We found a lovely campsite, literally opposite Venice. We settled into our water facing pitch with a clear view of the city of Venice over the lagoon. The ferry port was only a 1 minute walk and the crossing took 20 minutes straight into the centre of Venice’s waterfront.
The romantic city was originally built on over 100 islands in the Adriatic Sea. Instead of roads it uses an array of 170 waterways and canals with 400 bridges as its transport network. The Rialto bridge is the most famous of the bridges that crosses the renowned Grand Canal, and this area initially housed the food market. The other significant bridge is the Bridge of Sighs accommodating two corridors serving a link between the prisons and the Doge’s Palace and the legend is you can hear the sighs of the condemned as they are being led to prison.
The central square is called the Piazza San Marco which houses the stunning St. Mark’s Basilica a composition of columns, domes, arches and spires, the Gothic masterpiece Doge’s Palace a pink and white marble building and the bell tower St. Mark’s Campanile which houses 5 bells, to chime the hr, to mark the beginning and end of the day, to announce those condemned to death and finally the bell to call judges and senators to their seats.
There are only 3 or 4 new gondolier licenses granted each year. The art of manning a gondola is a historic Venetian tradition, previously passed down from father to son, and now regulated by a strict training protocol. Applicants must complete over 400 hours of training, undertake an apprenticeship with a master gondolier, and pass an exam.
We spent a full day in Venice, firstly walking the length of the waterfront stopping for a caffe on the way whilst taking in the ambiance of the city. We then headed towards Piazza San Marco admiring the striking sight of the Gondolas as they were skilfully manoeuvred through the waterways by the Gondoliers weaving under the mass of incredible bridges. You couldn’t help but take many a photo of these spectacular sights.
I must say the food is expensive in Venice even if you seek out a little restaurant in one of the narrow winding streets adjoining the Piazza. We are in Venice so what should be expect however it is significantly more expensive than we found in Florence and Sienna. Despite the cost we did have a lovely meal and later enjoyed a few drinks alongside the canals, people watching and admiring the activities of the Gondoliers. We were delighted to see a family all smartly dressed in black and white wearing boaters, joyfully boarding a Gondola all excited to see the sights of Venice via the waterways, a very traditional scene this was.
After a delightful day we caught the ferry back to our campsite, had a lovely evening drink outside the van whilst admiring our view. We are now extremely eager for our trip over the boarders to Croatia.
Travel adventures 