Day 2
Monday, February 6th, 2017
The bed in the hotel room is not that great. Not much softer than the floor and the pillows are not much thicker than a newspaper - A daily newspaper not a super-massive weekend one! I managed to, er, borrow the one decorative pillow which is a bit puffier for the night otherwise my back would have been complaining…
The breakfast area was quite busy when we arrived but we were seated at a table right beside the tables where the buffet was laid out. The food is not great but I was not really expecting much, to be honest. I think this hotel's biggest selling feature is it's location right beside the Grand Canal. The best part in the overly decorative buffet other than the cured meat and slices of cheese is probably the bacon as I am sure it is fried pancetta - very thin and quite crispy. The rest of the food was dire: Orange squash (artificial, sweet orange drink) instead of orange juice, dinner rolls, a fruit salad with tinned fruit and discolouring apple slices, unseasoned scrambled eggs somewhat resembling soup, an assortment of non-Italian breakfast cereals…We could see we would not be doing too well on having an Italian breakfast here. On the plus side they brought out some San Pellegrino sparkling water bottles just before we headed out…An Italian drink to be sure so I was able to rinse out the flavour of the squash.
Looking out the front door of the hotel the weather looked dire - Grey and raining - but we were hear to see the city and we only have a few short days to do it so passing the depressed tourists in the lobby we headed out into whatever the day would bring. Outside of the hotel along the canal a number of private boats are berthed and just to the right is booth that looks closed where you can catch a Gondola.
A word about gondolas. Mel had this impression, likely from too many bad movies and stereotypical views of Venice, that Gondoliers sing as they punt you around the canals. Reading up on this before arriving it was clear that this is the stuff of movies and not of reality: Gondoliers do not sing as they are spending a lot of effort to propel you through the water. We learned that you can book an evening Gondola trip with musical accompaniment (at great expense) but this is the extent of it. Gondolas are all jet glossy black, long and crescent shaped. They generally have red plush padded interiors for the passengers and gold trimmings. The boat itself is actually not symmetrical to allow the gondolier to push on one side and have the boat go straight (if the boat was not curved the boat would always be trying to turn to the right). The gondolier stands at the back and uses a pole to move the boat through the often very narrow canals, occasionally pushing against the walls in order to move. Gondolas are hired by the half hour with fixed rates set by the city. It is a very romantic thing to do but with this rain I suspect we will not be experiencing a gondola this trip.
The canal outside of the hotel seems to be always busy both on the water but also along the walkways. The city vaporetti are always pulling into the train station opposite, water taxis go back and forth, the occasional tourist in a gondola goes by, delivery boats (DHL owns several, it seems)…It is all a rather slow paced and more civilised traffic jam. No one really seems to be all that fussed or in much of a hurry possibly due to the strictly enforced speed limit.
We turned to the right after leaving the hotel past the church, Burger King and Magnum shop then headed down an alley. Our day had begun.
I had in mind that we would spend the day walking through the city with the end goal of St Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco), seeing what we could see and wandering as our feet took us. Our hotel is almost at the far end of the city from the square so this walk would take in a large part of the city. This turned out to be a great way to experience the city for the first time.
The alleys are often narrow with barely enough room for two people to pass one another. There always seem to be people about which makes sense as this is the only way to get around and in some of the areas we passed through there were not even canals so the porters we occasionally see must have good work moving things around for the locals. The alleys are generally lined with houses (well, flats likely), shops and often churches. They are very clean but a uniform grey broken occasionally by a scrawled bit of graffiti or a tree poking from behind a wall.
There are signs on the corners of buildings with the names of the canals and alleys but, more importantly for us, the direction to take to get to the major sites such as San Marco and, initially for us, the Rialto bridge. The Rialto bridge is actually one of the few bridges across the Grand Canal in the middle of the city (the Academia bridge being the one other) so this was pretty much the only way on foot that we could cross to get to San Marco. We simply followed the “Per Rialto” or “Per S.Marco” signs whenever we spotted them to head in that general direction but otherwise we just took in our surroundings.
Everywhere you look is a picture. The buildings are all different and interesting looking. Often very old the pealing paint and plaster adds texture and interest to what you see. The often small canals that you stumble across are pretty with their milky grey and very clean water. The buildings are decorated with ornate railings and carved stone, nothing here seems too modern yet all around us are the signs of a city that is alive and lived in with people going about their business. The city is not a museum. The shuttered windows above the alleys often contain planters and it is not unusual to see laundry on lines between the buildings. Small numbered doorways line the narrow walkways.
Following the twisting alleys we eventually entered a large open, yet empty, square. In the middle of the space was an old well and this is common for the city - A well that served the buildings around it. These are no longer used but are a reminder of how this city was first built. We have learned the wells are built in such a way that the brackish water is filtered through layers of fine sand so that the water is fresh when drawn.
Along the side of the square a large building with tall tower drew our attention so we wandered around to the entrance beside a small canal both to have a look but also to get out of the continuing drizzle.
“San Giacomo dall'Orio” (Saint James of Orio) of the Santa Croce area of Venice is a small neighbourhood church founded in the 9th century but rebuilt in 1255 (thank you Wikipedia). We were charged a small entry fee but then allowed to wander around as we wished. We were allowed to use our cameras without a flash (this seemed to be quite common with other churches we visited) to take in our surroundings.
The ceiling is ornately decorated dark wood which means the interior is quite dark. The art in the alcoves and at the altar is absolutely incredible.
A dome above the altar particularly grabbed my attention with a wonderful trompe l'oeil effect of carved stone with magnificent paintings of religious figures.
A small room on the left with a low ceiling was lined with several long biblical murals that I spent several minutes taking in - mostly old testament. Though there were a few people wandering about the church was quite quiet and serene. Very peaceful with some wonderful art to look at.
Mel took a few minutes in the peace of the church to light a candle to remember her grandparents before we quietly slipped back out into the rain.
We had spotted a local corner “Coop” store so popped in to get some bottled water. The tiny rabbit-warren of an interior was bustling with locals stocking up. I love local supermarkets and shops as I enjoy seeing what is there. Here there were the predictable large variety of pastas though the assortment of wonderful looking fresh vegetables was quite good as well despite the time of year.
Off the side of the square I spotted an old-looking alley leading to a canal so decided to have a look. The silence of the alley was only broken by the sounds coming from a wood-working shop on one side that looked into as we passed. The alley dead ended at the corner of small canal lined with local boats accessed by narrow wooden planks along the side of the water or, in some cases, by simply mooring the boat under a larger window. Even here the still water was very clean and did not smell at all. The boats were all covered with tarpaulins to protect them from the elements though some seemed to have not been used in some time. To the right what looked like a former church looked out over the water with the top of an arched window being used by someone to store their kitchen supplies of dish detergent and other cleaners. What it must be like to live here it is difficult to imagine.
We left the square to continue our way to the Rialto Bridge.
As we drew closer to the Rialto the number of shops increased and moved away from food stores to handicrafts with a lot of the local “Murano” glass for sale as well as mask shops - The masks you would expect to see at carnival. Some of the mask shops were obviously very old with all surfaces of the interior covered with various styles of masks. Inside several you could see a craftsman hard at work at another creation. We were surprised at the prices of most of the masks - A lot less than you might expect though given many are made, I understand, from paper maché, though perhaps not - Often some simpler ones from as little as €4 or €5.
Just as we approached the Rialto we found the “marcato” or “market” area which is another thing the Rialto area is most known for. This most central Venetian market is known for it's seafood (“Mercato Del Pesce al Minuto”) as well as fruit and vegetables but at around about noon the seafood stalls were already gone for the day. The market is right on the Grand Canal just around the corner from the bridge. The main part of the covered market is open with carved pillars supporting the ceiling. Even here the place was spotless and did not at all smell of what was on sale here.
Walking through to the canal we enjoyed the view of the wooden posts sticking up out of the water that the boats are tied to. The buildings here are much more ornate than nearer to our hotel and the canal seems to be a bit wider. Most of them look to be hotels or museums but it is hard to tell.
To our right we could see there were some vegetable and fruit stalls still open so we had a bit of a look. All of the produce looked very fresh with some mushrooms and greens unfamiliar to me - Quite unusual looking.
Continuing along the water we rounded a corner to be presented with a view of the Rialto bridge. We were only a few meters away! The walk ended suddenly so we backtracked around to approach the bridge. The Rialto is located in a very nice shopping district of Venice. The buildings are all quite old with small shops on their ground floors. The bridge itself has shops on it as well, the wide stairs leading up and over lined left and right with small stalls selling the typical tourist souvenirs and crafts we have already seen.
You can also walk along the outside of the bridge to have a great view down the grand canal - if you can get past the hundreds of tourists trying to do the same.
Though there were a lot of people the bridge never felt crowded as it was open and spacious. It is a beautiful thing, elegant, gentle slopping approaches on either side with a rounded tunnel under with the frequent waterway traffic passing beneath. We walked briefly along the southwest bank of the canal for a short distance to get a better picture but were accosted by several nearly empty restaurants desperate for a bit of off-season trade. Of course here the draw is the view of the bridge so the prices reflected this…
We passed over the bridge past a Hard Rock Cafe shop (!) and into an area with more shops. Sadly many of these we recognised from back in London and other places around the world though there were a few names we did not recognise so are, hopefully, more local. Why would I want to visit a “Gap” in Venice? Entering a small square the imposing front facade of another church loomed over us. The steps leading to the main entrance were inviting so we went in to have a look and, again, to get out of the rain.
“San Salvador” church (church of the holy saviour) was first consecrated in 1177 with the present church having been built in 1508. The interior was striking compared to the dark and quiet church we had visited earlier, here the walls are a light grey with dark grey edges and rich red accent panels bringing the entire place alive.
The floor is a light geometric pattern of marble making the whole place seem far more formal. Mel found it a bit colder than the last church in terms of feeling and I tend to agree with her - It did not have intimacy we experienced in the other but this was quite an impressive place. There are sculptures and paintings everywhere with the eye drawn here there and everywhere not knowing where to look next.
Leaving the church we spotted the next signpost towards San Marco on a corner of an alley with a rather ornate lamp sticking out of the side of the wall - It seems to be held in the mouth by a long-necked dragon or something with the lamp composed of interlocking umbrellas of different colours. It is little things like this that really bring the city to life if you just stop and have a look around.
A brief distraction to take pictures (many in the case of Mel which, of course, I teased her about) of what I believe was a a small egret fishing in a side canal we continued our way along the narrow alleys heading in the correct general direction.
After some more alleys we finally entered into Piazzo San Marco from the north-east corner though at first we did not know it. We followed alongside a very ornate building on our left until we entered the square proper.
At this point there was no doubt of where we were. The building we had just passed was the 11th century “Basilica San Marco”, a large square Byzantine building on the north east corner of the square with stunning mosaic-decorated arches above the many doors topped off with a balcony and more mosaics along the elaborate roofline. Like something out of a fantasy novel.
In the middle of the “square” (not really a square, more like a rectangle with a leg jutting out to the canal) was the “Campanile”, a tall square slender tower topped with a pointy roof.
All along the outside of the rest of the square to the north, west and south is a 2 story building with a covered arcade on the square with numerous columns. When facing the Basilica if you look to the right you will see the more, comparatively, boring side facade of the “Plazzo Ducale” (Doge's Palace) leading down to the water of a massive canal. The square itself is paved with large stone slabs in a simple mosaic pattern and at the west end had set of (wet) wooden structures being set up for what looks like a celebration of some sort (possibly carnival which we believe starts next weekend).
Even in the light drizzle which now fell it was a stunning sight. All of the buildings are very ornate and interesting to look at with a dramatic mixture of styles - the simplicity of the arcade contrasting with the intricacy of the Baslica facade.
There are a large number of pigeons in the square that were crawling all over (literally) gullable tourists who were feeding them. There were several men that approached us selling seed but we brushed them away. Living in London we know all about the flying rats and had little desire to have them climb on our heads…though it has to be said that it does make a fun photo opportunity.
Elevated platforms where stacked up here and there in the space. Looking at them closer we realised these are the walkways that are used when the square floods with no seating signs on them. They are quite narrow so when these are in use it must be quite crowded and awkward but at least they are there to prevent visitors from having to slog through the water.
Getting out of the damp we walked in the arcade surrounding the square. The ceiling of the walkway had “fairy lights” dangling from the ceilings which must be very pretty at night.
There are a number of small little shops all along here selling everything you might expect for the single most popular destination for tourists in Venice - Souvenir shops selling Venetian glass, masks and other, more tacky, merchandise - Small cafes, restaurants and pastry shops - But there were also other businesses such as one selling collectables including stamps and coins, which interested me (being a collector myself).
Mel and I spent some time window shopping admiring some of the higher-end merchandise on offer before being drawn into a particularly nice Venetian glass shop. The range of glass on offer is quite amazing with both classical shapes and designs (paperweights, chandelliers) to more modern abstractions. The colours in the glass are amazing. I was drawn to some cufflinks but, as is the case for me, I could not choose any particular set to go with. Mel was a bit luckier choosing a set of earrings and matching pendant from behind a counter watched over by a quiet older lady. These are quite colourful and pretty though not the cheapest in the shop at €39 but we have always agreed though that if we find something we like we get it without worrying too much about it (in this case being on holiday this is more true that every day).
I have been on the lookout for a post office all day to see if I could pop in to pick up some stamps for my collection but the one we found just outside the western-most section of the square was closed. It was only 2:15 in the afternoon but there is the “siesta” time where many shops are closed between 12:30 and about 4:00 pm - in my experience post offices, as they are operated by the government, are never open that long anyway. In this side of the square is also “Museo Corner” an art museum but we were more intrigued by the police that are in noticeable attendance here, and all around the square, dressed in military fatigues and carrying big guns. Continuing along the southern edge of the arcade later we learned there was a police station here which explains it. I still feel a bit funny seeing guns like this though.
Mel had read through the guidebooks we had purchased for this trip and remembered that there was a café in the square she wanted to visit so we had a look for it: Café Florian billed as the oldest café in the world (established in 1720). A short time later we found it - A large restaurant/café with a number of tables outside under the arcade and out into the square. Inside there are a number of small rooms along the front that are ornate to the extreme: Paintings papering the walls and ceilings with plush dark red padded seating around the edges of the room with small marble pedestal tables on which to perch your drinks.
We were shown by a very sharply dressed waiter to a table right at the front window and proceeded to drool over the lavish menu. It was crammed full of wonderful delights of pastries and sweets as well as light bites including “high tea”-style sandwiches and small dishes. Of course there was also an impressive alcohol menu but Mel knew immediately what we were going to have, their signature hot chocolate. I feel I have to quote now directly from the menu:
La cioccolata in tazza è un imperdibile classico della tradizione Florian ed è considerata tra le più buone al mondo
Hot chocolate is a classic Florian’s tradition and famous to be one of the finest in the world
€ 10,50
I can say that this description is not over-exaggerating in the least. The drinks arrived on our table on a silver platter in a tall slender pitcher with two large cups and a couple of small wafer-like biscuits with all pottery embossed with the Florian logo. After putting down the platter the waiter proceeded to pour each of us a generous serving of the thick chocolate.
It was the thickest and richest we have ever had. Incredibly indulgent yet this was not the sweet of milk chocolate, this was something between that and a pure dark chocolate, quite a wonderful grown-up drink indeed. It was served with sugar packets as you really needed this to add a bit of sweetness otherwise it was quite strong and almost bitter.
Florian is a place to linger and so we sat back and relaxed. We had walked quite a lot today already so it was nice to sit in such elegant surroundings (perhaps more than a bit “over the top”, truth be told) and just chat for a few minutes. It was a place where we did not feel rushed and where the staff were polite and very respectful. We talked a bit with another tourist couple at the table beside us to whom we wholeheartedly recommended the chocolate but instead they opted for the coffee (their loss). Both of us took advantage of the stop and used the upstairs toilets which, as you might expect, were immaculate. I noticed that the café opened up at the back so had a look to find another set of small dining rooms but also a long glass case full of beautiful and tasty looking deserts. Passing by the front cashier there were a number of “Florian” branded souvenirs including their famous chocolate but also luxury items such as perfumes which the younger lady insisted on showing off to Mel.
After this break the rain had, by now, pretty much stopped so we continued our trip around the arcade passing by the “Campanile” (tower) then making a sharp right past the Doge's palace to the side of a massive canal.
No, this is not the grand canal - that comes out just to the right of the square - this is actually “Bacino di San Marco” (Saint Mark's Basin) where you famously see cruise ships go past on their way to the cruise port on the northwest edge of Venice. To our left was the front facade of the square Doge's palace with it's impressive columns. Directly across the wide expanse of water we could see the tower and dome of San Giorgio on the island of Guidecca then to the far right on the southern-most tip of the Dorsodouro area of the city we could see the flat angular surfaces of the “Punta della Dogana” (customs house) with the domes of “Santa Maria della Salute” (church) beside it. The canal is a full of activity with this side lined with the black gondolas as far the eye can see in either direction.
We decided to have a look at one of the other famous places here in Venice, the “Bridge of Sighs” which leads across a small canal into the eastern wall of the Doge's Palace.
The stone-cobbled path along the side of the canal is very wide and covered, mostly, with tourists. The first bridge we came to “Ponte della Paglia”, just after the Doge's Palace, was clogged with people taking pictures - The bridge of sighs. In some ways this was a bit of a disappointment as this is the closest you can get to it - You cannot touch it or cross it here. The short horizontal stone carved, covered, bridge is three floors above narrow side canal with gondolas frequently passing beneath. It does make quite a nice picture.
We continued to walk along the canal away from St. Mark's and the crowds noticeably thinned. With the weather not being great I am sure we are seeing a lot more than we would normally though here are there were still hawkers selling various souvenirs and snacks. We passed by several vaporetti stations along the edge of the water as well as over a couple of bridges that often, to help the flow of people, had long ramps set up to go up and over rather than having to use the stairs. The water here is still very clean and a wonderful milky green. We turned around after reaching a large and very ornate monument (“Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio” - The Victor Emmanuel II Monument) and headed back towards San Marco.
Back at the square we decided that since the weather had improved and it was not very busy we would head up the tower, the Campanile to have a see the city from above.
The bottom of the tower has an impressive “loggetta” covered with a number of sculptures. It is here where you pay a small entrance fee to enter a small lift (they don't let you take the stairs) to the top of the tower where below the bells there is a small viewing area. The view from up here is amazing and despite the dark and overcast day we were clearly able to see the Alps in the distance as well as all around the lagoon. The orange tile roofs are quite a site arranged in random patterns below us with the occasional tower or dome of a church sticking up. There are no tall buildings here other than the occasional tower - All of the buildings are only 3 or 4 stories eye and this was obvious from above with a clear line of sight in any direction.
The city is really quite small, it just seems a lot larger when you are trying to make your way through it in the small, winding, narrow alleys. We couldn't really see many of the smaller canals from up here as they are blocked by the buildings built up on either side - Even the grand canal was hidden from our view. We both spent our time snapping pictures in every direction including using my phone's “panorama” view but, to be sure, a picture will not really capture this amazing view so much of the time I tried to just gaze out and take it all in, not picking any one or two item out, just taking it in as a whole.
The viewing area in Campanile is surrounded by tall, slender columns with open spaces between them with a checker-board pattern of a grill preventing accidents. There are those paid “binoculars on pedestal” things here but, to be honest, the view was great without them. I was worried about the large bells above us that I can swear I had read would ring every hour but 4 pm came and went without any bells…perhaps it was somewhere else?
The light was failing as we returned down the lift to the square where the arcade was now lit up with the fairy lights we had seen earlier. It will be early evenings here for us I feel. We took a few more pictures of the square in the fading light before moving on.
On a bit of a roll we made our way to one of the other highlights Mel had noted and that is “Harry's Bar”. After walking out of San Marco we turned right and walked along the canal here past a small park. Thinking about it, we have not seen a any green parks that I can recall so this was a bit of a surprise. Mel led us along as we passed by a vaporetti station (San Macro Vallaresso) but I was feeling we might be a bit lost so I got out my phone and was just getting it to show me the way when Mel pointed at a window she had just passed on the canal front “Harry's Bar”. To be far, it was a small window…
Harry's Bar is a famous chain of small bars the world over with this one in Venice being the first and the one where, famously, Hemingway hung out. It was founded by an American financier by the name of Harry who thought there were very few “decent” bars in Venice so decided to open his own in what is an amazing location right on the grand canal. The narrow wooden door is just off of the side alley and once we entered it was like we had stepped back in time. The small rectangular room comprising the entire premises seems like a scene right out of a classic movie with wooden furniture cluttering the space throughout and pictures hanging from string along the short wainscoted walls. The bar is a small affair off to one side with room for only five bar stools around it.
We were shown to a table near one wall by a white-suited young man who promptly gave us the menu to review. It was not very long and we had decided long before arriving that we would be having their signature cocktail, the “Bellini” (€21) and I was pleased to find a non-alcoholic version (€13) was on offer. The drinks were very small and were given a small glass bowl of olives to wile away a bit of time here which we were more than happy to do, taking in the museum-like interior that surrounded us as we sipped and snacked. Just after 5 we felt more rested so we paid at the bar then had a quick look at a small display case of memorabilia beside the cashier before returning into the evening air. (See my complete review of Harry's here).
All day we had been walking around but now was, finally, a chance to take a boat on the famous Grand Canal. After going to the wrong station (there are two here at San Marco, each serving different routes) we found ourselves waiting for our first vaporetti. Walking along a narrow walkway leading onto the canal we used our electronic passes to touch our way through the gates to a rectangular waiting room with an opening on one side where you get onto the boat but marked off to allow people leaving the boat a clear path to exit. Above the windows were maps of the route served by this station that conveniently marked the direction the boat was travelling in…it would be a bit of a mistake to catch the boat going the wrong way.
The vaporetti arrived a short time later. The vaporetti are long narrow boats with an enclosed area at the rear with bench seating inside, an open area in the middle for getting on and off the boat (though people often linger here for the views it provides) and a small number of seats towards the front along the bow in front of the driver. A sign on the side of the boat had the route information on it, but, frankly, most of the time you just look for the number.
We opted to stand outside on the deck of the vaporetti for the trip to our hotel which took in pretty much the entire length of the Grand Canal. The view was amazing as we snapped picture after picture. The lights were just coming on in many of the buildings on the sides of the canal and the lights reflected off the water made it a very nice view indeed. The cloudy sky was also lit up with the lights of the dying sun. With this and the occasional gondolier going by made it a very magical trip. There were the occasional, faster moving, taxis going by typically with a bunch of Asian tourists crowding the deck taking pictures, but otherwise it was quite a quiet trip…
We disembarked from the vaporetti at the “Ferrovia” stop (outside the train station) then went off in search of something to eat. Other than breakfast, we had only had hot chocolate at Florian's and a Bellini at Harry's so it was probably good that we have something to eat (!). We could not really decide and were very tired so we ended up entering a bit of a tourist trap beside the bridge leading to our hotel: Caffé Ristorante Roma (see my review here for the gory details) which was ideally suited beside the canal (though it was too cool to be outside to enjoy this view) and served overpriced touristy “Italian” food. The interior was a bit spartan and the maitre'd was more concerned about bringing in other customers than the four or five of us inside waiting for attention. I chose the shrimp cocktail starter as I had heard that shrimps (prawns) were in season and these were quite good. For our mains I had Fettuccine Alfredo and Mel had Lasagna which were both a bit expensive (€15 each) but OK, just not at all spectacular. These were all dishes that originated in other areas of Italy, not Venice (we should have taken a hint from the name of the restaurant “Rome”) so it was something of a disappointment having paid €74.
It has been along day but one we both thoroughly enjoyed. Despite it being 8 pm in the evening both of us are just keen to relax and go to bed. We both have some ideas and now that we have seen how easy it is to get around (and how fun it is too!) we will likely have another great day…hoping that the rain holds off though.
⇒ Day 3