November 1, 2010: Venice Day 1 (Grand Canal, Rialto Bridge, San Marco)

November 1, 2010: After a long and relatively sleepless night on the bus, we arrived in the Venice Bus Terminal which is located just next to where the Grand Canal begins its way to the tip of the Venetian islands. Dismounting the bus at 6:00 a.m. in the dark, we walked through a slight sprinkle which at times became heavy enough to drench my jacket. Our first task was to find an ATM machine since none of us had any euros. Fortunately we found an ATM just near the entrance to the dock where the boat transports people along the Grand Canal. We purchased our tickets and I bought a map of Venice. We boarded the boat and off we went, Jack and Deb to their hotel a short way from the Rialto Bridge, and Ric and I to our B&B a short way from the Academia. The trip took us by a number of interesting sites on the Grand Canal, although they were seen through the rain of the morning. Note the armchair which was in front of a museum of modern art.

Rialto Bridge, Venice as seen from boat

Venice as seen from boat on Grand Canal

Art Museum as seen from boat on Grand Canal

View of Santa Maria della Salute taken from Academy Bridge

Still dark, we dismounted the boat at the Academy Bridge, roamed the pathways there, and easily found our B&B which was still closed for the night. At 7:00 a.m. we noticed a young woman starting to set things up inside the restaurant that was part of our B&B. Since Ric had to use the restroom, we knocked on the window to get her attention. She acknowledged us by waving her arms in a "go away" type motion indicating that the restaurant didn't open until 8:30. Ric argued that we were guests of the B&B but the woman continued to motion us away. A young man came to set up things outside the restaurant since most restaurants have eating areas outside them under umbrellas where customers eat and people watch as they dine. Ric told the young man that he needed to use the restroom and the man motioned for Ric to enter the restaurant to do so, but the young lady went ballistic screaming at Ric and at the young man for allowing him to come into the restaurant before opening time. Ric joined the confrontation and this became our introduction to Italy. I certainly don't want to declare that all Italians are so combative, but this was no way to start our vacation. After Ric used the restroom, we patiently waited outside until 8:00 when the B&B opened. In the meantime, it was very interesting to see the trash men pushing their carts through the plaza and alleys picking up black plastic bags of trash on their way to the boats that would transport the trash to the mainland. The trash people looked to be in their twenties or thirties and they would talk with each other as they passed in the alleys. The tone of their talk seemed to be very businesslike and not at all the banter I'm used to hearing in Hungary where people joke as they pass. But then again, it could be that the Italian language sounds more serious than Hungarian.

8:00 finally came and Ric and I buzzed the manager of the B&B and were told to leave our bags in the foyer and that they would take care of them for us until our room was ready later in the morning. 

Room at B&B - note flocked wallpaper

We did so and trotted off to meet Jack and Deb whom we planned to meet at the Campanile at San Marco square. Finding our way in Venice proved to be a real challenge since the alleys in Venice are dependent on where the buildings were built hundreds of years ago and they are not organized based on a rectangular system (as New York) or the radial system (as Budapest). To add to the challenge we had to navigate over the canals where there were occasional bridges joining an alley on one side to the other side of a canal. My map sure came in handy for this trip! Fortunately I seem to have a gift in finding my way about and served as the guide for the remainder of our trip. 

Canal between our B&B and Jack & Deb's hotel

After meeting Jack and Deb, we immediately looked for a coffeehouse where we could get a croissant and coffee. The place we chose was already extremely busy and the attendant was very efficient producing cappuccino and espresso for his many customers. He served us quickly but still had time to pose for a picture with one of his regular customers. It was great to see him transform himself from determined, no nonsense coffeehouse tender to approachable Italian for us.

Coffee Stall in Venice

Coffee Master with one of his regular customers

Unlike Ric and I who had visited Venice years ago (me in 1973), this was Deb and Jack's first visit and despite the weather, Deb was in heaven -- Venice had been at the top of her list of places to go for 15 years and here she was in the city of her dreams. She came with us prepared to let us all know what there was to see. So, we first traipsed back to where Ric and my B&B was to explore the Academy area of Venice. We decided to visit the Ca Rezzorica, an old castle that had been restored architecturally and was furnished the way it was when it was built between 1667 and 1758. It was an impressive estate.


After that we decided to delay exploring the rest of the sites near the Academy to a time when we had a full day to visit all the remaining places. So, we decided to walk north of the Rialto Bridge to the ghetto where the Jews were forced to live years ago. In fact, the ghetto in Venice is the first ghetto to be established in history. The word "ghetto" actually means "foundry" in Italian. Unfortunately I made a wrong turn in getting there (my first and only navigation mistake I'm proud to say) so we went to a hotel to ask how to proceed. The woman at the front desk of the hotel told us how to get there and I repeated the directions to make sure I understood everything to which she haughtily replied "That is what I said, isn't it?" as she looked down at her desk instead of acknowledging me. Hmmm! Twice in one day we experienced the combative nature of our Italian hosts. Not a good sign seeing as Venice is very  hopeful in being selected as the site of the 2020 Olympics (I have no idea where they could possibly build a  large stadium or the other buildings required for an Olympic in Venice -- perhaps replace San Marco?) At any rate, we decided it was lunch time and found a wonderful pizza place -- that's certainly something that was worth our trip to Venice -- the pizza was outstanding wherever we went. Then it started to rain again so we decided to postpone our trip to the ghetto for the next day. We wandered near the Rialto Bridge before heading back to our B&B. I recalled what my trip to Venice had been like in 1973 and noticed that the same musty smell was evident. However, that's the way it is in November with all the rain. There were still bridges in use for tourists to walk on from one place to another until the high tide had subsided. I also noticed the barriers that were installed at the base of many Venetian stores to prevent the high tide from entering their stores. Around 11:00 a.m. when the high tide subsided, these barriers were removed so tourists wouldn't have to jump over them to get into a store. The stores were immaculate -- I could see shop keepers washing their windows from morning to night to lure buyers of their products into their stores. The stores were stocked with extraordinary merchandise ranging from Venetian glass to Gucci clothing. The high end clothing stores (there were many!) seemed to always be empty making me wonder how they stayed in business. Of course with a pair of shoes costing 700 euros (~$928) selling one or two pairs per day might make ends meet for them.


The four of us explored the alleys leading up to the Rialto Bridge which I believe has seen better days -- it seemed that the bridge and also San Marco square were dirtier than the last time I was there. But renovations are underway in San Marco so perhaps by tourist season next year, the place will look clean again.

Rialto Bridge

courtyard of shop

Speaking of tourists, Deb's book about Venice (which is 15 years old) reported that there were 12 million tourists who visited Venice fifteen years ago. Most recent tallies show that there are now 18 million tourists per year. And you could definitely feel that statistic as we roamed through the streets battling our way with camera toting tourists taking pictures of every nook and cranny. (Of course I was one of them myself!) 

By the time we got to our destination, it was time for our afternoon wine and dinner. We selected a restaurant in the square where our B&B is located. What a great choice we made. The waiter was very funny and easily blended in with the four of us.

Waiters for dinner

Since it was raining by the time we finished our drinks, we were beckoned inside to a table where we ordered dinner. I ordered the sea bass:

Sea bass a la Italian

And so ended our first day in Venice. We all turned in early since we had not really had a good sleep for 36 hours. Hopefully the rain will stop over night!