Trip Report

Venezia: Vabulous Vor Vamilies!

Venice, Italy

In May 2006, my mom and I ventured to Venice, Italy—what I call the coolest place in the world! As we arrived at the airport in Denver, my mom was preparing me for the 17 hour plane ride—and our 10 day mother/daughter trip.

TIPSTER: To ease the jet lag, drink a lot of fluids. It also is good to try and fly at night so you can get some sleep, then immediately get on the local time schedule. Force yourself to stay awake until it’s night there! When we arrived in the Venice airport, we both thought that the best way to get to our apartment was to take a water taxi—you can catch one just outside the airport (about the equivalent of a five block walk). This was very exciting for me, considering I was used to riding in the boring old car. As we were walking down our street, I noticed how well everyone knew one another. This eased my anxiety a little. We stayed in an apartment (you can find one too at viewsonvenice.com ) in the family quarter of Castello. There were lots of grandparents pushing toddlers around in strollers, and at night, everyone came out to drink wine and talk!

Day 2:
We went down to the tip of Venice, to the gardens and worked our way back up to St. Mark’s Square. Everyone in Venice travels by boat—even the schoolchildren on their way to school! We saw water ambulances and police boats too.

TIPSTER: If you want to get a better price for transportation other than a water taxi, choose a vaparetto (water bus); you can buy them in 24 hour segments. Buy a map that shows the vaparetto routes (usually a dotted line in the water) so you know how to get where you want to go. You can walk a LOT of Venice (tons of footbridges), but vaparettos are the way to get anywhere fast. St. Mark’s square is probably the most remarkable place I know. If you ever journey to Italy, this is one place you can not miss. We toured the basilica and climbed to the top, where you can walk the walkways that circle the church, giving you a great up-close view of the mosaics. We grabbed dinner at a neighborhood trattoria and then had to say goodnight to Venezia.

TIPSTER: It may be hard, but you should try to go to sleep at a decent hour in order to get used to the time difference.

Day 3:
We stopped at one of the best places for me in Venice: Torcello. I was so fascinated with this magnificent place because of its history. Torcello was once a Roman outpost, and later, the birthplace of Venice. When it was struck with malaria, the people were forced to move into the mainland or another island or stay there and die. Many moved to the Rialto, where Venice is centered today. After a massive wave hit Torcello, all that was left was a bunch of marshlands. Today, you can experience the outstanding preserved churches (one is over 1000 years old!) and artifacts that were not destroyed. Even though this experience took all day, it was worth it.

Day 4:
My mom and I did some local grocery shopping (where they laughed at our sad attempts at Italian), bought some shrimp from the fish vendor in the square below our apartment, and then went to a Leonardo Di Vinci exhibit that they had set up in old church. You could actually experiment with all of his contraptions—they had models of many of them. The big event of the day was dressing up and going to a Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” concert held in an old “scuola”—guild building. Of course, I loved it! It was amazing how all the different seasons stand out in every part of the composition.

Day 5:
We ventured back to the campanile, St. Mark’s square, and the Doge’s Palace. The lines were not very good, but it was worth it in the end. From the top of the campanile, you can practically see the entire city of Venice. My favorite part of the day was the Doge’s Palace. The doge was the “duke” of Venice—the main man. Inside, you could experience all of the rooms, including the dungeon. This was breathtaking, seeing all of the hand drawings on the wall, saying their last words to their families and loved ones. Before you enter the dungeon, you must walk across the Bridge of Sighs. This unique bridge earned it’s name from all of the prisoners sighing as they passed through, knowing that it was the last time they would see the world before they were executed. If you go to Venice, you can not miss any of these destinations.

The next day, my mom and I tried to get a two-person bike rental on the Lido, but our plan failed. All of the stores were closed for siesta, which happens every day. We still managed to make the best of the day. We spent the remaining days exploring churches all over Venice and San Giorgio and the Giudecca, as well as going through several museums. My mom is an author and she was researching for a book called The Betrayed (www.LisaTawnBergren.com)

TIPSTER: “Siesta” is the time in the afternoon (generally 1-4:00) when ALL of the stores shut down and people have time to rest, so be prepared and do not go shopping at that time. People also eat dinner late—typically after 9pm! But some restaurants open earlier.

On my last day, I got the one dream I wished for when coming to Venice: a gondola ride! Our last dinner was the best I had. The very last moment I experienced in Venice was eating gelato, sitting next to the lagoon that was glistening in the moonlight.

TIPSTER: If you are going the take the gondola experience, take it at sunset or night. The laguna is special at that time of day.

 

Don't Miss:

• Daily gelato (Italian ice cream), St. Mark’s, Torcello, and the Doge’s palace