Onward to Venice

It is a bit of a relief to finally drop our rental car off back in Florence completely unscathed. The freedom to go where we wanted was certainly a plus, but driving here, especially int he cities, is not for the faint of heart. Of course, where we’re headed today, a car would be pointless, so a win-win all around. Instead, we’re back on the fast train for a two hour ride to the heart of Venice. Before boarding, we decide we have to try the local McDonalds at least once, as in every country they are always a little different. Case in point, the Tasty Basket, a combination of chicken nuggets, chicken wing and, yes, stuffed and fried olives.

Compared to crammed airplanes and crowded airports, moving around by high-speed train is a small slice of paradise and it is a shame we can’t seem to figure it out back home. The seats are comfortable, there’s plenty of leg room, and I can actually open my laptop and type on it without using T-Rex arms. My trusty sidekick continues work on her sleep study, comparing quality of sleep across different modes of transportation. Watch the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine for her upcoming paper.

We’ve been a bit conflicted about Venice. On the one hand, we’ve heard reports of suffocating crowds, insane prices, and a city that has sold its soul to tourism. On the other, well, it’s Venice. Never knowing when we might pass this way again, we decided we needed to at least give it a shot. For me, the early returns are troubling. Arriving at the station, we see 5 cruise ships parked along the docks. And as we start the short walk to our hotel, there are people absolutely everywhere.

We are staying near the north side of island, away from the Grand Canal and, fortunately, the further we get from the main area the calmer things start to get. By the time we wind our way through a warren of side streets and cross several bridges, the crowds have fallen away and we start to get a better feel for what makes Venice unique.

While it isn’t the Grand Canal, we are on a canal, and can watch the various boats go by from our window.

The hotel has a scheduled shuttle to St. Mark’s Square and, after traveling all day, that seems like a nicer option than walking the mile or so. We’re disappointed to find that rather than taking the short route through the canals, giving us a chance to check out the city along the way, it instead goes all the way around the perimeter of the island, taking at least twice as long it would have on foot. Live and learn.

It is after dark by the time we finally dock so we don’t get much in the way of pictures.

The next few hours are spent exploring, eating (if you have ever wondered what it would look like if you took a scoop of gelato, put it inside a bun, toasted it in a panini press, and then covered it with whipped cream, we have the answer), and getting our bearings set for tomorrow.

All in all, I’m still not sold. If luxury brand shopping is your thing, Venice is your Mecca. I can’t think of a designer that isn’t represented here and, walking along I’ve now been introduced to countless new ones. Maybe it’s a testament to the quality job they did recreating it in the desert, but if you told me I was at the Grand Canal Shoppes in Las Vegas, I probably wouldn’t doubt you. For me, that’s not a tick in the plus column.