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| Gondolas bobbing about in the mid afternoon winter sunshine |
Welcome to the first post of 2020, and belated New Year greetings. It's been a bit of a crap start to the year, hasn't it? Chump attempting to start World War III whilst our home country struggles with months of extreme heat, toxic smoke and fire on an apocalyptic scale.
As Australia continued to burn throughout Christmas, we found ourselves in an environment with quite the opposite problem.
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| Hustle and bustle on the Grand Canal |
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| Kevin on the Piazza San Marco, with the Basilica and Campanile behind |
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| You'd never tire of the incredibly beautiful and interesting buildings in Venice. They are the stuff of romantic novels. |
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| Late afternoon sunlight on the Chiesa di San Marcuola, a 12th century church fronting the Grand Canal |
For both of us, it had been several decades since we'd visited Venice, though in recent years we've made several trips to the general region - ie northern Italy, and nearby Slovenia.
How fortunate, then, for us to time our trip during a period of exceptionally high tides, known as Acqua Alta.
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| Random tourist keeping her luggage dry in Acqua Alta conditions. She was waiting to clamber up onto the temporary boardwalk, on which I was standing |
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| 'Welcome to our hotel!' (not where we were staying) |
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| Gotta tell ya... I was impressed with the stoicism of the Venetians. Even in these conditions, the city chugs along - deliveries are made... |
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| ... and people drink coffee, as normal. |
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| Every shop owner has a generator to pump the water out of their premises, into the street where the Venetian draining system usually carries it away |
The air raid siren was followed by a strange chiming sound, lasting about ten seconds. This sound was then repeated four times.
By this stage Kevin was furiously Googling 'What's that siren at 4am in Venice?' and we were much relieved to discover it was the emergency alert system for exceptionally high tides. The number of times the chime is repeated indicates - in increments of 10 centimetres - just how much above 1 metre high the tide will be. So we were at Category Red, meaning the tide would be over 1.4 metres, and 90% of Venice would be under water.
Thankfully, it was only on our first morning that we were really impacted (aside from being awoken by the warning system for three mornings in a row, that is).
I had booked us on a Wake Up Venice! tour, requiring us to be at the Rialto Bridge by 07:30 (what on earth was I thinking?). We managed to arrive at our appointed meeting place, and in the 30 minutes it took us to reach that location from our Air B&B apartment, and then wait for our tour guide to arrive, the water was swirling around our shoes, and rapidly rising.
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| The world's most dejected Santa Claus. That object floating behind him is the plastic bag from his left foot (the one on his right foot is still intact at this point) |
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| The delightful Clementina, with Kevin |
After introducing herself, our charming guide Clementina advised us to buy tourist wellies from one of the many stands peppered all over Venice - a snip at €15 a pair. Lots of tourists were gadding about in what looked like glorified carrier bags shaped like boots. Clementina warned us against these disposable items, because after a day on Venice's paved streets and bridges, they would fall apart - and of course environmentally they're a blight on the planet. We were to be in Venice for nearly a week, and the Acqua Alta would continue for a further two days. Spending an extra €5 each on actual wellies would be a good investment.
We spent the next few hours wading in various directions around the city, as Clementina - with her local knowledge - chose routes that she thought would be less affected by the tide. For much of our tour progress was very slow, with the water being almost up to the top of our wellies or higher (in which case we turned tail and went back the way we had come). In various heavy traffic spots the city erects temporary raised platforms to allow people to move above the water.
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| The author models the latest in Acqua Alta fashion |
It's not just the pedestrian traffic that is impacted by the Acqua Alta. The only form of transport on this large island is by water - and when the tide is exceptionally high the vaporetti and other water vehicles cannot operate... because the water's too high for them to pass under the bridges!
Anyway, we survived, and the water began to recede by late morning, with the worst day being that first one. On the ensuing days we simply planned our schedule so that we didn't venture out until late morning. The conditions certainly didn't prevent us seeing the sights of this glorious city.
And we were so glad we'd done our tour with Clementina on our first morning, as it really set us up with information for the rest of the week. For example, we had no idea there is a rooftop terrace that you can visit FOR FREE, not far from the Rialto Bridge. Fancy department store Fondaco dei Tedeschi simply requires you to book in for a time slot via their website, and hey, presto! views such as the one below are yours to enjoy.
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| View over the Grand Canal from the roof terrace at fancy department store Fondaco dei Tedeschi, just near the Rialto Bridge |
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| Inside the Fondaco dei Tedeschi department store |
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| Gondolas passing under the Bridge of Sighs |
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| The Rialto Bridge in evening mist |
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| The Piazza San Marco NOT under water! |
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| Selfie with Venetian bridge |
Our local environment - in the district known as Cannaregio - was only a 20 minute walk from the Piazza San Marco, and even closer to the Rialto Bridge (about 15 minutes). In other words, far enough away from the super-touristy areas but still in a very desirable and central part of Venice.
We were blessed to be literally a few steps from what has to be one of the world's most beautiful supermarkets, the Despar Teatro Italia - a former neo-Gothic / Art Nouveau theatre. This place has forever ruined me for ordinary grocery shopping - any purveyor without frescoed ceilings will forever be a disappointment.
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| Yes, folks - this was our local supermarket in Venice, literally a few metres from our apartment |
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| The front entrance to the Despar Teatro Italia supermarket |
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| *swoon* Take a look at those art nouveau railings! (the pink barrels / boxes are Panettone. They get through a LOT of it at Christmas) |
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| Yep. When was the last time you did your supermarket shopping in a building with frescoed ceilings? |
Every day we took great delight in purchasing various Italian delicacies for our breakfasts, and some lunches and dinners. The severe flooding in November had resulted in 90% of American tourists cancelling their Christmas holidays to Venice, meaning the city was struggling. As a consequence, many of the restaurants had decided to close for the 24th, 25th and 26th of December, so we made sure we had our own provisions in case we couldn't find anywhere that served vegetarian/vegan food over the main Christmas days.
As it turned out, on the recommendation of our Air B&B host we ventured across a couple of canals to a more 'suburban' area of Venice, and were lucky enough to come across the charming little Osteria L'Orto Dei Amori, on the afternoon of Christmas Eve. I went in to ask if they were open that evening, and emerged with a dinner booking. It was a treat to be in a quiet little restaurant on Christmas Eve, in company with a couple of large Italian family groups and only a few other tourist couples.
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| Our Christmas Eve dinner venue, right on the Rio della Sensa canal (that's the canal bridge in the foreground) |
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| We chose a local wine to have with our Christmas Eve dinner at Osteria l'Orto Dei Mori |
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| Ah, the fresh pasta for sale everywhere! |
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| All over Venice are little grocers selling fantastic seasonal and local produce. Artichokes and this unusual Radicchio Treviso were everywhere |
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| Another beautiful store near our apartment - a gelateria with many vegan options |
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| The Church of Madonna dell'Orto, just a short stroll from the restaurant where we dined on Christmas Eve. It dates from the 15th century, and houses works by Tintaretto, who is buried within the church |
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| Altar of the Immaculate Conception - Church of Madonna dell'Orto |
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| Altar with nativity scene in the foreground. The Italians believe it's bad luck to have the Baby Jesus in the nativity scene prior to Christmas, so the cradle will always be empty if you visit an Italian church before 24 December! |
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| (not one of the Tintoretto paintings for which this church is famous) St John the Baptist with Saints Peter, Mark, Jerome, and Paul - by Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano (c. 1497) |
After several days of meandering around Venice itself, on our final full day we decided to buy a 24-hour vaporetto (water bus) ticket, and struck out one morning to the island of Murano - of course most famous for the ornate Murano glass.
Murano glass does not appeal to me aesthetically, though I am in awe of the skill required to create it. We were on the island for a couple of hours, wandering around, with an hour spent in the Murano Glass Museum.
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| One of the stops on the way to Murano was the island of San Michele - it's essentially a cemetery, w ith numerous famous people laid to rest there, including Sergei Diaghilev, Igor Stravinsky, and Ezra Pound |
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| Laundry drying in a courtyard on the island of Murano. I couldn't help but wonder whether somebody had accidentally left a red sock in the washing machine when the sheets were done... |
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| The Murano Glass Museum has pieces on display from the 14th century to present day |
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| Doorway on the island of Murano |
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| This fashionably attired pooch was patiently awaiting his owner's return. Note the little bow with diamante - near his tail |
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| So many beautiful buildings line the shores of Venice's islands |
After Murano we island-hopped by vaporetto again, this time alighting at the tiny island of Burano, which is where our first-day tourist guide Clementina grew up.
What a glorious little island hamlet!
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| There's a lot of domestic pride on Burano. Nearly every window had flowers or some other form of decoration |
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| The colours! |
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| The bell tower I named 'Eileen' - it gives Pisa a run for its money! |
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| Not long before sunset on the island of Burano |
We had seen internet pictures of the brightly coloured houses, but assumed there was probably just a small collection of these quaint buildings, which were marketed to attract tourists.
How wrong we were - every single building on Burano is brightly coloured. It is bonkers.
We enjoyed a leisurely lunch at a diminutive osteria on one of the canals, huddled under the outdoor heater. We got chatting with an English chap at the next table, and instead of a quick bite we ended up spending about 90 minutes sharing travel stories and commiserations about Brexit, over excellent wine and some of the most delicious, simple Italian food we've ever had - ending with superb espresso of course.
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| Our lunch venue, on the canal on the island of Burano |
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| This bird and cat were enjoying the winter afternoon sun on Burano. I think they must have been good friends - they were companionably together for ages! |
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| Sunset as our vaporetto took us back to Venice, from Burano |
As you can see from our photos, we had beautiful weather in Venice - not quite as cold as I would like, but chilly nights (usually around -1ºC to +2ºC) and fresh, sunny days with a maximum temperature of around 9-12ºC. We had actually been hoping for more inclement weather - and specifically fog, as we are both huge fans of the 1973 film Don't Look Now (Dir. Nicolas Roeg), which was set in wintry, foggy Venice.
We did get one misty night, but it wasn't quite in the Don't Look Now category of creepiness. Once or twice we glimpsed a short, red-hooded figure - those of you who are familiar with this fabulous Donald Sutherland / Julie Christie film will understand that reference!
One of our most 'Venice' moments was when we unexpectedly stopped for aperitivo at a little restaurant in a very quiet spot that was empty of tourists. It was just nearing sunset and we were exhausted, having trudged the length and breadth of the city (or so it seemed), for about six hours. We'd been there about 15 minutes, each nursing a 'Spritz' (Aperol, Prosecco and a splash of soda water), when this happened:
Venice's resident population is shrinking, with only 55,000 inhabitants currently. In the 1980s there were 120,000. There are many reasons for this - the main one being that the city has almost exclusively been given up to tourism. No longer is it a city of resident Venetians. Anybody who has an apartment or house has been lured by the Air B&B tourist dollar, and who can blame them? If you lived in a home you could rent out for gigantic profit, you'd probably do it.
The severe flooding in November is expected to have been a further turning point, with a significant proportion of the remaining residents making the decision to leave for good. Climate change is predicted to make flooding a more frequent occurrence. Business owners, employees, and property owners are moving to the mainland and they just commute in as needed.
Clementina told us you can pick up a ground floor apartment for a song, as nobody wants to buy at ground level anymore, and even Air B&B would-be-entrepreneurs seem unwilling to take a risk on their investment being regularly flooded. I imagine it's pretty hard to get insurance for ground floor properties.
I'm contributing to the problem, by being a tourist... but if we all stop going then the economy really would crumble.
I think we were both surprised at just how delighted we were to be back in this utterly unique environment. If you've never visited, I highly recommend you try to get there before it goes under. But visit in the quieter season. The summer hordes make Venice intolerably crowded and a lot of its charm is lost.
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| Panoramic shot of Venice from the roof terrace of Fondaco dei Tedeschi [photo by Kevin Joy] |
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| [photo by Kevin Joy] |
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| Sunset near the Piazza San Marco |
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| Waiters touting for business on the Piazza San Marco |
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| Late afternoon on the Grand Canal |
Despite the fact that this city is not very 'Christmassy', we had a fantastic time - a quiet Christmas with no fuss, and no stress.
There really is nowhere like Venice.
- Maree xo
