Venice Italy Vacation - Part 1 of 3
Our trip to Venice, Italy - Part 1
February 2023
Our group consisted of 6 adults (my parents, myself, Greg, my brother and my sister in law) and 2 children (my son, just turning 10 years old and my nephew, age 7)
** Special note of thanks to my parents for this incredible experience! **
It was a long flight to Venice, Italy and our (Greg, Gregory and mine) first time across the pond. Gregory will remember that he went to Venice as he turned double digits. That’s a sad point though, because he had motion sickness on the flight and then went to sleep. Because of the time zone changes, when he woke up at the end of the flight, his 10th birthday had come and gone! As I was explaining the time zone change he said, “This sucks!” I replied, “I told you this would happen when we made the vacation plans though.” He said, “Yes, I just didn’t think it would disappear like that.” He was a little grumpy getting off of the plane.
We had to go straight from a plane to a boat ride. It was a small fast boat and a little eerie, in a good way, to arrive in Venice at night. The boat had us bouncing in our seats over small waves. Gregory smiled, “The boat ride makes up for the missed birthday.” Even though we were tired from the long travels, we were impressed with the architecture in Venice. I love how the lights from the building cast shadows and how the water rippled the reflections. At night, Venice has a mystical feel to it, like we were part of a history movie.
We checked in to the hotel with the intricate hand blown glass chandeliers, climbed in bed and promptly fell asleep. The next morning, I was the first to wake up. I jumped out of bed celebrating, “Wake up! Wake up! We are in Italy! Come on sleepy heads, let’s go see everything! We’re in Italy! How awesome is that!” (I was later told by my brother that because our windows were open, everyone could hear my excitement. Lol)
Before I begin the adventures of the day, just a quick note about the hotel room. My brother and his wife had been to Venice already. They knew what to book as far as the rooms go and recommended that we get the “suite.” Greg said, “This is not a suite. Your dad should get his money back.” Our room fit a queen size bed plus a single bed and a dresser. Whereas years early when Rob and Roda went to Venice, their one bed almost touched the walls on either side. They had to stack their suitcases and the bathroom was small. In total, for this trip, we had three bedrooms for our group and each was a decent size and each had bathrooms. Our bathroom was decently spaced. It’s like a normal hotel room that you’d find in America. It does costs more for a suite in Europe, but don’t expect the “suite” American experience. Just a normal hotel room. But hey, we were in ITALY, so what’s a room right?
Our first day in Venice, we were up and out before the rest of the group. We walked around enough for Greg to find his morning must have coffee and took plenty of pictures. Our hotel was just a few minutes away from the square. (We read not to get a hotel too close to the square, the closer the more expensive.) Without cars, without people getting up early, Venice is quiet in the morning. I think I like that time the most. The stores are closed, but that doesn’t matter. You get the chance to really see the architecture without the mass of tourists. Seeing St Mark’s Square in the quiet hours was special. We were able to take time with our pictures and really soak up the feeling without the brushing and bumping of crowds.
When we planned the trip, I was concerned about all the walking we would need to do, but our group handled it well. There are steps in Venice, but they are odd, two or three steps here and there, when you least expect it. Not having cars in the area makes you realize just how noisy vehicles are and how they eat up the scenery. Venice holds on to and maintains that wealth of historic feeling by not having cars lining the streets. She holds on to her timeless quality.
If you are planning a trip to Venice, make sure you have good cell phone coverage, because you’ll want to use maps to get around. At the time we went, Greg’s cell phone with AT&T was awful, whereas T-Mobile on mine worked like a charm.
There are cute little bridges over all of the canals, but don’t think when you cross one and then cross another you’ll be back in the same place. It’s not a grid, which is why you’ll want to use maps on your phone. Think of Venice more as a maze. The streets are tiny, but in the early morning, without the crowds, you don’t feel it. It’s got the rich history, quaint feeling to it.
We didn’t have any tours the first day in Venice, with the thought that being jet legged might make us hotel bound. Our group opted to walk around. Even in the early morning, we came across the revelers. The Venice Carnival is based on the Easter calendar. It’s two weeks before Ash Wednesday and ends on what they call Shrove Tuesday, but is known by Louisiana natives as “Fat Tuesday” aka Mardi Gras. This is the day before lent. So, carnival in Venice is on the same day as Mardi Gras in Louisiana. Just like Mardi Gras, the celebrations start weeks before actual Mardi Gras/Carnival day. I highly recommend going during Carnival, but only if you just stay in Venice. I’ll explain in a little bit why.
Having lived in Louisiana all my life, specifically a suburb away from New Orleans, my family is very familiar with Mardi Gras. I’ve read that Venice’s Carnival is the Mother of Mardi Gras. This might be the case, but we do it differently. Mardi Gras is about large crowds on the main streets in a variety of cities in Louisiana. We have decorated floats with riders that throw trinkets, doubloons, cups, sometimes food items. The crowds explode with chants of “Throw me something mister” while reaching and grabbing for the throws from the high float riders (sometimes double decker floats pulled by tractors). Between the floats, you dance to the school marching bands and cheer on the cheerleaders and dance teams. Hours prior to a parade, people will stake out a section on the street and bring food, drinks and chairs, so they have a prime area. It’s loud, crushing crowds and sometimes smells.
When you see the riders on the floats, the costumes are purchased. Unless it’s a king, queen or maids float (those riders are dressed to the nines), the costumes of the regular floats are not overly elaborate. To be honest, the floats are moving quickly and the float riders are high up, so you won’t get to see much of their costume until the parade stops while a band is performing for a city official or unless (heaven forbid) a tractor brakes down in the middle of the parade.
Carnevale di Venezia, which began in the middle ages, is different from Mardi Gras in many ways. There are no floats. You are walking along the streets in Venice, and all of a you sudden you see these people in elaborate masked costumes. Just walking through the streets... dressed from head to toe in medieval tradition.. what you might think of as a Victorian style from a royal court. They are right there in front of you. Their masks covers their identities completely. It is said that this was a way for the people in Venice to become anyone they wanted.. by being anonymous, it removes the social strata. You could see a female costume that’s really a man or a poor person dressed as the wealthy.
People from all over will come to Venice to wear their hand made costumes. It’s a pretty big thing and wow, to see the costumes up front and center, it’s amazing! I loved taking pictures of the costumers. And believe me, they love being photographed. The people dressed up would pause, turn this way and that, model for the shots and did not deter people from taking selfies with them. The costumes were just incredible, we saw many in the Victorian style, there was one group where people connected parts to create a horse, another group had wings, all had long robes with detailed designs. It was walking art. No, the costume wearers did not expect to get tipped or paid. And don’t ask them a question... they won’t answer. Silence from them, absolute quiet. Anonymous, remember? By not speaking, it adds to the mystery, almost haunting experience, of Carnival.
The reason I said if you want to do Carnival in Venice, then you should stay in Venice... is because of the crowds. During the day as tour groups and cruise ships dock, oh my gosh, the crowds are horrible. We had to hold hands and push our way through. Greg lead our group thankfully. In this way, Mardi Gras and Carnival are alike - very crowded. But Venice is cleaner! If you stay in Venice, then you can get up early and walk the streets at night and see the costume wearers without the crowds. Much better for pictures and being able to appreciate the fantastic designs.... though experiencing the crowd was interesting as well, just not the main feeling I’d want to walk away from the visit.
Being in Venice during Carnival adds to the magic of the place with every step you take to your adventure. We took a public ferry called a “Vaporetto” to the Peggy Guggenheim museum. Gregory took online classes about many famous artist, but this was the first time he was able to see real paintings by Picasso, Max Ernst, Dali, Kandinsky, Pollock and more. It was an impressive display of artwork. It felt perfect to enjoy their paintings while here in the history of Venice. I also appreciate the tactile examples of the artwork. If you stood in front of a Picasso painting, by the side of it was a description and next to it was the reproduction of the painting with sections on different levels. You could touch the reproduction and feel the design. They created this for the visually impaired; my mom loved feeling the paintings. I have good vision and loved it as well.
We stopped by the church near the museum and thought it was beautiful. Then took another Vaporetto back to the square (there are boat taxis all around Venice) to find a restaurant. So, food in Venice is not what you’d expect. They are on an island, there’s no fields to grow vegetables or farms nearby. All food is imported. My husband said, “After you try one meal, all of the others taste the same.” True, this is not like the Italian food experience you expect to find, if you were in, let’s say, Florence, Italy. Be prepared to be underwhelmed. Who needs rich flavors, when the richness of the area is enough to feed the soul!
As our first full day in Venice ended, our group meet up in Rob, Roda and TJ’s room for a birthday celebration for Gregory. We bought a small desert to be shared and sang Happy Birthday to him. Back in our hotel room, we had a couple of gifts for him to open (of course I remembered to pack gifts for him). I don’t know if it was because all of the walking, but every evening we were all back in the hotel and sleep was welcomed.
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