The first cafe in the world

One of the 'must dos' on this trip was to have a coffee in the original Florian Cafe - attributed to be the first cafe in the world.
It is very old school with the original decor of the 18th century and silver service with waiters dressed in white with gloves.
Each afternoon and evening a band plays out the front (all in tuxedos) and the scene is set for possibly the most romantic cup of coffee you can ever have.
Of course this all comes at a cost and a coffee and biscuits can cost you up to $40.  But hey how many times do you drink coffee in Venice?

Whole in the wall eating

Eating in Venice is a treat.  Space is always a consideration so you can find yourself standing at a table, perched on a fountain's edge or sitting next to a canal on a very narrow walkway or balcony. 

Most eating is done on the run with little pizzerias serving slices out through a hole in the wall.  Even so it is like eating a little slice of heaven.  How do the italians cook the most delicious spaghetti on the planet and yet it seems not to have anything in it but a drizzle of oil and some herbs? 

It's common to see school children, tourists and even well dressed men and women munching on a Panini as they walk.

Waiters are well dressed and always have the white / black apron.  They beseech you for business and then fluff over you while you are in the restaurant like long lost family, always trying to upsell you extra bread, wine, desert etc. 

A small few are bossy, we did encounter a couple – normally elderly men who run their restaurant like a well oiled machine. You can only sit where the waiter places you – no bags in the walkway.  It was too much for one gay couple who walked out thinking, I’m sure, it was because they were gay – no we all got the same treatment.

Garbage truck in Venice

Yes even in Venice the trash must go out once a week.

The trolley being lifted is pushed through the streets, over bridges and down narrow lanes by the guy on the dock.

Not a job I'd want no wonder he's fit!

Burano trumps Murano

Before we left Australia we had booked a tour of the three islands Murano, Burano and Torcello .  Apparently the original Venetians came from a village on the mainland whose two big gates were called Murano and Burano.  After being harassed by barbarians for years the inhabitants moved to the island of Torcelleo to escape.  They thus called the two neighboring Islands after their gates. 

Torcello grew to 20 thousand people but they didn’t build far enough out and so they moved on to where Venice is today building on 117 islands with incredible difficulty.  Torcello today has only 15 inhabitants but a very nice byzantine church.

Burano is famed for its lace work passed down through generations of women while the men were fishermen.  To better make out their homes from a distance they painted their houses bright colours a tradition still followed today.

The Venetians became renowned for their glasswork and in particular for the creation of chandeliers.  But fire is the enemy in Venice and so it wasn’t long till all the glaziers were banned to Murano where today there are many factories.  There are not as many chandeliers nowadays so there are all manner of glass pieces produced including glass beads for jewelry, traditional gold coated glass, vases and modern art designs.  It all looks nice with a light behind it.

The tour took 4 hours and was a typical guided tour except with a boat.  We had 40 mins on each island, which was barely enough time to find the toilet.  On Murano we saw the inside of a glass factory and a glazier doing his work.  This was very cool – he made a vase and a horse figurine in seconds.  But then came to showroom and the hard sell.  We didn’t see anything of the island or its inhabitants.

Burano was much better –same time but it was a walk to the village center – like into the spiders web, we dodged a whole lot of little stores clamoring to get you to buy their lace.  I would have liked a coffee but back to the boat and on to Torcello.

Torcello was a ghost town (island), the only thing left of its past inhabitants is the old byzantine church and a few scattered buildings.  These now sell souvenirs or have been converted to restaurants, I assume for those with boats.

When we arrived back to Venice we were a little disappointed with the tour as it really didn’t give us a feel for the islands.  But then 4 hours had passed and really to spend even an extra hour on each island would have meant a 7 hour day so we figured in the end that the tour was really the best you can do in a day.

If I had it over I would catch the Vaporetto out to Burano and spend a couple of hours and come home.

Walking in Venice

Walking in Venice is a pleasure.  On our first night we decided to go out and look for somewhere to eat.  This proved to be an adventure as rounding each corner brought a new vista and enticing new alleyways to explore and bridges to cross.

As we walked, we were surrounded by tourists snapping priceless photo opportunities and tuxedo clad waiters who were trying to attract us into their tiny restaurants.  The season hadn’t reached its height yet, so the tourists were bearable and for us the weather was perfect – just a little chill in the air to remind us the winter had just left.

As we looked, a little of the life of ordinary venetians started to reveal itself.  A dance troupe appeared from nowhere and started folk dancing in the street.  Following them to a square (Campo), we found a bevy of old ladies all knitting in what was a demonstration of traditional handicraft. 

Further on we found an army of people all wearing white and green T-Shirts.  Apparently there was a non-competitive marathon on which attracted teams of participants including many school children.  It was a little chaotic watching the green and white shirts navigating their way through the crowds of tourists.

The sounds of Venice are unique, there are no car, truck or tram sounds.  Water lapping, motorboats and voices are the predominate sounds.  Every now and then you hear a ‘Gondola, Gondola’ chant go up as the Gondoliers try to drum up business.  In the end we succumb to their entreats and negotiated a 1 hour ride for 100 Euro.  It was fantastic! We were taken off the Grand Canal into the private backwaters of the city and saw much more than you can see walking.  The expert way in which really long boats can turn 90 degree corners was an amazing experience and we never once touched another boat or building.  Our Gondolier  - Gabriel, gave us a great commentary as we went and pointed out historic and everyday sights to our delight.

By nightfall we found ourselves at the Rialto Bridge and grabbed a table at the nearby Florida restaurant where we could watch both the bridge and the Vaporetto (ferry busses) packed with people going home.

Venice is famed for its seafood (surprise) and so after a very nice seafood feast we caught the Vaporetto back to the hotel palace so we could crash – and that was just day 1.

Hotel Western Europa & Regina

You know hotels in Europe are like a lucky dip you never know what you are going to get.  But our hotel in Venice was everything you’d expect an old world hotel to be. 

As we arrived both the driver and the guide complemented us on where we were staying and they were quick to point out the benefits including the view across the Grand Canal and the proximity to St Marks Square.

But we braced ourselves because chances are we had a back room overlooking the lane, perhaps the bed was lumpy or the shower leaked (let me count the ways things could go wrong).

Stepping off the boat we walked straight into the foyer which was beautifully ornate with mirrors, chandeliers, marble floors and columns and sculptures and artworks throughout.  But what of the room?

No the gods were definitely smiling on us.  We had a canal view room with two balconies.  The view from the room was priceless and despite being right on the canal the room was surprisingly quiet.  The king sized bed looked small in the 4m high room which was fully furnished with period furniture.  The bathroom was fully marble with ornate lighting and central heating and cooling.

As it was our 35th wedding anniversary, the hotel had left us a chocolate mouse cake in the room on the first night and we found champagne with two glasses on the second night.  We loved staying in Venice.