowing the high-school version of yourself would be jealous of your current life.” – Old Sean
Amongst the Canals
After enjoying life and Italy as much as possible, I headed East, visiting Venice in its lagoon in the Adriatic Sea.
My method for visiting Venice involved and overnight bus leaving Rome with a stop in Florence, reaching the magical canal city on the cusp of dawn.
I started my explorations at five in the morning and immediately learned that Venice is a not a city to attempt without a map.
The city’s main enormous feature, the Grand Canal, loops unexpectedly with thousands of smaller waterways making footpaths the most confusing and counter-intuitive bramble I’ve ever had to trek through.
I absolutely loved it.
I adored the winged lions, the water-reflected light on rough, weathered walls, the cobbled walkways, the dusty, cracked bricks and the refreshing water pumps. And I loved the whistling trash/ferry-men who cleaned up the city using carts that moved like a combination of wheelbarrows and rocking horses to bump over low bridge steps. I loved the endless window shopping for intricate masks, the blasts of color brought on by glass trinkets and the slap of canal water when anything faster than a gondola cruised past.
There are many opinions regarding Venice, but in that lonely morning while exploring the city, my approval was cemented.
Visiting Venice Proper
In Venice proper (the main city-island), my favorite sight was Acqua Alta Library. This is a book store home to a few carefully-stepping cats and many, many ruined books. The old bookshop, perched on the very edge of a canal, has dealt with periodic flooding over the decades, resulting in the use of bathtubs as a storage units for texts.
I can’t read a word of Italian, but I probably spent longer in here than anywhere else in Venice. Between the canals, the shady reading tables, the walls of intact books and the equally impressive walls of ruined books, I felt at peace.
The rest of my day consisted of a bit more wandering.
I made sure to get a view from every major bridge spanning the Grand Canal. There aren’t any photos that due the Grand Canal justice, especially in the glittering gold of early morning.
Later on, I made sure to pass Saint Mark’s Basilica, Doge’s Palace, Piazza San Marco and a couple of gondola loading zones. All are stupendous, but most of the impressive features are inside. The buildings weren’t opening during my initial walk-by, so I had to visit again later.
Impressions of Venice
Venice is a unique tapestry of smells, the moisture in the air emphasizing them strongly. Some of the scents are delicious (coffee, fresh bread and pastries), some exotic (fish dishes and dusty canal-parks) and some terrible (brackish water pockets), but all lounge on lurking corners to briefly ambush walkers.
The odd thing about Venice isn’t that it’s small, but rather, dense.
A lot of the more tourist oriented stuff can be visited fairly quickly on the island. It’s all centered around a few places, usually boardering the Grand Canal. The San Marco Neighborhood, also known as the Tourist District, hosts the Bridge of Sighs, St. Mark’s Square, Grassi Palace, Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, and the Museo di Palazzo Grimani.
San Polo is the other easily-accessible major district, with features such as the Basilica S.Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Campo San Tomà, Scuola Grande di San Rocco and the Leonardo da Vinci Museum Venice. San Polo also hosted most of the restaurants I enjoyed.
Both of these neighborhoods could be walked to in just half an hour or so. Provided one doesn’t get lost, which happened to me frequently.
Once a person gets away from these two districts, Venice suddenly becomes quiet, serene and beautiful. The network of streets and canals becomes much emptier. I only passed a few local individuals each hour.
Around noon, I enjoyed a few meals and a couple of gelato samples before I decided it was time to explore beyond Venice.
Lido Around Venice
The ferry service out of Venice costs a pretty penny, but one can attend all the outlying islands for about 20 euros for a day by using the freeform transport all-day pass. In other cases, guests may prefer to pay 30 euros for two days.
During my first day, I forked over a handful of Euros and made my way to Lido for beach-faring purposes.
The public beach is an absolute hodgepodge of crowds and people, but further south along the coast is relatively private and I enjoyed my wading stroll immensely.
Most of Lido feels like a relaxed seaside resort, long streets in the island’s center providing easy access to the nearby shore with just a couple of turns. I didn’t explore the northern part of the island, but I made it to the quiet dunes in the southernmost point. Spiaggia degli Alberoni was full of wild grasses, soft-sand dunes and access to the low Alberoni Lighthouse.
Onward to Murano Island
The next island wanted to visit was Murano Island, famed for glass-blowing and delicate, transparent artworks.
This proved to be an extremely cool visit. I got to witness glassblowing techniques and visit old, historical glass-crafting shops. The Murano Lighthouse is worth a glance while taking the ferry in and the canals of the area are much quieter than those in Venice. The Original Murano Glass OMG Factory & Showroom was splendid and the Basilica dei Santi Maria e Donato was home to impressive mosaic floors and alleged dragon bones.
I also got to see a strange piece of artwork in front of the Torre dell’Orologio called Cometa di Vitrio or The Blue Glass Comet of Murano. The spikey outdoor fully-glass artwork is worthy of a glance or three.
For the rest of my time on the island, I stepped into several shops filled with exquisite, color-blooming glasswork creations.
Despite the beauty of Murano, I felt a vague tugging unease the entire time.
I’m not exactly a clumsy man, but I’m also not the guy you call out to the dance floor for my light-footed grace. I kept my backpack hugged across my stomach to prevent any rotating smashing sessions and let loose tiny, pent-up breaths of air whenever I exited one of those beautiful little stores.
Bulls get nervous in china shops for a good reason.
The Mad Houses of Burano
I hopped on the ferry one last time, passing by islands that a few hours of heavy rain would probably submerge. These small islets were complete with lower brick ruins supporting exploratory flora on crumbling walls.
My last major destination was the Mad Coloured Houses of Burano.
To be frank, I can’t describe the setting much more than their title does. Splashes of bright pastel walls contrasted pleasantly in the context of their neighbors.
An Italian man spent a fair amount of time trying to relay something about being comrades, utterly convinced I was a touring Russian.
While wandering Burano, I crossed the Tre Ponti, a triple linked bridge over the central canal. I photographed many colorful buildings with sustained joy. I stopped to check out the somewhat strange Lace Museum in the center of the island. And finally, I kept myself even happier with several snack stops.
To be frank, Burano is it’s own excellent attraction. Just walking around narrow canals and bright houses is its own joy.
A Venetian Departure
As the day wound down, I headed back to Venice and watched the sun set over the Grand Canal. The last hours of my day were spent enjoying a robust pasta meal, listening to the shouts of gondola navigators.
After nearly 14 straight hours of visiting Venice and her surrounding islands, I boarded a bus. Staying on the island portion Venice overnight is startlingly expensive, so I’m heading back to the Mestre-Carpenedo metropolitan neighborhood.
I’ve found a truly splendid little hostel called the Anda Hostel on the mainland. It’s turned out to be a godsend for visiting Venice, requiring only 1.5 Euros and the number 2 bus to re-enter the island.
I spent the early part of my evening flirting shamelessly with a young Portuguese-English lass at the hostel. The latter half of my night involved relaying tourism directions to a young lady from Czech heading into Venice tomorrow.
For myself, my time visiting Venice is done. I’m heading to Austria next.
I know I’m going to miss Italy and the fresh breezes of the coast enormously, but the Austrian mountains seem like a fine change.
So until then,
Best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written August 20th 2018
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Ten years ago, I abandoned my military surplus store backpack for a Farpoint 40 Osprey Travel Pack. I’ve never replaced my bag since. Two years ago, I bought two more Osprey Backpacks for my younger siblings on their first tour outside the country. I have nothing but praise for Osprey Products.
