I'm very excited to return to Venice on my own terms. No more
rushing from point A to point B which is what I did on my first two visits because I was on a group tour.
I intend to re-visit some of the main sights and explore a
few new ones!
I want this trip to also be about experiencing Venice!
And that includes sampling some great food, drinking some fine wine (or prosecco) and enjoying a
daily treat (or two) of some fabulous gelato!
Shannon from SlowTravel highly recommended seeing Venice at night (as something unique to experience) in addition
to the many other interesting things to see and do there. Here is an excellent magazine article that she wrote on
Venice (page 42):
I like the idea of seeing Venice .
. .when all the crowds are gone, when shop owners have closed for the day, when
most bars and restaurants have served their last meals and drinks for the night, when the hustle and bustle of day trippers
have all but dissipated and there is nothing left but the stillness and quiet beauty of Venice!
I can literally visualize myself walking late at night in the quiet calm
of the small calles or into the enormous emptiness of St. Marks Square.
I also read trip
reports of people getting up in the early morning hours before Venice
has had a chance to wake up.They describe their unique experience of being in
the middle of St. Marks Square with no one around
(not even those yucky pigeons).Unlike last year, I plan to bring along
my running gear and go for runs and walks each morning.After all, I’ll
have to burn off all that great food, wine and gelato somehow. I think it would be so AWESOME to stand at the edge of
St. Marks Square with not a sole around and to
slowly watch the start of a brand new day in Venice come alive.
How cool is that!
Heck, even writing this entry is getting
me pretty excited! So how many months is it before my trip again!
GETTING LOST IN VENICE: Explore, Wonder & Discover!
Venice is a city filled with small and narrow calles (streets) and surrounded by century
old buildings. There are beautiful canals that winds through her like poetry in motion.
I've read that Venice is one of the few places in the world where getting lost is
actually something positive. She calls out and entices you to wonder through her. You are convinced that
doing so will be a good time for exploration and adventure. You forget about the fact that once you are
lost, there are no taxi's to call to take you back to your hotel or apartment. You must rely upon your own instincts
and navigation skills to find your way back or upon the kindness of the local residents to guide you back.
This intrigues me! On this trip, for the first time ever, I will actually schedule some
time to get myself lost in one of the only places where it would actually be okay to do so. Beautiful Venice!
I can only wonder what I will discover!
A CUP OF MEMORIES!
When visiting Venice two years ago, a few of us from our tour group decided
to sit at an outdoor café in St. Mark's Square
and order a cup of cappuccino.We sat for about an hour, slowly sipping our
drinks while listening to classical music being played nearby. We relished in the magnificence of being in
Venice!It was
so AWESOME!
The sun was shining and we were all smiling and giggling like
a bunch of school kids!We knew very well that the price tag for that very tiny
cup of coffee we ordered was going to be substantial, but it really didn’t matter to any of us because we were experiencing
something that we would treasure for the rest of our lives!
So tell me . . . what
is the price tag on a cup of memories?There is none, it’s PRICELESS! Okay, okay . . . it was $20 EUR. It was SO worth it though!
Now for my trip
this fall I will have to admit the unspeakable!I don’t really care much
for Italian Coffee!Oh no, now I’ve done it.Blasphemy! Well, I can’t help what I like and what I
don’t like! I'm sure that I'm not the only one in this universe
that dislikes coffee in Italy! Or am I?
Oh well, I have no explanation for my lack of taste in coffee, but I do know that I still intend to
sit in St. Mark's Square for my "Cup of Memories".It’ll
just be in the form of a glass (or two) of Prosecco, Spritz or fine wine! WOO HOO!
Caffe Florian (on the right as you face the church), Caffe
Quadri (opposite the Florian), Caffe Lavena (near the clock tower) and
Grand Caffe Chioggia (on the Piazzetta facing the Doge's Palace)
THE SOUNDS OF VENICE!
I just found another great YouTube Video of Venice. As
you all know I am a total music freak and initially I wasn't interested in watching this video, because it had no
really cool music playing in the background.
But the silence really worked for this video. Instead
of Andrea Bocelli singing "Con Te Partiro" in the background, you are treated to the sounds of life in Venice
. . .
. . . . the always charming chatter of the Italian language
being spoken, the vaparetto engines chugging along the canals, the pounding of shoes hitting against the cobblestone
streets, water splashing up and down and against the pavements, a jogger running past you, doors opening and closing, church
bells ringing in a quiet street corner, the local fish market buzzing with activity and the quiet stillness of Venice
slowly waking up before the hoards of tourists are thrust upon her . . .
"EXCURSION TO BURANO & TORCELLO"
I've been doing some reading on SlowTravel
and I learned of two Islands near Venice that I can visit for a day. I think I'll visit the
Islands of Burano (known for their handmade lace and linens) and Torcello (which is where Hemmingway apparently wrote one
of his novels). Other than these two islands I will be concentrating the rest of my time exploring beautiful
Venezia!
I'm not sure yet but I think I have to take a Vaparetto from the
Fundamente Nove stop.
TO BURANO: Board the LN (Lagoon North)
boat at Fondamenta Nove in Venice or the Faro stop on Murano. From Faro, it's a 33-minute trip to Burano.
TO TORCELLO: From the ACTV pier on Buran, take the T boat to Torcello. The large vaporetto-style boat runs twice
an hour and takes only five minutes to cross the narrow strip of water between the islands.
HOW TO GET BACK:
FROM TORCELLO: From Torcello, I'll take the T
vaporetto back to the Actv pier on Burano.
FROM BURANO: I will take the
LN back to Fondamenta Nove in Venice. (This is the boat I arrived on, headed in the reverse direction.
I can stay on the boat when it reaches Murano).
Maybe if time permits I can visit Murano or maybe skip it or see it another day.
I think this will be decided once I am there. I may spend a lot of time on Burano and Torcello and not have the time
to stop on Murano. We'll see how it goes!
THINGS
TO SEE PRIORITY LIST
According to my resources there are literally hundreds
of things to see and do in Venice. It has been very difficult to pick only a few of them for this trip.
As I did last year, I'll review my options each
morning and plan out my days as I go along. I really find that I am more relaxed on my trips when I don't create a set schedule.
Although I'm still continuing to reserach and learn as much as I can about Venice, here
is a list of at least 10 things that I want to see and do the most. I also decided to
list a few additional things to see and do.
For the first time I will be staying in an apartment versus a hotel.
I'm a little nervous because I won't have the extra help that a Hotel staff would provide me. This puts more responsibility
on me to do my research so I won't feel completely lost.
My apartment is located in the heart of the Dorsoduro district, just two minutes walk from
the Accademia Bridge. It looks like a beautiful spacious apartment and I can't wait to experience staying in a place
other than a hotel!
I'm sure that it will give me that "neighborhood" feel, which is what I want to have. I
think it will be so cool to live (at least temporaily) amongst the locals and hopefully not in the touristy section.
TRANSPORTATION:
ARRIVAL:
After a lot of research, I've decided to take the ATVO (blue) express
bus from the airport (which I can find near the arrivals terminal.
The cost will be $3 euros and it will take me to the Piazzale
Roma in around 20 minutes.Then from there, I hop on the Vaporetto # 1 (towards the Lido). Here's a map of Piazzale Roma so I know where to catch the Vaporetto #1: Edited
7/10/07 - After more research I think I will take the #82 Vaporetto because I have read that it is
quicker than #1.
This are the directions the apartment owner gave
to me.I need to exit at Rialto then follow the rest of her directions to my apartment!Whew!And this is just for my arrival folks!
GETTING AROUND IN VENICE:
Since I plan
to rely upon my “foot mobile” most of the time during my stay I will just invest in the 3-Day Vaporetto pass.During this time, I’ll do all my Vaporetto related sightseeing which includes
visiting the islands of Burano and Torcello.
I also want to experience riding it in the early
evening. I simply must see the sunset at least once while cruising down the Grand Canal in Venice. Very Cool!
So where (and when)
do I purchase my 3-day pass? Maybe at PR (short for Piazzale Roma). I want to get
it for the middle 3 days during my stay. I think I need at least one day to acclimate myself before doing my trip to
Burano/Torcello). And I may just want to walk the rest of my time there.
VAPORRETA INFORMATION: Here
is a great website to familiarize myself with the Vaporreta lines. It has a good map to help me visualize the route
and directions that it takes.
