by Jim Bellomo | Sep 19, 2022 | Photography
Before I get to the fun/destination part of this post, here are a few more observations about onboard life.
Yesterday, while we were in Rome, a large part of the ship’s passengers got off and another group got on. As I mentioned earlier, this three-week cruise we are on is actually three one-week cruises stacked one on top of the other. It is actually four one-week cruises (starting in Istanbul). The very large group that got on board in Rome was much louder and party-types than the group that got off. For that reason has become a more raucous ship. Something we did not expect from Viking. Kathleen was awakened a few times that first night by the person above us talking loudly and walking heavily. We would have called down to Guest Services, but we couldn’t tell if the noise was coming from directly above or one of the staterooms on either side of it.
This brings me to going back to the Main Dining Room. Our new friends Corky and Larry said they had an outstanding server, and if we came to dinner with them, we would have amazing service. They were right. They have a waiter (whose name I believe is Joku0) who takes great care of them. Not only that, but we met THE wine steward. We asked him if he was the ONLY wine steward on board, and he said he was not. There was one in Chef’s Table and in Manfreddis, but he told us, “I am the only one in THE Restaurant. Therefore, I am THE wine steward.” But we still did not have that great an experience. The food was “fine” (we still had much better in the World Cafe), but the noise was off the charts. Corky and Larry are not overly quiet people, but I thought I heard about half of what they said. And my friends know that I am not exactly a quiet guy, but Kathleen had to ask me to repeat a couple of things—and she was sitting right next to me. I felt like you needed to shout to be heard, and obviously, so did everyone else. There is no sound deadening when the room is full, and it was slammed.
Back to our previously scheduled port excursion tour, on Thursday morning, we woke up in Messina, Sicily. Or I should say Kathleen did. I woke up REALLY early (even for me) at 4:45, so I could see us sail through the Strait of Messina. The last time I sailed through this strait, we were in a storm so bad that waves were breaking over the top of our 13-deck ship (Celebrity Century). I had never heard that being there to take pictures as you go through was that great, but the cruise director RAVED about it the night before, so I decided to get up and get out there to take some photos. ?
Yup, nothing. Nada. Zilch. Here is the only photo I took that morning that I would even think about bothering with. Not sure why I am even showing it to you.
See what I mean? I should have stayed in bed. But that’s OK because the day got a lot better as we were booked to head down to Taormina and then up to Mount Etna.
Messina is a pretty nice port to sail into. It doesn’t take long, and there are lots of things to take photos of if you are on the right side of the ship. Since we would be on our excursion to Taormina and Mount Etna for the rest of the day, this was my only chance to get some shots of Messina. Here are those pics. Don’t forget, if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
First the pilot comes aboard
As the boat swings in…
He just steps aboard
The harbor is full of ferries that ply the strait between Calabria and Sicily
I loved this guy. I call this shot my Study in Blue.
A huge column with a statue of the Madonna on it
That cathedral in the distance is pretty cool.
This is the seat of government for the city
Loved this big church that dominated the skyline
See what I mean
The yacht harbor is pretty cool.
And I loved all the boat colors.
The clock tower gets closer.
So does the big church.
This is a very traditional pair of statues you see everyplace in Sicily.
Beautiful Taormina
After breakfast, we headed down to get on our “luxury motor coach” to tour Taormina and Mount Etna. The drive was most interesting with a bunch of tunnels to pass through, some very tight curves that our driver did an amazing job of negotiating and just beautiful coastal scenery to see. After about an hour’s drive, we arrived in the beautiful mountainside village of Taormina. It reminded us a lot of our previous trip to the Amalfi Coast. Lots of beautiful villages above cliffs that lead down to the sea. You will see that when you check out the Taormina photos below.
Besides a beautiful Italian village, Taormina is home to a huge Greek theater set on the side of a cliff that dates back to 301 AD. It is still in use today, as you will see from the photos. I am amazed at how many of these open-air theaters built almost 2,000 years ago are still being used. We saw one on the side of the Acropolis that was even older and was hosting a Sting concert the night after we were there.
To learn and see more of our Taormina experience, check out my pics below. Don’t forget, if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
From our perch above the parking garage in Taormina looking down at the coast.
The Hotel Excelsior.
Mount Etna in the distance.
Another shot looking back down the mountain.
Ditto
The fortress above the city.
Downtown square
An arch…I love arches. We have one in our new house and it is one reason I loved it when I saw it.
The fortress
Another arch
Kathleen spotted this really cool wheel.
The fountain dominates the square.
And these steps lead away from it.
This was at the very top of the fountain. Not sure what it was.
This drooling horse was actually a fresh water fountain that people were filling water bottles from.
The local library. Still in use
The top of the library
And the doors.
Here’s the sign.
This old sign brought back a lot of memories.
Churches everywhere.
We are up higher and looking back at the Excelsior Hotel
The village clock tower.
Another church
The cross at the top of the city.
Another church
And another. This is a VERY holy country.
Another glance back down.
In a different direction.
Mount Etna still steaming.
Another view of an earlier church
Our Viking crowd about to move again.
Our guide said this was the narrowest streets in Italy. Two people can’t pass and it’s all stairs.
I loved this verandah which our guide described.
Lots of representations of Sicilian families.
Here again, the Moor mask.
And the Italian woman. The two married to create the Siciliano.
Another church
This mosaic honors film starts who have come to Taormina for their annual film festival
The red plates are very traditional colors in Sicilian pottery. We have one just like this hanging on our wall.
A typical wall adornment in Sicily.
Our guide Antonia. Her job can be likened to herding cats.
The fortress on the hill.
The Grand Hotel Timeo sat right at the gates of the Greek theater.
The Grand Hotel Timeo’s gardens
Entering the Greek Theater
ditto
ditto
ditto. They had lots of signage and videos.
Inside the theater.
Looking out from the back of the theater towards Mount Etna
Some more views…
…of the theater…
…from various points inside…
… and outside.
All around
I climbed…
a lot of stairs for these.
I hope it as worth it.
???
Stage left
Looking back from the top level of the theater you can see the coast we had driven up on.
Truly beautiful.
Just like Amalfi, right?
On to Etna
After about two hours in Taormina, we were back on our “luxury motor coach” to head upwards to Mount Etna. If we had thought the first part of the trip was a windy road, we had seen nothing yet. This was the most amazing piece of “luxury coach” driving we had ever seen. I am still not sure how our driver negotiated some of the turns he did. We finally wound up at the highest point that “luxury coaches” can go. There were a couple of restaurants, a few gift shops and the bottom station of a gondola ride to the top of the volcano.
Etna was not erupting when we were there (thankfully), but she was letting off a lot of steam. And we did see plenty of lava lands and craters. Our first stop at the top was for lunch, where we were served a nice lunch with appetizers, pasta, bread and wine. It was all great, and they offered us much more than we could possibly eat. Especially when you are on a cruise. Some of it suffered from having been prepped way too early in the day, but it was all “fine.” I forgot to mention that the restaurant we ate in had displays showing that it had been rebuilt twice after being burnt down during Etna’s last two eruptions.
After lunch, we had a few minutes to shoot some photos before we were back on the “luxury motor coach,” and we drove about a mile or so away, where there were five smaller craters that opened up in previous eruptions. We had the chance to hike up and take photos. Kathleen stayed on the bus while I did my usual run-around thing, snapping away. Here are the pics I got as we approached Etna and at the top. Don’t forget, if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Looking towards the Mt. Etna from the Greek Theater
Getting closer
And closer
Starting to get into the lava files
Closer
Looking back you can see small craters with smoke.
As far up as we went.
The gondolas that take you to the top.
Sorry, I just liked this shot with the lava in the background
Lots of lava
But amazing stands of trees that the lava just flowed around.
The gondola going up the mountain.
Part of the five craters
I had to do one in black and white it looked like a moonscape.
Looking back from the lower craters
You could see people at the top of the fifth crater
Looking back at where we had lunch from the five lower craters
Another shot looking down.
That was our day, and it was a long one. Took the “luxury motor coach” back to the ship, got on and collapsed. Quick dinner in the buffet and off to bed after another couple of Downtons.
I feel like a person living on the brink of a volcano crater. —Agnes Smedley
by Jim Bellomo | Sep 17, 2022 | Photography
Since I have some time today while we are docked for Rome, I will try and do a couple of posts covering the next two places on the cruise. So watch for another one later in the day.
The day after our restful time in Sibenik, we arrived in Bari, Italy—a port I was really looking forward to. We both felt great so off we went on a shore excursion labeled “Alberobello, the Trulli Village.” Alberobello is about an hour away by motor coach (a fancy term for bus). The ride was a good one and the walk from where the bus parked to where the village started.
A trullo is a traditional Apulian dry stone hut so more than one is trulli. The village of Alberobello is the home of a whole bunch of trullo/trulli and they are very cool. Our day consisted of a bus ride from Bari to Alberobello, a walk tour of Alberobello followed by a visit to a nearby conference-type place where they fed us appetizers and some wine. Kathleen tried the food but I just wasn’t up to it. The food didn’t look that good and there was plenty of good calories to waste my caloric intake with onboard. After about an hour it was back on the ship and on our way home.
Below are the photos I took that day. Hope you like them. Don’t forget, if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
The harbor in Bari
And a little more
Then off to Alberobello!
The village is very white and clean
Our tour guide Donatello. He was excellent.
The town square
Small streets branched off the square
And smaller streets branched off of those.
The trullo are small homes.
The newer ones have brick walls but a roof of stacked rock.
Very interesting.
They are capped in different ways
It seemed like every pinnacle was different.
The old trullo were totally…
stacked stones.
Even a huge church with a stacked stone roof.
Street performers were everywhere.
Most of the trulli are shops now. Very few are living spaces.
Loved this on the outside of one that was a living space.
We must have been near an Italian Air Force base as these fighter jets flew over all day.
Such a typical Italian Noni.
Back in downtown and then off to…
Our meeting place that had these almost ready to bloom cactus flowers
One, single trullo you could go into.
The ceiling from the inside.
Cutouts for food prep…
Cooking and to let light in.
Interesting
Other trullo nearby.
This is the outside of the trulli we were able to go into.
Old walls built around the facility
Beautiful grounds.
I hope you enjoyed your photographic journey to Alberobello. Come back later (or watch your inbox) for Crotone, Italy.
You may have the universe if I may have Italy. —Giuseppe Verdi
by Jim Bellomo | Sep 16, 2022 | Photography
After our three days in Venice, we were both totally wiped out so when we arrived in Sibenik, Croatia, at midday on Monday. We both decided that we would pack it in that day. I did take some pics on the way in and on the way out that I will share with you below but first, a couple of things I have really loved on this ship.
First, those of you who know me know I love to walk. At home, I walk a minimum of four miles a day, sometimes more. And yes, I fully realize that I am walking when I do tours, but, to be honest, walking and taking photos is not exercise. So pretty much every morning since we have sailed, I have walked four miles before breakfast. On most ships, I have to walk around a top deck, running track. Never liked those walking tracks; they were too small and had too many people. But Viking Sky has a full circuit walking/jogging track on deck two. It goes completely around the ship with no breaks and is exactly one-quarter of a mile. It’s really wide (except for a few feet at the front of the ship), and very few people use it. In fact, most days, there’s one other runner and me. I was so happy to find a totally wrap-around deck. On modern cruise ships, they are few and far between.
We have also been eating most meals since Venice by ourselves in The World Cafe (buffet). The food is still the best we have had on the ship, and the service is WONDERFUL! On our second day after Venice, we went up and sat at a small table way at the aft (back) of the ship, where there is a wonderful young lady taking care of the tables whose name is Nanci. The first thing she said to us that first night we sat there was, “Would you like to see our wine list?” I almost fell over. Finally, after almost ten nights, someone offered us a wine list. And when asked for suggestions, she looked at what we had selected from the buffet, and she came back with two outstanding glasses of Italian red. Not only that, but when I told her how much I loved the chocolate desserts, she asked if I was going to try them that night. When I came back from getting them, she had brought me a glass of Chianti and told me, “Nothing goes better with chocolate,” and she was right. We have been back to her table every night since. She is wonderful and thoroughly fun to talk to. When we asked her where she was from, she asked me to guess. I told her (because I had heard her say a few words in Italian) I thought she might be Italian. She told us she lives in Italy but is from Guadalajara, Mexico. She is a gem and has really improved our dinners.
Tomorrow night we will miss her because we are joining some new friends for dinner in the dining room. They have a favorite server and promise us we will have a great meal. We shall see.
As I am writing this, we have just finished our day in Naples. Since Sibenik, we have stopped in Bari, Crotone and Messina, so I still have all that to catch you up on. Here are the pics for Sibenik. You may not believe it, but I took every one of them from our stateroom’s verhanda.
Don’t forget, if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please… (I have heard a vicious rumor that a close relative is looking at my pics on a phone. For that, she will have to eat my food again and watch all of them on our TV when we get home?).
The pilot boat arrives. I love pilot boats.
The pilot jumps aboard.
It is a very twisty and turny approach to Sibenik.
Old castles
Beautiful countryside
But we can see the city in the distance.
We saw hikers on the high ground nearby.
And a nice welcoming sign.
Getting waves.
Lots of interesting things to see on both sides of the ship.
Caves
Caves
And more caves
The house at the top of the hill is for sale if you are interested.
Something modern.
And one of the battlements once we were docked.
The views of the city
Including a Duomo
A large church
The gulls almost seem to be part of the marketing.
Looking back at the zig zag..
…that we sailed through and would sail back out of at the end of the day.
Sail-away time.
Some sunset photos
Like this one
Or this one
I liked this silhouette of the captain and the pilot as we sailed out.
Looking back at the city.
And ahead…
And behind again.
Was very happy with my sunset shots.
As you know, I love taking sunrise photos but…
I do love these sunsets.
Tomorrow we will be the port for Rome. Kathleen and I have been there quite a few times before, so we are staying on board. So that means I will do my best to catch up with the four ports between Sibenik and Rome. Lots to share.
You know more of a road by having traveled it than by all the conjectures and descriptions in the world. —William Hazlitt
by Jim Bellomo | Sep 15, 2022 | Photography
Our final morning in Venice was due to end fairly early. We needed to find our own way back to the ship. If we had known where we were docking before we left home, I would have arranged transportation before we even left the USA. But since they decided at the last minute to switch from Fusina to Chioggia, I had to scramble. And I scrambled to no avail. I was on my phone trying to book us a van back to the ship for a reasonable price for quite a while. What we finally decided to do was just get a cab and have them drive us around.
Speaking of them driving us back to the ship, we had new friends we met on board who had originally planned a train trip from Venice to Tuscany with a private tour at the other end but the Viking Customer Service people told them that taxis were not allowed to enter the port at Chioggia. So when we got our cab, we were a little worried if we would be let into the port or have to walk quite a distance to get in. More about that later. I am getting ahead of myself.
Let’s go back to the early morning…you know before the sun came up. I was up and heading out with my camera in hand. Yesterday I made my way to Piazza San Marco via the Rialto bridge. Today I wanted to cross the Rialto again, but this time, I wanted to get back to the Accademia bridge, which is at the very beginning of the Grand Canal. When we came to Venice for the first time, way back in 2002, we stayed at the Galleria Hotel right next to that bridge. The bridge is the only wooden bridge across the Grand Canal, so I really wanted a couple of more shots from that area. It also provides a great place to shoot the beautiful Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute. So here are the pics from that morning. I hope you like them. Don’t forget, if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Early morning and looking for some great artificial light
Looking into Campo San Polo
I took two shots here because I loved what I was shooting but not sure whether to leave in the closeup stuff on the left.
As my friends know, I consider an early morning shot I took in New Orleans the best photo I have ever taken. I think this one is in that same vein.
Let me know which crop you like better.
I kept on walking.
and walking
and walking
Just as the blue hour ended, I got to Rialto and crossed
Before I continued my quest for the Academia
I took a few shots from the Rialto
As the sun was coming up.
And other, minor canals on the way
I love taking these. They are like nothing else iin the world.
I discovered this placque celebrating the first woman to ever graduate from a university. Had to post it to honor her.
I also found the ugliest building in all of Venice. Just plunked into a pretty Campo. Of course it was a government building.
See, even the statue thinks the building is ugly.
But the churches nearby were classic
I saw this COLORFUL children’s shoe store with VERY clean windows and had to shoot it.
Finally, Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute
A most photogenic church
See what I mean? I shot all these from the Accademia Bridge
The Hotel Galleria where we stayed in 2002. We would have stayed there on this visit but they had no AC.
Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute again.
Back on the Number 1 Vaporetto heading to St. Stae
Lots of great places still to shoot
This was a long golden hour.
And I was happy with the result.
The Rialto Bridge from the canal’s surface.
Adornment on the Rialto
The love of my life on our balcony upon my return.
When we went to breakfast we walked through Campo San Polo and saw old Italians with their old dogs.
This one is Nona with dog.
And a final Venice photo to cap the morning.
After breakfast, we grabbed our luggage and hit the good old Vaporetto #1 and headed up the Grand Canal to Piazzale Roma, where we hopped off and headed to the taxi line and found a driver willing to go to Chioggia. We also asked him if he would be able to get into the port. He wasn’t sure but said he would get us as close as possible. That was good enough for us. He also quoted us 150 euros for the ride. Whew! But we had to get back. And unlike our favorite Lyft/Uber rides, this would have a meter running, so we had to sweat that out as well.
He headed out, and we drove for almost an hour. The meter ran up, and when we finally got there, it was 147 Euro. This man knew his pricing. And could he get into the port to drop us off? Let’s just say when we got out of his cab; we were inside the port and less than 10 feet from the terminal. From the time we got out of his cab, we were in our staterooms on the ship in less than seven minutes.
We grabbed a mid-afternoon dunch (dunch = dinner and lunch—or linner—take your choice ?) and just collapsed in our stateroom for the evening. Those three days in Venice took a lot out of us.
by Jim Bellomo | Sep 14, 2022 | Food Experiences, Photography
After a great night on a great bed (I still find Viking beds pretty hard, but I am getting used to them) at our Venice B&B, I was up for the entire reason for us making the additional travel investment in staying two nights in the city when we had a perfectly fine place to stay back on the ship—my pre-dawn photo walk in a city I love. (Nothing like getting an entire paragraph in one long sentence ?).
I woke up around 5;45 and checked my Photo Pills app on my phone. If you have never heard of Photo Pills, it is an iPhone (I am betting it is on android as well) app that tells me all I need to know about the light conditions where I am. For instance, as I write this, we are in Crotone, Italy (way down at the underside of the tip of the boot that is Italy) and when I opened Photo Pills this morning, here’s what I see.
First, it tells me the extent of my daylight; then, I get all the important times for photography, from Astronomical twilight to Day time. I know that I will get the best photos (if the weather cooperates—which it did on Day 2 in Venice) between 6:05 and 7:30 or so. So I made sure that I was up and out, camera in hand, no later than 5:30. In Venice, some of your best pictures are of artificial lights (doorways, streetlights, shop windows) before the sun even starts to come up. And to me, early morning are so much better than late night because there are a lot fewer people to get in the way. One or two people in a shot to set a mood is one thing but a whole bunch of people in different bright colors, looking everywhere, is not something I am after in a city like Venice.
My first few photos were in the dark. I did that on purpose. And a lot of Venice photography is vertical. That’s because a lot of Venice is tiny streets that lead to more open squares (called Campos). Those tiny streets make for great vertical photographs. They also make it easy to get lost…very lost. But in Venice, getting lost is the whole point. I just wandered. I could always see a sign nearby that pointed to a place where I recognized. For instance, from where we were staying, I knew that I had to cross a bridge over the Grand Canal someplace to get to Piazza San Marco (where I wanted to go), so I just kept following every sign that said, “Per Rialto” (to the Rialto Bridge). Sometimes I would find myself in an amazing little street that would give me one amazing photo I would love. Other times, those streets were just ways to get to where I wanted to go. If you go to Venice, get lost. That’s what you are supposed to do.
Since I have a LOT of Venice photos from this walk, I think I will break them up into smaller galleries, like this one that has photos from before it was light at all. Don’t forget, if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Just leaving our B&B I turned back to take a shot of the light above their door.
These are my in darkness photos.
All light at this point is artificial light.
I am looking for moods here
A little less light and a little less blue in this one.
Looking back, I am very happy with what I got.
And eventually I reached Ponte Rialto.
As the light becomes brighter, you move from twilight to the “Blue Hour.” From the chart above, you can see that the “Blue Hour” really isn’t an entire hour. In fact, today, it was more like 10 minutes. But it always comes before the ever-popular Golden Hour that most people have heard of. During the “Blue Hour,” you get some great shots with lovely blue tint. Come back during the “Golden Hour”, and the entire scene is different. Here is maybe my favorite shot of the Grand Canal during the “Blue Hour.”
After a couple of more shots of and from the bridge, I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go. Here are my shots from there.
A little less light and a little less blue in this one.
The bridge itself from as far as you can walk on the Canal before you have to turn around.
I made my decision about which way to go next when the first sign I saw after crossing the bridge said, “Per San Marco,” so I was off to Piazza San Marco, and I am so glad I went that way. Besides the light being amazing and the sky turning to fire, I got to see the piazza in all its glory—empty (or almost empty except for three other people and me and one—that’s all—pigeon). Here are my shots with comments. Again, Don’t forget, if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
A smaller side canal on the way to San Marco.
All the water means great chances for reflection shots
The sky was truly starting to change and I was thrilled to see some clouds.
Again, Venice is a vertical city.
The first thing I saw when I entered San Marco was this couple, their wedding photogapher and a single pigeon. That’s all.
At the other end there were some workers taking out the aqua alta walkways near the Campanille
But as you can see as I shoot towards the cathedral, the sky is begining to light up.
The sky made a super background for this Campanille shot.
And this one of the statues on the top of the cathedral
When we were here the last time, this building was covered in scaffolding. This time San Marco was.
Looking back at the piazza, it was truly empty.
And the couple was still shooting.
From the piazza, I headed out to the promenade, where I would get a chance to see the entire sky for the first time. As Secondo said in the film “The Big Night,” it was so good, “I have to kill myself because I knew nothing would be better.” The sky to the east was on fire. And that made the city look awesome in the light. This morning had been a walking, talking photo lesson for me. It made me realize I had never done a post about my best travel photography tips, so I need to do that as soon as we are home. Here’s the next set of shots I got after getting out to the promenade.
See what I mean about the sky being on fire
Looking in the other direction, the light falling on…
Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute.
Without clouds the light has nothing to reflect off of.
the buildings. Boring!
I walked up and down the promenade to get photo after photo in that incredible light. Hope you like them. Don’t forget, if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Everything in this gallery is all about the light.
Either the light cast on buildings or the light itself.
Big landscapes or small closeups, they all work in this light.
A huge sailing vessel motored by.
Which made me sigh…
No sails
I mean imagine the shot if this was fully sailed up.
Ran into another wedding photography session. Remember, it is still befor 7:00 am.
And out to the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore
And back to the Campanille
By this point in our morning story, it was getting close to 7:45, and I had told Kathleen I would be back at the B&B by 8:30 so we could get breakfast. I thought about walking back, but then I saw that the #1 Vaporetto was almost completely empty, so I jumped on board and found myself a spot in the rear seats where I could continue to shoot photos as we went up the Grand Canal. Here’s what I got between San Zacharia and St Stae.
Just rounding the bend in front of Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute
And catching this amazing basilica in some gorgeous light.
I love the incredible art on the outside of so many villas facing the Grand Canal
As you can see that buiding featured a lot of artwork
Another view of Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute
This is the Hotel Galleria, where we stayed on our first trip to Venice in 2002.
Still another look back at Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute
Passing the Accademia Bridge. One of only four bridges across the Grand Canal, and the only one made of wood.
More Grand Canal views…
on my ride up on Vaporetto #1
The sun kept hitting other buildings and giving me entirely new inspiration.
When I would get boats in my way, I liked the photo better.
Makes it more interesting.
The Rest of the Day
A quick rundown of the rest of the day would start with a walk to Campo San Polo for a very traditional Venitian breakfast of cappuccino and croissants. This may not be traditional for everyone in Venice, but it is exactly what we had for breakfast when we were here before, so it is our tradition ?. And this particular Campo (where we had never ventured before) was a must-see because one of our favorite fictional characters, Commisario Guido Brunetti lives near this Campo and often walks through it in the books. We felt like we knew the place. BTW: If you are going to Venice, try to read at least a few of Dona Leon’s Brunetti series before you go. It will truly improve your trip.
I mean, wouldn’t you take a water bus to get this?
Later that day, we had planned to take a Vaporetto to one of the two major outlying islands, Burano. Our friends Jayesh and Lisa had eaten an amazing late lunch there in July that included a plate of Frito Misto to die for. I am using his photo to show you what we missed. I really wanted that. Lisa said they had some good pasta that Kathleen would like, so we headed to Burano.
But it was not to be. Partly because we didn’t listen (or understand) the person loading and unloading the Vaporetto and partly because things changed a LOT in 20 years. When we were here the first time, we went out to the two big outlying islands on a Vaporetto. First, we stopped at Murano and walked around a sleepy little Italian island town known for its blown glass. Then we jumped right back on the same Vaporetto that took us out to the further island, Burano—where we wanted to go that day.
The first big change was Murano. What had been a sleepy little island town is now a major tourist attraction with chain convention hotels and six different Vaporetto stops. SIX! When we went there before, Murano had ONE stop, and then the same Vaporetto went on to Burano. Not anymore.
When we boarded at Piazzale Roma, we specifically asked numerous times, “Burano?” and every time, we were assured that the water bus was going to Burano. So we get to Murano, and we wait while passengers get off the Vaporetto and others get on. Then we go to the next stop, and the same things happen. We are marveling at how big Murano has become, how commercialized. Then another Murano stop, and another. After six stops on Murano, we are mostly empty, which makes sense because Burano is a small island, and not a lot of people head out that way…at least they didn’t in November 2002.
So imagine our surprise when the Vaporetto starts heading back to Piazzale Roma. I went up and asked the man I had asked when we got on, “Burano?” He laughed at me and said, “You should have changed at Faro (a stop on Murano). No one told us this. No signs said we needed to do this. It had not been this way before, but we guess now it is. So we are more than an hour into this boat ride and have to decide what to do. Do we go back to our hotel, rest up during the heat of the day and try to go out later who do we go right back out to Murano and switch at Faro and take the Vaporetto to Burano? We decide to do the latter. So we go back in, change boats, come back out…and this time we get off at Faro. We have now been on the Vaporetto to and from and to Murano for about 2 hours. When we do get off, a sign points further down the waterfront and says, “Burano Ferry, 50 meters.” We head down that way and can see the boat unloading, so we think, “YEA! We made it!” We should have been able to jump right on…except when we turn the corner to get on, there is a three-boat waiting line standing against a wall we could not see as we walked up. They were standing there in the direct sun, sweating like the proverbial swine waiting for more than 2 hours. We gave up!
Defeated, we walked back to the Vaporetto stop to go back to the main part of Venice, but since we had about a half hour to wait, we grabbed an Aperol Spritz and a panini sandwich (because by then, it was about 3:00 pm and we had breakfast at 8:30 and NOTHING makes you feel better about stupidity than an Aperol Spritz in Venice) and some water as well.
When the next Vaporetto stopped, we made very sure to ask if it was going to Piazelle Roma, where we could catch the #1 back to St. Stae and our hotel. We were told it would. What they neglected to mention was that it would also go the LONG way around and drop us at San Marco, where we could move to the #1. So what coming out had taken us 45 minutes now took us twice that to get back. Suffice it to say that by the time we got back to the St. Stae stop, we almost had to crawl back to the room; we were so tired. And once we got there, we stayed there just to try to recover for our last big day in Venice. And the panini they had brought us was so big, neither of us were hungry for dinner. Watch the next post for my Day 3 photo walk.
A realist, in Venice, would become a romantic by mere faithfulness to what he saw before him. —Arthur Symons
