Venice. Venezia. Italia
We spent a lovely long weekend in Venice over the August 15 bank holiday, also weekend of the Assumption. We had a great time exploring the city and eating, and failed to discover the meaning of the Assumption until we returned to the US (Mary is assumpted upwards onto heaven).
I had found this hotel online (Ca' Amadi) which was reasonably priced, in a good location near the Rialto bridge, and had entertainingly fancy decorations. I was relieved to discover that the hotel was actually just fine, and we even managed to locate it without too much pain. And the weather was starting to feel like August.
I had been to Venice before, and I definitely wanted to see the Peggy Guggenheim museum again. I get tired out really quickly walking around museums, and the Peggy is the perfect size for me! Most of my favorite pieces were on exhibit, and Ben also became a fan.
Many restaurants and shops are closed during August in Venice, but we had some excellent food. The best night was when it was raining and we sat outside under an overhang eating wonderful fish and pasta. We eventually moved inside, and talked with an Italian family from Padua with a toddler and an American traveling with friends who were off shopping. We all talked and laughed and ate and drank, and easily spent four hours at dinner. Part of the fun was that hardly anyone had ventured out in the rain, so we had the restaurant to ourselves. Great fun for us, but not so great for the restaurant. But the staff helped us have a wonderful evening despite the weather.
Venice is a wonderful city for walking and exploring, and we did so. We found some parts of the city I had not seen before, but we didn't make it to any of the outer islands. I also really like the people watching in Venice -- and the cafes are pretty open to letting you hang out for as long as necessary. I'm looking forward to returning to Venice and perhaps staying in an apartment and continuing to wander. I am amazed by how easy it is to avoid the crowds, even on a busy holiday weekend.
On Tuesday, we gathered our belongings and went in search of the overnight ferry to Corfu on Anek Lines. We had plenty of time and we could see the boat, but we couldn't figure out how to get to the dang ferry. I got more and more tweaked out until I was seriously peeved. We finally started walking down the path on the correct spit of land, and then a minibus came driving up behind us and offered us a ride. Gah! So, we made it to the ferry with no problem, despite my hot sweaty paranoia.
Riding the ferry out of Venice is an amazing experience. We had watched ferries depart, and they look like these very weird skyscrapers traveling through this ancient city. It's actually a bit reminiscent of the opening scene in The Meaning of Life by Monty Python. Our departed at sunset, and we got to look down on the beautiful city as we sailed east.
Continue onto our journey in Greece.