Venice - the city of canals

April 21st, 2005.

When is Venice coming? That was all we had on our minds when we were traveling from Paris to Venice. The transition from Paris to Venice was smooth and memorable.

We took a train to Venice. Time to make use of the Eurail passes we had acquired from Mumbai. The train stopped over at Milan. We made a hundred meter dash with bag and baggage from Milano Centrale to the train headed for Venice. We barely made it to the train. Our joy was short lived however when we had to cross many bogies to find ourselves some sitting place. Soon we found a comfortable compartment for six and positioned ourselves there.

We caught some fleeting glimpses of Milan. It seemed quite unassuming. It was one of those noveau riche cities dotted with industries. However forming an opinion of any city in between anthakshari and chocolate biscuits cannot be conclusive. Spending the entire day in the train left us in awe of the Euro star TGV (Train a grande vitesse) we were traveling in. We had a second-class pass and the interiors etc weren’t really inspiring. We did manage some glances into the first class compartments and the passengers did look suitably pampered with the plush settings and the royal service they were receiving. The train however was probably traveling at over 300 kmph, but you could even write out a long thoughtful letter sitting inside. After an entire day of sitting around in trains we reached Venice – the city of beautiful canals. We stepped out of the railway station and actually saw the Canal Grande, the main canal running through the city. Before even putting the luggage down we took some pictures for memorabilia.

Then we took a bus (by road) to the campsite where we were booked. The city was a little damp. Not even the rains the next day dampened our tourist spirits. Prima Facie Venice lacked the sophistication and exoticness of Paris but it still was very charming. It did not have the cosmopolitan feel of an international city but it did have a very tourist flavour to it. It had its fair share of litter and dirt caused by the travelers’ influx. Then again the small tea stalls; restaurants along the canals, blossoms of flowers welcoming the onset of spring did look very inviting. The entire economy of Venice seemed to thrive on tourist money and small-scale industries. Reaching the campsite we parked ourselves at the little cottages given to us and headed straight to devour some authentic Italian pizzas! Unlike the heavily Americanized version we have back home these pizzas have very thin crusts and very crispy. Soon we noticed that one could buy more pizzas for same amount of euros in Italy than in France. Once we had laid our hunger to rest, we headed back to our temporary shelters.

Another eventful day. The rains particularly made it more eventful. The wind chill factor called for a day of chattering and cribbing sight seeing. We started off by making use of the shuttle service the camping authorities provided us the city centre all the time praying fervently for the sun to show up. Once again we got ourselves one of those one-day bus passes. The only difference was it was a waterbus. There were little bus stops by the canal, which did amuse us to a certain extent in the beginning. The queue discipline however was noteworthy. We boarded one of those boats that would ferry us across to he other side of town. There was a quaint site that beckoned us. Old fashioned houses, museums and churches stood right beside the canal. Many houses now converted to hotels made a very pretty picture indeed. All this in the backdrop of people taking relaxed Gondola rides. We did toy with the idea of having one ourselves but the sixty euros price tag did make us reconsider our prospects and held us back. After all we were on a shoestring budget. A lot of houses were also built right next to the water level, but no one resides there any more as the monsoons could cause the houses to get flooded.

We first disembarked at St. Marco. There was a basilica, a museum and a tower there as well. As soon as we did land there were plenty of tiny shops selling their wares. All of us just could not resist buying one of those flamboyant Venetian masks. They come in many shapes, colors and sizes. Zeroing down on one is so hard because when you see so many there is an overpowering feeling to buy all. We did of course make good use of our in born trait of bargaining and managed some fair discounts as well.

Then braving the wind and the rain we headed to Doge’s palace. A Doge was a magistrate in ancient Venice, more like a medieval lord. The boys to this day crib about the famed palace and what it had to offer. Paris and its monuments had heightened our expectations so much that this did not hold our interest for too long. We did though walk our way through numerous carved pillars, chambers, antechambers, paintings, maps etc. Walking out we soon headed for the basilica, which was again as pretty as any of those European churches we had seen. There was the church treasure trove up for public viewing but the thought of shelling out some more euros for that made us look the other way and head straight out. Like all European churches this one boasts of a nice tranquil atmosphere with scores of candles illuminating the entire place.

Coming out in the rain again we climbed into one of those waterbuses again and headed for an island called Lido. Somebody’s luck was playing and the sun was smiling down on us a bit. Our digestive systems soon started giving us warning signals and we began looking for some place to eat. We were quite startled to learn that the Italians take their siesta seriously and it took us some walking to find something open in the wee hours of three in the afternoon. Recharging our batteries with pizzas and pastas we set out to explore the island. It was a refreshing change from the rest of the city. The affluent surroundings and luxury cars cannot escape one’s attention. The rich and famous of Venice seem to reside here. A lovely beach beckoned us here. After suitable ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ were uttered we headed back to the bus stop or rather water bus stop. We intended to pay a visit to the well-known Murano glass factory. To our disappointment there were no glasses made after five in the evening, which meant deviating our route plan. So we simply sat in the waterbus and took a joy ride through the Canal Grande that charts its course through the city. This was something etched in my memory. There were so many little islands lush with greenery, which made it a very pleasant sight to behold. The lovely sea breeze blowing through our hair and the light sprinkle of seawater right through the trivia of our conversations called for some memories.

So this was Venice in a nutshell. One day spent here and no regrets. Venice’s claim to fame were the canals. Imagining Venice without the canals is like eating strawberry ice cream without the strawberries in it. Hence I can safely aver that if it weren’t for the canals the city would not be that fascinating after all. So it was Arrividerchi Venice and Buono Sera Rome.