Venice

 

Even The Lord needed a rest

 

After 5 weeks of travel and living in the same room, we are ready for a bit of a break and a bit os space. Vela BLue is a bit (lot) out of Venice proper, but is a well rated camping ground with pools, activites, a beach and hopefully other kids for ours to paly with.

The weather gods have been on our side so far this trip. It had rained the entire week leading up to our arrival but we ended up haveing three sunny days with shorts and Tshirt weather, and one stormy night which cleared up by the time we woke up.

Reminds me of Rob Mkenna who is one of my favourite characters from the Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy trilogy - a depressed truck driver. He gets to talking and mentions that wherever he goes it rains. Turns out he is correct and that he is a rain God with his memory erased. He has been rained on everyday for the last 20 years. He eventually makes a fortune hiring hinself out to holiday villages to not go there.

 

We used our three days to spend 2 at the Campsite and one travel day to Venice and Murano.

 

 

Didn't we have a lovely time the day we went to Venice

 

No real excitement for me in Venice.

A very large amount of tourists and a very large amount of churches and a very very very large amount of shops selling the same things. The NEED for small glass trinkets or a Venetian mask was impressed upon me by the cherubs and paralleled, it seemed, by a significantly large tourist population who, if at home I would bet, weould never buy any of the stuff they now pushed through hordes to souvenir.

We came to Venice because Zoe decided she wanted to see Venice before it was gone. Her Italian teacher had told her it would be underwater in 20 years. I think this is a "crap stat".

The charm of a city with canals is, for me, well offset by the annoyingness of having to get everywhere by canal. There is a damn fine reason why no other city has come up with the idea of using canals as the main form of transportation.

 

 

The number 12 from Punte Sabioni

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shouldn't there be a bird on his head?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lions of St Mark. Originally taken from Constantinople aft the 4th Crusade tehn pinched from Venice by Napoleon then returned again.

 

 

 

 

A walk through the laneways of Venice

 

Gondola traffic jam

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drew sees cool stuff

 

 

 

 

All glass

 

 

 

Venetian souvenir treasures

 

 

 

 

 

Mask anyone?

 

 

 

How the garbage gets out - no garbage trucks on the island

 

 

 

How could any true picnic"er" resist laying their blanket and basket down here?

 

 

 

 

 

Zozo and Dodo

 

 

 

We had read that you would have to pay to use a public toilet in Italy and other places around Europe. Zoe finds. Reason to test that advice in downtown Venice. Funny thing about it was that there was a machine on each stall to take your money. It used to be a man inside who would give you a spray of perfume afterward or something like that in exchange for a tip.

The coin machines only take exact change. To get around this technological hurdle would the Venetian solution is to put a a man just inside the main door whose job it is to give you the correct change (machines only accept 1 and 0.5 Euros). Ahhhhh the efficiency of technology. It seems wrong on so many levels.

 

There's a sign on the wall, coz she wants to e sure......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Murano

Murano is the glass blowing island. Famous for its "Blowing Masters".

We arrived, kids excited to witness some mastery but alas, Casserta like, the Masters don't work after 5 which coincidentally, is the time we arrived. Bear in mind that everything is usually shut from 1 to 4 or later.

 

 

Zodusa

 

 

 

The Main Street of Murano

 

 

Garden of glass

 

 

 

80 Eoro pah-leaz

 

 

 

 

 

So we strolled both sides of the street and looked for a glass octopus as a Drew souvenir. We saw a direwolf (probably just a very big dog) standing on the front of a Gondola, a lot of stores selling VERY similar products and not much else. A cute glass Cardiologist the size of a thumb was only 80Euro. The chess set in the picture below was ...... Well at least it wasn't sold.

 

 

Jews vs Christians chess set

 

 

 

Got the souvenir and boated back for dinner at the next door campsite pizza, pizza, pasta, pasta pasta and, for Zozo the unfamishable, Pork chops and many tastes of all of the above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Venice et al - check.

 

 

 

Meanwhile

Fun in the pool

Not much to say other than some more pics and videos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water aerobics was quite the hit (for other guests) and the kids had fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of note, if you would like to sit in shade, then there are a few chairs and umbrellas.

 

Note sign on foot of deck chair

 

 

 

See the sign at the end of the chair. That means you need to pay 5 Euro per day to rent the space. It's not just the chairs and brolley that are now yours (whether you are there or not), its also the surrounding shade one sun. So either sit in the sun in the small area"over there" or fork out for you own little place of serenity.

 

 

While the kids and I were at the pool, Ree went for a ride

 

 

 

All very happy happy joy joy

 

 

Pool - A time of rest

Pool siesta is 1 - 3 pm. The slides are turned off and the kids are told not to make noise.

Wouldn't want to allow noise pollution aka the sound of happy children disturb the somnolence of chubby Italians and Germans. I am for this strategy as the siesta should be sacrosanct.

It is perplexing though, that every night they have games around the pool and café with very loud music and wayyyyyy too happy microphone guy until 11pm or later.

No problems with noise if made by the now a bit tipsy, aforementioned chubby Italians and Germans keeping my kids up.

 

 

The newest fashion item to soon hit Perth, the camp bracelet.

 

No bracelet, no entry

 

 

Recharged and with kids "well sunned", we are looking forward to part two of the journey.

Next comes Florence for 4 nights then Cinque Terra, a night in Milan then off to Lauterbrunnen / Interlaken for a bit of Jungfrau, waterfalls, obstacle courses and maybe a shiver or two?

 

 

ButI don't have a jacket!

 

 

 

Addendum. What to do when you reach your stop

Took a very full water bus 7 stops to get to the train station. Venice is small and very packed. Zoe and Drew get up and move toward the exit as we approach our stop. Getting off is a squeeze and a rush. Look around as the boat heads off to the next stop. I see Ree. No sign of Zoe or Drew. Must have walked ahead to the central station? Ree goes to check - no sign of them. Superb.

 

Can you see them in the pic below?

 

 

No sign of them

 

 

 

Still no sign of them

 

 

 

I go to recheck the train station thinking maybe they went in to wait for us? Nopes.

So what to do?

Options - maybe they stayed on the boat (seems unlikely as when teh baot ws stoping, they got up when we got up). Maybe they got off the boat and walked in teh wrong direction without looking back. If so then they will soon be good and proper lost in the winding alleys of Venice.

So lost children and a train to catch. Game on.

OK, so one of us will stay with the bags and one will get the next boat and hope the kids are at the next stop. If so then try to get back in time to make our train to Florence.

As I am almost back at Ree after rechecking the train station again, I see the kids are now with her. Story is that they were ready to get off the boat but then started chatting about "a restaurant" and got distracted. Next thing they knew the boat was moving and they were still on it.

Luckily the next stop was only about 500m away so they jumped off and ran back to where their less than ecstatic parents were waiting.

It's classic Zoe - distracted at the slightest butterfly, cloud shape, thought about Edward VI or ...... She then finds herself in a pickle and reverts to concentrating problem solving mode and with naive blasé charm, moves on.

As do we.

 

 

Enough