Venècia

2021 05 21 Venice 01

Before the pandemic, I had planned a trip to Venice over the long May Day weekend. Needless to say it was canceled. This year, Princess Margaret took a 4-day weekend over "Second Easter" (Pentecost) instead. So I re-booked the trip in December 2020, hoping for the best. Boy, did we get lucky: around May 10, Italy announced they would drop their quarantine requirement for visitors as of May 15. Had they not, even with negative covid tests, we would have had to stay in for 5 days, so we would have had to cancel the trip. To top it off, I hadn’t realized when I planned the trip, that it was the opening weekend of the Architecture Biennale, which had been postponed from 2020 to 2021.

It was a lot of logistics to understand and arrange for covid tests both ways (Italy and Spain have different testing requirements). Tests aren't easy to come by on the island of Venice; because of the Biennale, the clinics on the main island were booked up 3-4 weeks in advance. But we made it happen, and it was so worth it. To be in Venice in the spring, as it was just re-awakening to visitors but not as crowded as usual, was amazing. Many of the tourists were Italian.

First look at the Venice skyline from the airport ferry 2021 05 21 Venice 02

Views from around town. Many boat parking spots seem to require their owners to be nimble climbers, over walls or out windows.
More views from around town, including the wonderful produce market on a boat that is moored in the canal just feet from the apartment we rented. High-stakes laundry hanging!

We marveled at how nonchalantly and expertly the Venetians pilot their boats in the smallest of canals and in the congestion near the vaporetto stops, ate lots of seafood, pasta and pizza, and enjoyed the car-free (and even moto-free) existence. I admired the myriad stunning buildings on the grand canal, the vast scale of Piazza San Marco and the Doge's Palace, and the clever way the shutters hinge in the middle to fold around the deep window jambs.We also powered through both Biennale venues in just one day (I wouldn't recommend this).

The Doge's Palace and the Bridge of Sighs.
Views from the vaporetto ride back to our apartment after dinner out.
We took a short ferry ride to visit San Giorgio Maggiore, across from the main island. The bell tower affords 360 degree views. This view looks over the its gardens and southeast toward the Lido.

San Giorgio as seen from the main island. XXX

Our last morning in Venice it rained steadily, giving the city a completely different look.

The trip was amazing. I hadn't been to Venice since I was 13, and it was the first time for the rest of the family. We marveled at what it must be like to call Venice home; I think of them as guardians of a mythical place. Ed wondered about Venetian teenagers: are they just sick of riding in boats, not having motos and dying to get off the island? I hope these guardians will manage to keep the city from sinking, and perhaps in the meantime find a way to make tourism more sustainable.