My planned, then postponed, then agonized over trip to Italy has finally happened. Originally planned for 2020, I kept waiting for something like a dose of plague to put it all on hold again. However, I took off on February 12th and won’t be back till April 24th.
The flights were uneventful and went according to schedule. I think I totalled about five hours sleep - better than nothing, but I still arrived in Venice feeling wrung out. I made my way to the airport ferry terminal and made my way slowly across the lagoon in the Alilaguna ferry. The first sight of Venice proper from this route is not particularly attractive, being somewhat industrial and port-like, but as soon as we turned into the Canaregio Canal and passed under the Ponte dei Tre Archi, things started looking up. The ferry isn’t really designed for sightseeing as it has to pass under a few low bridges on this route, but what little I could see really put a smile on my face.
I found my way to my apartment with some difficulty (I was expecting to be met at the ferry stop…..), but finally got there with some over-the-phone help. I confess I was disappointed with what I found, and had some trouble reconciling it with the pictures and description on the AirBnB listing, but I’ve settled in now, and will make do for my stay here. But, it’s a great location, barely 100m from the Rialto market, and perhaps 300m from the bridge.
As I’ve arrived in the middle of Carnevale, Venice is jumping, despite the winter cold. I’m not sure how the locals cope, although at least one method seems to be to take to them with a stick! Masks (not the medical kind) everywhere, particularly around St. Mark's Square, much of which sadly looks like a construction site. The "good" photographic spots, such as the Accademia Bridge at dawn are well patronized, and while I'll be getting along to them I really want to explore all the places I didn't have time to see last time, and hopefully uncover my own vision of Venice.
So far, the crowds are manageable, except for the weekend. I’m hopeful things will become relatively quiet after that, but time will tell.
