So yep, I was in Venice this weekend with the girlfriend, for a little bit of culture and a chance to get out of London for a few days.
It was the start of Carnival whilst we were there, which is the 40-day build-up to Easter that is celebrated across much of Europe. In Venice, this means dressing up in masks and costumes, and you couldn’t move for masks and medieval dress. It was a riot of colour, and really good fun. I’ve got some video which I’ll put up soon.
Apart from that, we did the usual touristy stuff, of which I was most impressed by the Doge’s Palace, where the ruler of Venice used to live for many centuries. It was an incredible building, with an utterly ridiculous collection of art inside. All of the rooms are pretty much covered in pieces by Titian and others, and the sheer scale of some of the paintings needs to be seen to be believed.
On the Sunday, we finally got some good weather, and had a little gondola ride along the Grand Canal and a few back-canals. It was blissfully relaxing, and our boatman was really well-informed and entertaining. I’m pretty sure the girlfriend was itching to do a gondola ride, despite saying earlier in the week that she wasn’t fussed…
One thing that struck me about the city, especially when you got away from St Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge, is how quiet it is. Living in London, I just don’t notice traffic noise any more, but its absence in the middle of Venice is really quite remarkable.
Despite this relative silence, you can still tell that the city is buzzing, alive with people and happenings. I loved just getting lost in the narrow alleyways, aimlessly wandering from one place to the next and just being amazed that the city actually functions/survives.
I highly recommend staying on the Lido, because it’s actually really quick to get into the city from there, and a hell of a lot cheaper. Plus you have the waterbus ride across the lagoon a couple of times a day, which is a fantastic view.
