Visiting Venice

by

Kelly Kent

Of all the places we visited in Italy, Venice was probably my least favorite destination. Not that I have tons of experience with foreign destinations, but you always seem to be disappointed with foreign places you have always dreamt of visiting. I had too many expectations of Venice, and those expectations were not met to my satisfaction. Venice had been romanticized by my idealistic heart, and when reality painted a true picture, it was hot, humid, and stinky. It did not help Venice’s case that I had colossal Venetian mosquito bites all over my body.

What is a trip to Venice without a gondola ride??? My thoughts exactly.

Even though it was overpriced, I insisted we have a true Venetian experience of a gondola ride. We received excellent care from the gondola company who carried me aboard and took my wheelchair to the place where we came ashore. Our gondolier spoke some English, so he was able to give us a little historical background on things we saw. We went by houses once occupied by Mozart, Goethe, Casanova (had 20 different homes in the city), and Marco Polo. We were not willing to pay extra for a gondolier who sang but since he spoke English, we convinced him to stay behind other singing gondolas for as long as possible during the hour long ride. The water was very choppy, as we stayed clear of taxis (motorboats), while passing through the crowded Grand Canal.

My mom and I mostly window shopped while Marcie and Jenny browsed through the crammed jewelry shops. After grabbing a quick lunch, we met with our afternoon guide Sabrina. Sabrina smelled of alcohol, but fortunately we could still understand her English. On this day, our last day in Italy, we were tiring of old stuff and Italian names that no one could remember. We toured Doge Palace, which was once the home of the Prime Minister and house for the Senate, as well as a meeting place for the Council of 12 and Secret Tribunal. The bottom floor of the Palace was used for a prison. In one of the “courtrooms”, there was a secret passageway that led to a torture chamber for prisoners who refused to talk. The Palace’s decor was a prime example of the gaudiness of the baroque era: goldwork and elaborate paintings. The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas did a wonderful job in recreating its architecture.

The water table was high enough that we had to enter the Basilica of San Marco on planks made of wood. When the water table is very high, the square floods. Therefore, when the water table lowers, the city cleans the slippery square. The great flood of 1962 destroyed the first floor of the buildings in St. Mark’s square. There were two optical illusions in the basilica (and no, I was not the only one who could see them): The floor tiles looked three-dimensional and the marble walls looked like tapestries instead of granite.

Mommy #1 went back to the hotel room while Marcie, Jenny, and I went to the top of the bell tower in St. Mark's Square. Venice is beautiful from 98.6 meters! I had no idea how large of an area the city actually encompassed until this experience. I would definitely recommend visiting the bell tower while visiting Venice, especially for those who are mobility impaired. Wheelchair users are granted free admission, and you can get a real feel for the whole city.

My romantic notions of Venice were realized as the evening progressed. Love was in the air, as we walked past an orchestra playing music from famous movies and plays in St. Mark's Square. While in pursuit of our dinner reservations at Hotel Savolina & Jolanda, we saw street merchants selling (presumably overpriced) red roses to gentlemen for their wives. The atmosphere and meal made our last night in Italy perfect! Everyone loved the seafood restaurant that the tour group had arranged for us! Even though Marcie does not like seafood, she ate her entire piece of sea bass. The sea bass was delicious, but the best course was the seafood ravioli sautéed in butter. We ate lots of bread with butter (first time in Italy), before we ate special shrimp cocktails with strategically placed cocktail umbrellas on the side. Our meal included alcohol, and when we declined it, we were given some extra perks. For example, all you can eat bread and butter, extra cocktail umbrellas for Marcie’s children, and unlimited refills of Diet Coke, which the waiter called our champagne. One of the perks, however, was not the mouthwatering chocolate dessert originally brought to our table. Our waiter quickly corrected the inexperienced young man, who then took away the gorgeous display of chocolate (not to mention all of our happiness), and brought back a strawberry whipped cream dessert topped with an orange jelly sauce. The dessert was awful, but the meal was the superb!

What a great end to our 12-day tour of Italy! On to Paris…

©K. Kent Last Updated: January 7, 2008 Email Kelly Kent