Lake Maggorie to Venice

Yesterday I wrote a lengthy and very descriptive blog all about Venice. As I was trying to add a photo (which was taking AGES to upload) I thought I would cancel the upload but ended up deleting the whole post! Hmmph!!!

So here I go again.

We leave Lake Maggorie and head for Venice following the southern fringes of the Alps. On the way we have a stopover at Verona, the setting for one of the sadest love stories. The town of Verona is lovely. We wandered the narrow streets and went to the place where Juliet lived. Her balcony is still there and there is also a statue of Juliet. Rumour has it that if you touch her breasts you will find true love….so guess what all the tourists were doing…perfect photo opportunity for some!

A street in Verona
A street in Verona
Restaurant area at Verona
Restaurant area at Verona
Old ruins at Verona
Old ruins at Verona
Garden at Verona
Garden at Verona
Modern map of Verona
Modern map of Verona
Olden map of Verona
Olden map of Verona
The Piazza at Verona
The Piazza at Verona
Gateway of Verona
Gateway of Verona
Write up about Romeo and Juliet
Write up about Romeo and Juliet
The plaque
The plaque
Romeo where art thou?
Romeo where art thou?
The gate filled with padlocks with lovers names on the padlocks. Locked together for eternity
The gate filled with padlocks with lovers names on the padlocks. Locked together for eternity
Juliet's Balcony
Juliet’s Balcony
Buildings of Verona
Buildings of Verona
The shoppers and Tourists
The shoppers and Tourists

I highly suggest you put a visit to Venice on your bucket list because my description will hardly do it justice. The whole place is a group of islands with all the buildings built with their huge wooden beam foundations rammed into the sea floor. Each building is built right beside the other with only 6-10 foot gaps for walking paths. The tour guide said that if one building is demolished the whole neighborhood houses would become unstable and fall down! Imagined that!

 

Floating down a canal
Floating down a canal

 

A Narrow canal
A Narrow canal

 

One of the many bridges
One of the many bridges

 

A very angled building
A very angled building

 

On the canals
On the canals

 

Each area is also divided up by canals. The only mode of transport is by foot or various boats. The grand canal is the biggest canal and it has a huge bridge leading from the train station across to the main island and the hundreds of hotels! Yes it is a huge tourist spot. Actually the tourist trade probably keep Venice alive.

The Bridge of Sighs
The Bridge of Sighs
Night on the Grand Canal
Night on the Grand Canal
Another night view on the Grand Canal
Another night view on the Grand Canal

We stayed on an Island near Venice and had to go over the ocean by boat each time we went over to ‘discover’ Venice. Our Hotel was fabulous and the area around the Hotel was a great place to look around. The afternoon we arrived we wandered around and found lots of buildings and neat views to photograph.

Our Hotel
Our Hotel
On the boat
On the boat
Restaurant by our Hotel
Restaurant by our Hotel

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Amazing place to be photographed
Amazing place to be photographed
Outside the hotel
Outside the hotel
Hotel area
Hotel area
Look at the view!
Look at the view!
Discovering the area by our hotel
Discovering the area by our hotel

IMG_1397

The main things you can purchase in Venice are glass products, masks and various items made from lace. We visited a glass factory and watched a man make a vase and a horse by the blowing hot glass technique. The connected shop sold a huge number of items created in the factory from a 10 thousand euro chandelier to a 10euro bead! Hmmm….think I’d need a lotto win to consider buying something from there.

The reason why there are so many masks for sale is because each celebration over the years was a masquerade theme. This was so that each person was on the same level from the noble to the needy. People could hide behind the mask and mix with people the weren’t normally allowed to associate with…including the priests and nuns…so the tour guide said!

As part of our tour we went for a ride on a Gondola. The last time I went to Venice we didn’t go on the Goldolas as they were far too expensive, so to actually have that experience this time was a real treat. I loved it!

On the Gondola
On the Gondola
Floating along!
Floating along!
On the canals
On the canals
We had to duck!
We had to duck!
Our Gondola man with Judy and Paul
Our Gondola man with Judy and Paul
The amazing buildings along the canal
The amazing buildings along the canal
Setting off on the Gondola
Setting off on the Gondola
Smile!
Smile!

There were also some incredible cathedrals. St Marks the most well known and the surrounding square is fabulous.

St Marks Cathedral
St Marks Cathedral
St Marks
St Marks
St Marks Square at Night
St Marks Square at Night
Relaxation!
Relaxation!
Dessert at St Marks
Dessert at St Marks
Inside a church by the hotel
Inside a church by the hotel
Crossing the canal from our Hotel
Crossing the canal from our Hotel
The first view of Venice from our Hotel
The first view of Venice from our Hotel
A very old church
A very old church
Unusual artwork
Unusual artwork
Look at that building!
Look at that building!
Another lovely view of Venice
Another lovely view of Venice
Looking up a canal
Looking up a canal
The Gondolas
The Gondolas
Buildings
Buildings

We also went for an excursion to the island of Burano – a photgrapher’s paradise and famous for it’s lace. Shops selling lace everywhere! We enjoyed a superb lunch sampling local specialities…Judy loved it, me not so much…mainly seafood.

Another Lace Shop
Another Lace Shop
Gaily coloured
Gaily coloured
Such a lovely view walking into the town of Burano
Such a lovely view walking into the town of Burano
So Cute!
So Cute!
Lovely cottages at Burano
Lovely cottages at Burano
Fabulous bright buildings
Fabulous bright buildings
Coming into Burano Wharf
Coming into Burano Wharf
The Wharf at Burano
The Wharf at Burano
Brightly coloured buildings
Brightly coloured buildings
The shops selling lace
The shops selling lace
Our meal at Burano
Our meal at Burano
The cute little town of Burano
The cute little town of Burano

Last time I visited Venice it poured down both days. This time we endured temperatures in the high 30’s. it was so hot and high humidity as well! But still well worth the visit. This time I had a ride in a Gondola as well. What an amazing experience going through the maze of canals and under numerous bridges and watching the hundreds of people wandering the little alleys…and seeing the building as we floated by. I took sooooo many photos. I am not going to forget my time in Venice!

 

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