After waking up at 5 am, standing in the pouring down rain for a 5:30 Luxembourg City busy, sneaking onto a 5:45 Frankfurt-Hahn bound less-than-luxurious bus, seven cups of coffee at a “traditional” German aiport café, adult line-cutters flying on Ryanair, a bumpy ride over the Swiss mountains, a hectic search for my luggage amongst 70 other suitcases that all looked similar, and a too-long bus ride to the city, I arrived in sunny Venice! Alas, my adventure was not over. I hopped (illegally) a water taxi, used the Italian I knew (namely my one vocabulary word: bonjourno!) and enjoyed the beautiful sites as I rode triumphantly into the city where my mother awaited!
The views were just outstanding on the water taxi. Despite a belief I was well-traveled, I don’t think I could get beyond the concept that all of Venice is connected by a series of canals with absolutely no roads or cars. After finding my mom for a tearful reunion, we made our way to our adorable hotel, dropped off our bags and set out on an exploration mission! We had a lunch of delicious pasta (it was still novice then) and became acquainted with our two-day home.
Our hotel was pretty adorable, with a beautiful view of the city and a bathtub the staff lovingly referred to as the swimming pool. Baths are a rare commodity in Europe, so I can image they were quite proud of it.
The hotel was also near St. Peter’s Square, the largest city-square and home of some of the more famous Venice sites, which I promise I loved but cannot remember their names. One of my favorite things was the swarms of pigeons, which my mom and I channeled our inner five-year old and chased around the square. The square is the heart of the city, as you can tell by the swarms of people, markets, and gelato vendors. At night, as we meandered through the cobblestone square and took photos of the buildings reflecting in puddles, we heard a saxophone player playing old songs. It was the perfect Italian evening as a welcome into such a beautiful country.
We also explored the Ponte Vechio, the bridge over the main canal that is bordered by little shops. Although we skimmed the little shops and didn’t get sucked into the high-priced shopping (for once in our mother-daughter relationship) we did enjoy the beautiful views of the city. The gondolas swarm the canals, filled with young lovers and families looking for a different perspective of the city. We enjoyed some wine at the nearby bistros and people watched.
We also enjoyed going to the Academia in Venice so see some of the more famous Venice art. The Accadamia is the home of some of the oldest paintings in Venice, from the Middle Ages to after the Renaissance. We used our trusty companion Rick Steves to guide us through the museum. I think both of us really loved a painting of the Virgin Mary as a young girl in a busy street, lovingly referred to as Little Mary.
Venice is definitely a city of tourists, but for good reason. Who wouldn’t want to go there? We heard languages from everywhere, as well as a good portion Italian. We explored Venice and really got to know the city… well, as well as you can with a city that doesn’t even have a map to explain the array of pedestrian only roads and bridges and canals. We ate our fill of pasta and drank our fill of red wine in two days, although this will continue for the rest of our trip. It was the perfect introduction into Italy! And made me even more excited as we made our way to Florence.
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