Gym's Ramblings: Verifying Venice

Our first introduction to Venice was inside the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. The "Sin City" model of Venice is cool but you can't smell the Adriatic there. The real Venice also contains a large number of slim people that speak Italian; as opposed to a large number of stout people that speak American. Gym and Mrs. Gym highly recommend a visit to the real thing, and if you go then do it off-season because the crowds that were there when we went weren't too bad. St. Mark's Square was only half full during our visit and we understand it is packed in the summer.

One of the best ways to visit Venice for the first time is by a smaller cruise ship. The main reason I say this is because you can cruise right up and park within walking distance of everything. It is also interesting to note though that if you arrive by cruise ship you have already gotten a taste of Venice as you traveled up the Adriatic. On our cruise, we stopped at three ports that were Venetian possessions when the city-state was at the height of its dominance in the eastern Mediterranean. At these stops in Corfu, Kotor and Split, we saw Venetian buildings and fortifications which foreshadowed what we were to see in Venice. If you just flew into Venice it wouldn't be the same.

An iconic Venetian water taxi like the one we toured Venice in - as Alan
Jackson wrote, "you can't beat the way an old wood boat rides".

As our time here was limited, we began our visit by getting off the ship and immediately boarding one of those wooden water taxis that you have seen in dozens of movies. It was raining lightly so we were happy that we could tour the canals comfortably, under cover of the fancy, roofed cabin. The largest and most ornate palaces line the wider of the hundreds of canals that criss-cross the city. We motored down almost the entire length of the Grande Canal in the taxi and ended up almost closing a giant loop on the boat ride. The boat ride ended at the Mercati di Rialto, the best outdoor market that Gym has ever seen. The kaleidoscope of colours, sounds and smells was intoxicating. As usual, Gym was fascinated with the seafood stalls. However, we didn't buy any octopus and instead settled on some dry pasta sauces because it seemed like a practical thing to do.

We then started a walking tour. We would cross the Grande Canal at the famous Ponte di Rialto and make our way through what is referred to as the "tourist maze", all the way to St. Mark's Square. The narrow and winding roads are paved with volcanic paving stones that retain a roughness as they become worn. This makes for good footing in a perpetually wet place. Almost every street is lined with the three and four storey Venetian houses, fronted by high-end boutiques, that are flanked by independent cafes and gelato shops. We spent a bit of time in a glass shop because Mrs. Gym insisted that that is what you had to do in Venice. Sure the glass stuff was nice but the thought of transporting the merchandise home allowed us to leave the shop with a full wallet.

When we got to St. Mark's Square we had to check out the Basilica. The outside of the church is so amazing that one is drawn into the line-up to enter and see if the interior is equally as grand, and it
is! The line-up moved quickly and yet there were some people that can't respect a orderly queue. Gym said a Hail Mary for the line crashers once he got inside. Especially impressive are the mosaics at the entrance and the intricate tiled floors. The ornate high domes which are arranged to form a cross were dark when we entered and I have since learned that the best viewing is at noon when all the lights are on. They only turn the lights on for an hour or so at midday and we must have just missed that. We left the Basilica knowing that we had only skimmed the surface.

After touring the Basilica we sauntered around St. Mark's Square, the Palazzo Ducale and then we had to hustle a fair distance down the Riva deli Schiavoni (the seaside promenade) to catch a ferry back to the cruise ship which we had left at the Venezia Terminal. It was a short tour but it was a good introduction to a must-see venue.

The trouble with traveling in the fall, in a temperate port, is that the days are shorter and that doesn't give you much time to visit. So as the Venetian adventure was ending we cruised out of the terminal and passed St. Mark's Square in the dark. We had a long way to go to the next port-of-call. We were not stopping until we reached Sicily. Because of the distance, we experienced a sea-day on our transit down the east coast of Italy which was a nice break.

A shot from the cruise ship as we slip past St. Mark's Square
looking for a parking spot

One of the 400+ bridges in Venice which connect the islands
separated by 200+ canals

The famous Grande Canal where the water taxi left us in Rialto.

Artist Lorenzo Quinn (son of Anthony Quinn, the actor)
unveiled this sculpture in 2017 to bring attention to
Climate Change vis-a-vis Venice

Gym's passion, market photography

The Rialto Market was outstanding

Just look at that seafood

Mrs. Gym bounding up the Ponti di Rialto

The entrance to St. Mark's Basilica

Unbelievable artwork adorns the exterior of the church but
honestly the interior is even more impressive. Unfortunately,
you are not allowed to take pictures inside.