Day 1
Leaving the village of Asolo is always difficult, but the excitement of arriving in Venice does make it a little easier to bear.
We jump into the van and head off, over the plains and beautiful farmlands to Bella Venezia. We arrive at the tronchetto where our water taxi is waiting to whisk us away to the Hotel Bonvecchiato and what a ride it was. Through some small canals and then on to Grand Canal and back through some small canals, all the while, camera clicking to capture the beauty that is Venice.
We arrive at the Hotel to a bit of kerfuffle, "scusa Signora, but you don't have a booking here at the Hotel" yikes I cry, now what? "Don't worry signora, this happens all the time, you are actually at the Palace Bonvecchiato next door! Phew, crisis averted.
What a gorgeous hotel, I mean Palace. Centrally located and a 5 minute walk to San Marco or 5 minutes in the other direction to the Rialto - perfetto! But tonight we dine in the Terazzo restaurant in the hotel and what a lovely,regional feast we enjoyed. More fuel for our busy day tomorrow. Sleep.
Day 2
After a generous breakfast (I mean huge) we head out to meet our guide Caterina, yet another amazing guide who is passionate and extremely knowledgable about Venice. I must say that you see each city in a a very different light when you have a local guide showing you around. I recommend you pay a little extra for this invaluable service it is so worth it.
So off to the Doges Palace for a look around. What a magnificent building and the paintings that
adorn the walls were created by many of the Masters of the 12th and 13th century. Do you think the
Masters would have believed that we would be standing here, centuries later, still admiring their
work?
Leaving the village of Asolo is always difficult, but the excitement of arriving in Venice does make it a little easier to bear.
We jump into the van and head off, over the plains and beautiful farmlands to Bella Venezia. We arrive at the tronchetto where our water taxi is waiting to whisk us away to the Hotel Bonvecchiato and what a ride it was. Through some small canals and then on to Grand Canal and back through some small canals, all the while, camera clicking to capture the beauty that is Venice.
What a gorgeous hotel, I mean Palace. Centrally located and a 5 minute walk to San Marco or 5 minutes in the other direction to the Rialto - perfetto! But tonight we dine in the Terazzo restaurant in the hotel and what a lovely,regional feast we enjoyed. More fuel for our busy day tomorrow. Sleep.
Day 2
After a generous breakfast (I mean huge) we head out to meet our guide Caterina, yet another amazing guide who is passionate and extremely knowledgable about Venice. I must say that you see each city in a a very different light when you have a local guide showing you around. I recommend you pay a little extra for this invaluable service it is so worth it.
So off to the Doges Palace for a look around. What a magnificent building and the paintings that
adorn the walls were created by many of the Masters of the 12th and 13th century. Do you think the
Masters would have believed that we would be standing here, centuries later, still admiring their
work?
Then off to the magnificent Basilica. Once again, the art work is astounding. This time the images on the walls are murals, created using stone and pieces of glass, gold plate of course and absolutely stunning. Each time I visit this place,m I see something or learn something new. San Marco is abuzz today with students, tour groups and all types of visitors to Venice. It is time for a break and then some shopping.
We head off to the Rialto bridge, which this time is under refurbishment ....Bugger! But it is still busy with visitors clambering over the ancient steps and shopping in the myriads of stalls selling Venetian and Murano glass, souvenirs and more. We head across to the fresh fruit and fish markets to see what
is going on. By this time of day, the fish markets are closed and the restaurants surrounding them are busy preparing platters of the day's catch. There are still some fruit vendors selling gorgeous looking morsels to the tourists who wander by. After buying a few gifts for friends and family it is time to find a bar, enjoy a spritz Aperol and then find a nice place for dinner and people watching.
Day 3
Today at breakfast the excitement is palpable... We are heading off to Murano and Burano today. We meet our guide Caterina early and head off to the vapoeretto stop. Onto the boat and we are off on our
adventure. Unfortunately, the weather was not great but we are a group of Aussies so a walk I he rain is a treat. First stop is Burano. A village filled with colourful buildings and lace makers. One of the theories about e brightly coloured homes is that often e fishermen would come home drunk and it was easier to find their homes if it was brightly coloured- I love that story!
We are lucky enough to see one of the very few ladies left with lace making skills, actually working on a piece. The cynic comes out in me as they explain that here are no young women learning how to make lace and that is why it is so expensive. I offered to move to Burano and learn the skills but was ignored by the sales lady and lacemaker both. I thought I was doing them a favour, maybe they didn't consider me young enough? Whatever they thought, it looks like I won't be moving to Burano.
After a morning coffee and biscotti, it is time to head to Murano.
We jump off the vaporetto and into the winding streets of Murano with the cute little canals and
bridges, it is bigger than you imagine. This place is the home to the master glass blowers and artists, al busily creating their works from heir factories. We head to one of the larger factories and enjoy a tour and watch a glass blower at work. Absolutely incredible to see this beautiful glass vase come to
life. He then goes on to create the obligatory glass horse for the crowd in all of about 3 minutes, I just couldn't resist buying one in the gift shop later - hope he makes it home in one piece!
Time for lunch and our guide recommended that we try cecchetti at one of the bars. This is the Italian version of tapas and has become very popular all over the country. We head in and are greeted by a delicious choice of tidbits that would do just fine for a light lunch, washed down by a glass of wine of course.
It is time to head back to Venice. It is still raining, so a stop at the Peggy Guggenheim museum is on the agenda. The modern art in the museum is amazing and what a collection, with Pollock and Picasso among them. Not really my cup of tea, but a dry and warm stop for an hour or so.
Heading back to the Hotel, we do a little more shopping, then settle in for a well earned rest and light dinner.
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