Mama & Papa Bean in Venice

The adventures of Mama & Papa Bean continue after their spectacular Mediterranean Cruise with a few days exploring the magical sinking island city of Venice. Enjoy!  ~ Mandrew

In Venice, our plan was to take a free shuttle bus, then use a People Mover train to get us to a square where we would be able to get a vaporetto (water bus) to St. Mark’s Square (where our hotel was).  Upon arrival, however, we found that there was no shuttle, so we walked a while (no biggie) and then caught the People Mover. At the vaporetto stop, we were told that there was a strike going on, so we might not be able to get a vaporetto. We bought our tickets anyway and after moving from one pier to another (it was quite confusing) we boarded a boat, but were informed that it would only take us as far as the Rialto Bridge (about halfway). So, we had to get off at the Rialto bridge and hoof it with our big suitcases – along narrow lanes and up and down bridges over canals. And to make things worse, we crossed over the big and hectic Rialto Bridge because I thought we were on the wrong side, only to find that we weren’t – so we had to cross it again! [Mandrew: unfortunately, I inherited my sense of direction from my dad].

The Rialto Bridge

The signs to St Mark’s Square were better than I expected, so we eventually made it, but then we weren’t sure how to find the hotel. Luckily, someone overheard us asking a policeman for directions and interrupted to give us some good directions. Finally, we found our hotel, left our bags in storage since it was too early to check in… and found somewhere close by to get a bite and a couple of long, much-needed drinks!

St Mark's Square

Rooms in Venice, especially around St Mark’s Square, are very expensive. I managed to find one in a good location, at an affordable but still high price. The catch was that you had to be a mountain goat to get into the room! From the hotel entrance we had to walk up a double flight of stairs, followed by another flight to get to our room's door. Once inside, only the bathroom was on that level. To get to the bedroom, you had to climb another very steep and narrow stairway, with a low ceiling – that I smacked my head on – just once. Donna and I quickly learned that the safest approach was to crawl up and down. What fun ;-)  But the bath and room were nice, so it was OK.

Donna tackling the stairs/ladder to our room

Venice’s history began when some Italians took refuge on some muddy, boggy islands during a barbaric invasion. The invaders couldn’t be bothered chasing after them. But because of its geographic location, Venice grew to become a rich trading hub, and many very wealthy families lived there.

Venice is mostly built on river silt. To provide building foundations, wooden piles were driven into the mud, and cut stones laid on top of them. Those foundations are slowly sinking, and worse yet – sea levels are also rising. Currently streets flood about 100 times per year. In as little as 50 years, much of Venice may no longer be walkable… but in the meantime, we walked a lot of it!

Photos from Venice

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