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Traveling in Italy is amazingly easy, the
locals are amongst the friendliest in the world, the weather is spectacular
while the food, culture, and scenery is to die for… I can't imagine a better vacation destination.
To recap last weeks blog, after a relaxing few days getting settled into vacation mode in San Giovanni di Bellagio we drove across the top of Italy to Venice with a pit-stop in Verona.
For the most part Venice is universally
on everyone’s bucket list. And although
it has a lot of charm, I find that I tire of it quickly because of the crowds
and the feeling that I’m always swimming upstream against the endless tide of
people. Don’t get me wrong, I would
definitely recommend you visit, but after a day or two it can become a little tiring...
As always I had pre-booked a garage space
in advance at the Garage San Marco in Pizzale Roma (highly recommended), it’s
the second parking garage on the right when driving over the causeway into
Venice. Pre-booking is the only way to
go, as the line up without can be long and frustrating, especially during the
high season (May – Sept). Our
pre-booking enabled us to move to the front (choose the left lane when lining
up and remember to bring your printed confirmation to show the attendant).
Once parked, which was an easy five-minute
exercise we walked the two hundred meters to our hotel. As I said, for me it’s all about
accessibility, especially in Venice and so choosing a place to stay that was
perfectly located was more important than the number of stars, although our
place was a solid 3 stars with an excellent breakfast which we had in the
garden each morning. It wasn’t palatial, which you can easily get (for a price)
in Venice if you so choose but it was all about the perfect location this time around.
Indelible
tip #1: For your stay in Venice choose your hotel
wisely, but more importantly look for location over the number of stars. Minimize the amount of travel time to and
from your hotel by staying close to a vaparetto stop.
Our next adventure after our night at Teatro
La Fenice was to explore the lagoon that makes up Venice.
And so it was with this idea that we decided to
catch the Vaparetto (water bus) to Burano and we were blown away by the beauty
of this little island in the northern part of the lagoon that makes up greater
Venice. Fortunately for us we were
staying at close to one of the major vaparetto terminals - Piazzale Roma and so
the commute was approximately an hour after making a short stop in Murano and changing
vaparetto’s.
Indelible
tip #2: For
the experience of a lifetime, with a lot fewer people take the vaparetto #3 from Pizzale Roma to Murano
Faro then change to the #12 for the final leg to Burano. When you exit the ferry don’t take the route with
all of the other tourists, instead turn left along the quay and explore the
canals and quieter neighborhoods – definitely bring your camera as the sights
are not to be missed! If you go buy the
day pass as it’s the best value for
money plus you can ride the vaparetto for a full 24 hours and explore the Grand
Canal after you get back. J
As a photographer the architecture of
Venice is resplendent with historical significance and nuances that leave you
breathless, and a memory card chock full of spectacular photos from exploring
this historic city so bring a spare just in case!
Of course all of this exploring makes you
hungry and so Aimee had unearthed a fabulous little restaurant off the beaten track
and away from the maddening crowds of tourists in the northern most
neighborhood of Cannaregio. The restaurant was a 25-minute stroll from our
hotel near Pizzale Roma and is situated, in a little back alley called “Calle
dell’Oca.” Don’t be fooled by its
location, this local neighborhood hangout was a gem!
Indelible
tip #3: If you’re in the mood to get away from the crowds and looking for an authentic
and reasonably price Venetian place to eat head to “Ai Promessi Sposi” on Calle
dell’Oca. I would highly recommend the Mussels and Clams to start – so
delicious and simply prepared (steamed in white wine, olive oil and garlic)…yum!
All in all Venice was a very different
experience from that of San Giovanni di Bellagio, but fantastic all the same.
Next stop on our Grand Tour of Italy is
Firenze (Florence) some 260 kilometers south of Venice. Stay tuned next week for more cool adventures
and Indelible tips.
Ciao ciao!
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“Hanoi Posting”
A series of micro-stories by Terence Wallis
Episode 10: Dangerous
Phuong dreaded the thought of Bill getting involved with Mai, and what worried him most was Mai’s relationship and dealings with the all-powerful Anh Giang Trung who was rumoured to be Mai’s lover. Phuong had seen them together on more than one occasion, Mai on the back of Anh white Vespa as they zipped in and out of the traffic around Hoan Kiem Lake.
Anh was beautiful, but dangerous. She controlled much of the Chợ Đồng Xuân from the back of her scooter and had witnessed on more than one occasion the savage beating of a vendor for not paying his weekly protection money by her enforcers.
Phuong had been non-committal earlier that morning when Bill had excitedly told him about his encounter with Mai the night before. He also was starting to get to know Bill and knew that his journalistic instincts would find Mai sooner or later. He had decided that the best thing would be to give Bill all the information he sought, leaving nothing out and if he still wanted to pursue Mai then be it on his own head.
Next morning Phuong got to the Star a little earlier than normal, found a seat by the window and waited for Bill. After ordering their coffees – a hot American coffee for Bill and the traditional cold Vietnamese coffee for himself, he reached into his pocket and grasped the slip of paper, positioning it carefully in the palm of his hand so that no one could see it.
He reached across the table and stealthily palmed the slip to Bill, old habits die-hard and you never can be too careful with who was watching he thought to himself.
There was a look of surprise on Bill’s face as he closed his fist around his friend’s hand and felt the paper in his palm. He slowly withdrew his hand but held Phuong’s gaze and nodding almost imperceptibly, Phuong smiled and said “for your cause”.
Next week: Episode 11: Resolute
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