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Early to bed, early to rise, and off to Venice. As we left the mountains and got further into Italy, it was interesting to see the houses slowly morph from flower-boxed Bavarian ski lodges to stucco tile-roofed villas. Not long after leaving Cortina as we drove through one quiet rickety town, a skinny black cat crossed in front of us. Did I mention this was on Friday the 13th? Perhaps we should have taken that as a sign (read onward).
As we neared Venice I fully expected to get lost looking for the parking garage & finding the water taxis to the island, but we actually managed pretty flawlessly. Finding the actual hotel, however, was another matter. Venice’s crazy narrow twisting brick streets and tourist throng make it pretty easy to get clogged up & lost. We finally found the Hotel La Fenice et Des Artists quaintly tucked away on a quite street. When I made the reservations for this one, the rather pretentious name and some questionable reviews made me hesitate, but I was pleasantly surprised – yes everything was gilded, gaudy and funky, but in true Venetian style, and comfortable where it mattered. I wouldn’t have wanted a sterile Holiday Inn in a unique city like this. We tromped off down winding streets hung with brightly coloured laundry (I really do love the air-drying laundry thing that Italians are so big on) to see the many campos (city squares) the famous Piazza San Marco. San Marco lived up to it’s touristy and pigeon-y reputation, but stand in front of it’s mind-blowing Byzantine basilica – where St. Mark is buried - and all of that fades away as the absolute awe of the whole thing washes over you. I also have Venice to thank (a waiter mistaking “coffee” for “café”) for my new evil espresso addiction - that little 3 o’clock pick-me-up habit remains with me even now back in Canada. We picked a nice-looking place for alfresco dining on a quite street near our hotel, and after 1.5 hours of waiting for our dinner, got up & left. Ridiculous. I wish I could recall the name of that place so I could voodoo them all over the internet. We then wanted to cap off the night with a nice romantic starlit gondola ride through the canals, but could not find a single gondola stand that would provide a standard 40 minute ride for under $100 euro (the going rate per Frommers and other travel guides for night rides is $80 euro). Romance-schmomance. I really wanted to love Venice, but so many tourists and so many tacky shops and so much expense for such poor treatment made it hard. The steamy, surreal and somewhat sleazy atmosphere of the city is both enticing and exasperating, and only when we left it behind did I finally put my finger on what bothered me – being a virtual island on brick & stone, the place has no trees, no grass, and no open spaces. Still, for the beauty & history of the architecture alone I would recommend everyone see Venice once in their lifetime - but see it, enjoy it, don’t buy anything, and then bid arrivederci Venezia.
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