A few thoughts on visiting Venice

What I would tell you about visiting Venice is what I would tell a great many people about a great many places I’ve been in the world: you have to go once. Just once to revel in the history, the beauty and to say aloud, “Yes, I’ve been to Venice, Italy.”

But just once because Venice, while filled with a delicate majesty and the delights of Italy, is expensive, crowded and everyone has their hand out for something.

My wife, 4-year-old daughter and I drove to Venice from southern Germany. The drive took us through Austria and the Alps, then down through the Dolomites. The toll once you get on to the Austrian highway is about $11. You pay once. Once into Italy, you get a ticket (much like the New Jersey turnpike). When we exited at Verona, our first stop, we paid about $18 in tolls.

In Verona, we stayed at the Tryp Verona hotel, a good looking hotel in the industrial area of Verona. Recession has apparently got a firm hold on Italy. The Tryp Verona probably goes nine or ten stories. However, we may have been one of five or six couples staying there. 

Visiting Verona
Verona is a huge town, whose historical district also occupies a large space. After taking the hotel shuttle (free), we walked into town. Our first stop was the Verona Arena there. It’s great to walk around something that predates the birth of Jesus, but it is what you think it is – stone seats facing a large dirt stage. Verona Arena, however, is repurposed. Operas and other events take place inside, and there’s stadium seating on the floor, which steals away much of the ambiance. In other words, you’re not thinking of gladiators coming out of the tunnels, you’re thinking of ushers taking tickets and showing you your seat.

The streets of Verona are stunning and colorful. The ones we walked were lined with expensive shops. Dozens of kitsch retailers lined the town from one end to the other. It made for an interesting walk moving from the Arena to the next stop on our trip, Juliet’s house (admission: about $8 per person) from “Romeo and Juliet.” (yes, it’s a fictional location, but still fun).

You may recall the Romeo and Juliet had a bit of a fling in Shakespeare’s play. She had a house in Verona and the Chamber of Commerce has done a find job recreating some of the atmosphere. Most interesting: as you walk in, the tunnel is lined with graffiti and hand-written notes on paper, all from couples confessing their love for one another. It’s a sort of Wailing Wall for star-crossed lovers across the globe. Maybe Juliet hears them in her fictional sleep.

The courtyard and apartment are reminders of something from New Orleans. The balcony where Juliet expelled the “Where For Art Thou” words is on the third floor. The rest of the apartment is mostly empty, save a mostly kept bedroom, a dress and a few other items in a case, and a table with four personal computers built in. None of them worked. They were intended as a kiosk to learn more about Juliette and the family, however, with their blue screens of death up front, it looked more like a medieval LAN party gone bad.

We had dinner in a restaurant near the Arena. Italians and tourists like us drank wine, smoked Cuban cigars and watched the sun set. I had a small cheese pizza, my wife had pasta and we ordered some spaghetti for our 4-year-old. All told, dinner cost about $35.

We got home and realized while the Tryp Verona room was spacious, but the beds were made mostly of granite and back aches. Still, all in all, a good experience.

On to Venice
We left the Tryp Verona at about 10:30 a.m. and made to Venice is about an hour. Disclosure; we knew nothing about Venice, but we both suspected we couldn’t drive anywhere on the island. However, the hotel we were booked into, the Hotel Carlton on the Grand Canal, said it had parking. We thought that interesting.

However, when you arrive at Venice, you discover the reality. The city’s entrance is nothing more than a giant bus stop, parking garage and drop off locations for people going into the town or people preparing to board a cruise (I counted four cruise ships in Venice during our day there). So, in trying to find parking at this hotel, we ended up making the same loop around the same area five times, before the hotel was able to tell us that we had to park in the parking garage ($32 a day).

After parking, we walked our luggage about a quarter mile to the hotel. My wife managed to get this room as a freebee, but normally it runs about $389 a night. The room was TINY, but acceptable given that we wouldn’t be spending a lot of time inside it. The staff had even set up a twin bed for my daughter. We checked in, dropped our stuff and headed out.

Piazza San Marco
The day was picture perfect, 75 degrees, clear and sunny with a cool breeze blowing in. We had three stops we wanted to make – the Rialto Bridge, the Piazza San Marco and to go to Murano to see the glass makers. We also wanted to ride down the Grand Canal. You can do this on a water bus. The fare is about $9 for a one way ticket or you can get a far card to ride for 24 hours for about $15.

We chose the one way card, but got on the water bus going in the wrong direction. So, instead of riding down the Grand Canal to San Marco, we ended up going around and out into the bay. The detour took us a bit out of the way, but we ultimately ended up where we want to go, Piazza San Marco.

The plaza is vast and includes a massive church and clock tower. The massive cathedral however was closed for the day. As we started, a marriage proposal broke out to the cheers of the dozens surrounding the couple and we’re fairly sure she said yes. Afterward, we walked. So, we walked around and shot photos. Our daughter chased pigeons in the piazza (we nicknamed her “The Pigeon Whisperer”).  From this point, we walked over to Rialto Bridge.

We bought a map (my wife also had a book). You’ll need one in Venice. Stone lined veins and capillaries are what make up the streets and alleyways of the city. The streets are, however, well marked. So, one you have your orientation, following the signs becomes that much easier. But without a map, the walk could be treacherous.

Rialto Bridge
The sun had started to set as we reached Rialto Bridge. The bridge is one of many that line the Grand Canal. However, this one is know for its sprawling market. Purses, masks, shirts and dozens of other trinkets lined the market, which spills into streets below it. There is plenty of good merchandise to be had, though, if you need a piece of Venice and most of it runs at an acceptable price.

The bridge itself is a fantastic place to catch a great Venice photograph. Boats move up and down the canal here. It also seems to be a collecting point for people and colorful buildings. If I didn’t say so before, do bring your camera and do ensure you have back-up batteries handy.

Now, at some point you’ll ask, “Did you ride in a Gondola?” Answer: no. Gondola rides cost about $120 if you want one done right. Besides, with our 4-year-old in tow, the moments for romance were few and far between. And, we satisfied our boat riding Jones taking the water bus.

Also, lunch ran $59. I don’t even remember what we ate.

Luggage and dinner
We checked into the hotel at noon, but our room wasn’t ready. So, at about 4:30 p.m. we walked back from the Rialto Bridge to the hotel. I fetched our luggage from the car. It is important to note that our hotel was relatively close to the parking garage. There are hotels within Venice that are tucked into alleyways and recesses, almost hidden, and without a map, there’s no way you’d find these places. In short, while I didn’t enjoy hauling the luggage (one rollaway suitcase, two backpacks, and a pair of bags) from the car, if our hotel had been in the center of the city, with the extra distance and over the countless bridges and craggy steps … just sayin’.

Once back, we rested for about an hour. My wife went out for a bit to catch some photos as the sun plunged into the water. When she came back, she noted a good place to have dinner. We ventured out. I ate calamari and she had pasta filled with potato. This dinner ran about $55, but it was fantastic, the night air was cool and the ambiance almost perfect.

We took another water bus up the canal later to the Rialto, just so we could make up for being denied our Grand Canal day trip. It’s just as beautiful at night and my daughter kept pointing out the stars. We stopped at Rialto, and sat on the edge of the Grand Canal for a while, watching the boats go by. We met a couple from South Africa sitting along, drinking a small bottle of wine. They were leaving on a cruise the next day. We walked back to the hotel from there.

Murano on Sunday
After breakfast Sunday, we discovered the hotel had a deal with one of the glass-making companies on Murano (I can’t recall its name right now). In an affair that felt a little like a timeshare pitch, our hotel offered a free taxi to the island to one of the vendors. We arrived and someone was there to greet us. Our first stop was the furnace room. A huge kiln blazed orange as four glassmakers wandered around. One of them worked on glass cups for chandeliers. We watched this for about 10 minutes. Then, the tour began.

We were walked through a litany of rooms filled with glass sculptures. Now, the hook here is that you can only buy Murano glass on the island of Murano. You get it in their showroom, or it’s not authentic. So, in being shown these stunning sculptures by the artists and flashed extravagant prices for the work, I had a hard time jiving the cost with being able to get almost the exact same piece in Venice at one-fifth the price.

As my wife said, if they get one or two people to buy that those price (one set of six wine glass at his best deal was $900) probably makes the taxis and the effort worthwhile. Still, in leaving the “showroom,” I felt the whole thing was a visual circus to get people to buy it because they are on Murano. Now, I have no doubt Murano glass is everything history says it is. But our trip felt like the timeshare flimflam and soured me on the experience of visiting Murano island (we had to leave soon and it had started raining, anyway).

With the Murano trip over, it started raining. The taxi back didn’t take us back to the hotel (go figure) and we walked from the drop point back. It felt like a Monday in a big city, with locals shaking hands and doing business. Tourists were still moving through the town, but you could tell the city of Venice had started its work week.

We left later that afternoon under thunderstorms in Venice. The skies cleared as we filled our car’s gas tank in Vicenza. On the way back through the Italian Dolomites and the Austrian Alps, we caught out first snow of the season and ended the trip with rain at our home (which turned to snow on the local slopes).

The way home
I always wonder in a town like Venice or New Orleans what people do for a living. How do they make money? Is it all service industry? From tooth to tail, it’s an expensive way of life. I’d imagine there’s nothing like it; however, Venetians do have a different way of life.

In retrospect, our 4-year-old loved it, despite some grumbling from her about having to walk everywhere. However, I would offer that Venice is probably an adult destination. There is historical significance for children to understand and be exposed to, but probably at a later age.

Further Venice is suited for a larger budget than what we may have planned. At every turn, it seemed like we were handing someone money for something. And while that did not take away from the experience, it made the city seem more like an amusement park that historical bastion of Italian lore. Verona, on the other hand, is affordable and even worth a second look.

Yes, I have been to Venice, Italy. And I recommend you go, too. Once.

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