Saturday, May 19, 2012

The Beautiful Venezia


Last month we decided to go and visit Venice for the day with some friends.  It is about a 3.5 hour drive away from here to Mestre, then you can take a train or bus, (if the trains are on strike!) over to Venice.  You can actually drive all the way, but as it was a Sunday, the parking was free in Mestre and the parking in Venice is expensive.

From the station we took the Vaporetto, a water bus, down the grand canal. It was so beautiful.  The buildings are so grand, and even though they show the signs of aging, they are still so majestic. It was a bit of a rainy day, but we were spared the rain on our trip up the canal.  It was so fantastic to see the gondoliers as well as the fancy boat, water taxis.


There was so much to look at, it was hard to take it all in. We rode under the Rialto Bridge, which was truly wonderful and full of people.  I can't imagine how busy it must be here in the summer or even during Carnivale.



 We passed under the Accademia bridge, a large wooden bridge, originally meant to be temporary, but later reinforced with steel.  We were heading to the Punta della Dogana to go to the contemporary art gallery.


First stop however, feed the children, who had been great so far on this car ride and boat trip.  We were fortunate to find a little sandwich bar that we were able to duck into while the skies opened up.  Even local painting students took refuge, saving their paintings from the rain.  We had a quick sandwich and a glass of wine and headed off to the gallery.  I was feverishly snapping pictures of buildings, bridges and canals along the way, too beautiful to only commit to memory.

We enjoyed the Dogana, the space is absolutely fantastic, with high beamed ceilings and views out to the canals on either side.  It really is an amazing exhibition space. There were some great works of art and the children (ours plus 3 of our friends) enjoyed wandering around and taking some time to do some sketching.

We decided we would then walk to Piazza San Marco (St Mark's Square).  We wound down narrow streets, over small canals and past the Guggenheim.  I was like a journeying back into time. The railings and grates on windows and doors were ornate and beautiful.  I was completely take with the little canals.  Mieran was a bit upset there were sidewalks.  We made our way across the Accademia Bridge and onward to San Marco, stopping along the way for some cioccolato caldo and cappuccinos.





The piazza was full of people and luckily the sun was out, we enjoyed the views around us.  It was so wonderful to see this famous Piazza that I had seen so many time in pictures.  We walked toward the canal looking back towards the Punta Della Dogana.



From the Piazza we took another Vaporetto back down the canal towards Palazzo Grassi, to another fantastic contemporary art gallery.  Molly was excited to see Jeff Koons Balloon Dog, I thought it was pretty fantastic also.  I enjoyed both galleries, but I preferred the exhibit at Palazzo Grassi.

We wandered back through the streets and stopped for an aperitivo, and grabbed a snack for the children, before making our way back to the main station and then back to our cars.  It was a busy and wonderful day.  I took nearly 300 pictures!!  I just can't express how excited I was to be there in Venice, a city I had so longed to see.  It met all of my expectations and I vowed to return for a longer visit another time.

2 comments:

  1. Yay for an exciting day in Venice! So glad you got to do something that got you so psyched. :)

    xoxo
    C

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  2. It truly is amazing there. i didn't appreciate it enough when I was there in my early teens. damn....
    xo andrea

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