Bella Venezia

Venice is definetely worth a while. And a small blog article as well, I find.

We have been visiting Venice on a sunny and mild day by the end of February and have let us swept away by the magical atmosphere of the place.

Getting there from Treviso is super easy, a return trip with the train cost 4,85 € and takes approximately 25 minutes. Getting off the train one is immediatly in Venice as we know it - gorgeous and --and a little bit kitchy. The water looked turquoise and the gondoles were there with gondoliers in a traditional uniform (striped shirt, hat with some strings flying from it). But some of those gondoliers were apparently also ignoring those traditions and wore denims, a baseball cap and had the big stick to row with in one hand and a mobile phone in the other (I would have already been fallen into the water - wonder how cold it might be, it looks so warm, so carribian). But instead of hiring a gondole we preferred to walk a little bit around and take a look at the architecture and the small shambles with those tiny bridges. Later we also took a so called water taxi (to the term "watertaxi" we have already been introduced when we were in the train -- by a wealthy American lady who seemed to have friends living, yes LIVING in Venice and loudly asking them on the phone if she should either take the watertaxi or walk...) to reach the Piazza de San Marco with the Basilica de San Marco and a lot of pigeons. The Piazza is place which is nice to have seen and of course it is great how they built all those buildings in the middle ages, but I also have to admit that I find it slightly overrated. I am sure it is nice to sit on the San Marco square with a cup of coffee, but is it really worth all the Euros it costs? I do not think so.

What I really loved about Venice were the colours. Those pastel colours which make you think you are in an aquarel painting, the sun shining and making the colours very William Turner like. It make me wish to have my painting stuff with me -- I would immediatly skip the next coffee break and sit down and catch the moments myself. Amazing! And the nicest thing was that there also was a slight - typical Venezian milky fog around, which underlined the pastel -quality of the colours.

As we have been visiting Venice in late February outside (Carneval) season we were lucky to not meet the masses but have the place a bit more for ourselves. There was no waiting involved when buying an icecream at an Gelateria (the best icecream I have ever had) or being pushed on one of the rather tight shambles (which I particularly hate).

I can highly recommend this time of the year to visit Venice. It is a wonderful place, the colours are overwhelming and the spirit of the city is awake, chic, ancient and traditional. But to be fair (towards other cities) I have to admit that Venice is nice but a little bit overrated as well - it does not require one to spend a week or more there. Furthermore, it is also extremely touristic with many shops offering the same souveniers.

But just perfect for one day and a must-see when visiting Northern Italy.