Fabulous Venice

We have been living here for six years now and I have been trying to convince Graham to visit Venice for almost as long. Having read a lot about the city I was keen but he was not interested. Finally and reluctantly, he agreed and that’s where we spent the last week.

Campo Santo Stefano

Basilica di San Marco

Doge's Palace

We rented an apartment on Campo Santo Stefano in the San Marco district. It was very comfortable, quiet and convenient .

Florian - on St Mark's Square and  the oldest cafe in Venice

The four horses on facade of St Mark's - the originals are made of copper and were looted from Constantinople in 1204 by the christians during the fourth crusade. Considering that Constantinople was a christian city, this wasn't a good omen for the crusade.

letterbox at the Doge's palace ....... for denunciations !

We walked as much as possible and enjoyed the little laneways, canals and bridges and the beautiful vignettes these provided. 

the narrowest house in Venice ?

watch your step

Bridge of Sighs - leading into the old prison

With a good map it wasn’t difficult to find our way around. We must have chosen the perfect time to visit  - no cruise ships, not too many tourists ( despite the tour groups), no long queues thanks to our museum pass and the sun shone every day.

there seems to be towers everywhere

The Danieli  - isn't this the most glorious colour ?

bouquets of chillis and artichokes at the Rialto market

It’s true that venetian food isn’t anything special, but the local wine was good – pinot grigio, soave, prosecco - and we did enjoy the occasional aperol spritz.

delivering a load of cement to a building site

La Fenice, the opera house, was amazing. It has burned down three times during it’s life of over 200 years and been rebuilt each time.  “The phoenix’  is an appropriate name.

cornered the market in chandeliers and gold leaf 

the royal box

the ceiling looks domed due to paint effects but is actually flat

mermaids - another link to Venice's connection with the sea

hoping there won't be anymore fires ?

The most perfect day for me was the one spent island hopping on the lagoon. The water sparkled in the sunshine, the ride was always smooth , and the sight of little boats pottering about always interesting.

at the Burano jetty

have you ever seen a house this pink ?

Burano has fabulously coloured houses and shops full of lace and other beautiful things. Even at this time of year there were plenty of tourists and the restaurants were doing well.

Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in it's rural setting

Torcello was a much quieter spot. The sound of birds chirping was just about all we heard as we walked along the canal path to the hamlet around the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. This was the first island in the lagoon to be populated around 450 AD before Venice was created. It is very rural with orchards, and vineyards producing a local prosecco.

the canal side walk and the The Devil's Bridge which only leads across into a field

Gold mosaic and still strongly coloured frescoes

lots of statues like this in the garden - don't know if she is threatening, or just shortsighted

watching over the vineyard - note how high the vines are grown....
very different to here in France

Apparently , Ernest Hemingway stayed here and wrote parts of Across the River and Into the Trees using Torcello for inspiration, so I've since bought the book to read his impressions. Daphne du Maurier’s story Don’t Look Now is also set here. I can certainly understand their love of the place.  

And Graham’s final comment as we sat in the sunshine in the campo with our last doppio ?  ”When we come back, we should……”

The charm of Venice captures us all

jusqu'à la prochaine fois

(until the next time)