Venice

9-10 May 2017

We drove across a long bridge to the island complex and parked in one of the biggest parking garages we've ever seen.  From Naples northward we've seen a lot of infrastructure supporting both the locals and the traveling hordes of tourists.

We started walking then to the center, coming across this large, modern pedestrian bridge.  It's named Ponte della Costituzione (English: Constitution Bridge) from 2008.  Many don't like it - too modern, and with a traditional bridge not far away from it - it took us where we wanted to be, carrying our 30 lb back-packs.

This is Venice.

Rialto Bridge, built 1591, at the narrowest stretch of the Grand Canal.  A great vantage point to see all the different types of water craft.  There are over 400 bridges to allow foot traffic over all the major and minor canals, most are fairly small (30-40 feet long by 10-15 feet wide).

This is Venice also - old buildings with water lapping their edges.  Water taxis seen here.

Venice's two most iconic buildings, St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's palace, stand side by side on St. Mark's square - Doge's Palace is shown here, built 1340.

---

The Grand Canal - grand indeed.

St. Mark's Square again - with St. Mark's Basilica in the background and St Mark's Campanile, the bell tower.  Construction of the tower began around 900, upon Roman foundations.  The tower attained its final form in 1514.  It collapsed into a pile of bricks in 1902, with only the caretaker's cat being killed.  It was reconstructed in 1912.

They say with rising sea levels, and additionally with the city's foundations actually sinking into the old back fill, Venice is fighting a harder and harder battle with flooding.  We saw the platforms piled at the ready for those areas that flood often - they form walkways when the water covers the streets in some areas.  We were there during a full moon and saw the tide come up enough to just begin spilling onto some of the street near our apartment.  See the flaking stucco on the building below - this has happened time and again for centuries, but now repairs are more frequent.

We convinced ourselves that for us a gondola ride in the canal is just like many other boating times we've had (maybe it's a little different huh?), only here it's the same cost as renting a light airplane.  But we did have to get on the canal, and we figured a night ride would be great.  At right is the type of boat we road for about an hour fifteen total - for 15 Euro total for both of us - most of the trip from that back seating area.

Across the bridge over Gerri's right shoulder was our apartment on the second floor - the actual window is the shutter just above Gerri's head, in the second building.  In the first building, just before it, in the ground floor is a craft beer tap house - purely coincidence I assure you.  We had some good brew one night, talked with a college student from Norway (she wanted to talk all night if we let her), and a couple from Georgia on some fashion related business trip.

Here's Gerri navigating with google maps - we would have found ourselves deeply lost without this help.  To the right is a typical smaller side canal - to us having been here just a couple days, they all looked identical.

Our night ride on the canal.  George Clooney got married here at this location on the second floor.  Our ride was actually directed by our Rick Steve's guidebook, telling us what boat to get on, and as we sailed, what we would see.

One last view of Venice from the rooftop.  The Georgia couple from the tap house told us about a "secret" access from the top of a shopping building (their hotel told them) - the city was crowded, but tourists were oblivious to this spot, there were only a handful of people up with us.  A few of the earlier photos were taken from the same spot.  Except for maybe one tiny powerboat in the middle of the photo, this is how Venice has appeared for the last 200+ years.

Signing off from Venice.