Venice, Italy - August 6-8, 2006

Ah, Venice. One look at the photos brings back the unrealness of this city. Maybe it was the beautiful day - which had been somewhat scarce in Germany as of late - that really brought this city to life. Reminscing, I remember not really liking Venice that much. It was packed with tourists and pigeons. Everything was expensive (and understandably so I suppose since everything has to be gondala'ed to the stores and what not). It was also quite hot and humid - the famous mediterranean climate. Also I was busing calling or trying to call home and York about my class registration which is a pain in the ass now when I live within spitting distance of the campus nevermind when I'm trying to figure out a foreign telephone system which only has instructions in Italian (I missed Germany's anglo-centric efficiency).

Still, what remains now is only the photos and they tell a story of a city of stunning beauty. I can understand if people stop reading the blog after this entry because I can guarantee you nothing will beat Venice, in terms of photos at least. Sure some will come close, sure I had a better time in Paris among other places... but dear Venice, as Sinead O'Connor sings, "nothing compares to you".

The city just shines - it certainly helps that they used a lot of white stone or paint. It provides the perfect medium to reflect the green waters and the blue sky.

A Venetzian household. Today the prices in Venice are so high that most of the original dwellers are being driven out to be replaced by the rich and / or businesses to serve the tourists.

I was always on the lookout for something that reminded me of the Indiana Jones Last Crusade movie. My memory being the way it is I couldn't recall what the buildings looked like in the show so anything that remotely reminded me of Indiana Jones was photographed. Its' a nice shot regardless.

A powerboat navigates one of the more narrow canals. Perhaps its more of an 'alleyway'?

Masks seemed to be the Venetzian speciality. There were plenty of stores selling expensive and intricate masks. Not sure what the story behind it is. I considered getting one to bring back home but I didn't think it would survive 2 weeks in my backpack.

If you have a $100 or so to spare you can get a ride in a gondola for half-an-hour. Needless to say, just watching from the sidelines was good enough for me.

Looking down the Grand Canal of Venice - wide enough for a nice speed boat race away from nazi foes but probably won't fit the massive cruise ships that routinely visit the outskirts of Venice.

There are only three bridges that cross the Grand Canal - due to its size. This one, the Accademia, crosses it at is southern-most point.

Classic Venetzian architecture and the candy-cone pillars of the docks.

Just liked this photo. No story.

Same story as above. Thought it is neat to think that the Med (technically the Asiatic) runs right up to the sidewalk. Global warming has seen the water rising dramatically here and flooding - an annual occurence anyway - is worsening. Venice was a must-see city that I made sure on hitting early on by buying my ticket from Germany here. I sacraficed Rome to make sure I saw Venice before it disappears.

Venice is made up of 117 islands, with the central ones forming a semi-continuous land-mass spanned by little and big bridges. Parts of Venice, however, lie too far off the central mass to be bridged. Here the island-cluster of Giudecca lies to the south, separated by the Canale della Giudecca. Only powered boats navigate the larger crossing.

Probably the Chiesa del Redentore but I can't be sure. The beautiful whites and reds of Venice are exemplified in it.

The deteroriating brick facade of Venice, worn from facing the sea for generations, make for a great textured look.

The second of the two photos I posted about Venice while in Italy. This great photo deserves another look. The Chiesa di Santa Maria dell Salute 'guards' the entrance to the Grand Canal.

A gondoleer (no idea what they're called) in traditional hat and shirt takes a break above his docked gondola.

A happy family will subsitute for mine - now I can frame this on my wall and tell people I'm the kid taking the picture with the hat on.

The famous San Marco square and its byzantine-styled Basillica of San Marco. St. Mark of bible-study fame is (partly) buried in here (his body/ashes/dirt being stolen and traded over the centuries one can only guess what the Basillica claims to have).

The really annoying true citizens of Venice. These pesky lil'bastards have the run of the house here in Venice where dumb tourists feed them at every opportunity.

Sitting in the shade on the Piazza will cost you - and there's not much space for sitting to be had in Venice, which translates into sore feet for some. Still, a great view of the Basillica and the campanile (bell tower).

A full view of the plaza itself - cluttered with a stage and scaffolding from a past concert.

Another dumb tourist suckered into the idea of letting the birds land and eat seeds off his body. I got my laugh when the inevitable eventually happened later in the day to another dumb tourist that obviously had a visit from a pigeon to whom the saying "don't shit where you eat" didn't apply.

The arcade of the Venetzian Palace.

Eyeing one of the two columns that stand between the Piazza and the sea.

These four crusadic knights were getting a lot of attention, although I didn't know what the story was behind them. The left foot of the right-most knight was the centre of the most of the attention, as you cna see from the picture. I could only wonder if these were the Knights of the Holy Grail, but again, maybe that's too much Indiana Jones (and there were 3 brothers according to the movie and here there are 4 so... :( )

The Piazza de San Marco is shaped in an L, taking a sharp right turn at the Basillica it looks south and out to sea. Two columns, one with a griffen-like flying lion, and the second of a man with a spear or staff.

A close-up of the side of the Basillica, with the spire of the campanile, in the background.

Another idyllic gondola scene. I could sell these to the tourist board I'm sure :)

The second of three bridges that span the Grand Canal of Venice. This one, the Rialto, is probably the most famous and busiest. It's large enough to house shops in the middle of the walkways.

A view of the S-curving Grand Canal from atop the Rialto bridge. The canal weaves south-west before making an abrupt u-turn and heading almost straight east, under the Accademia and out into the Asiatic just before it reach the Piazza de San Marco.

Opposite View: Looking north from the Rialto.

A tranquil Venetzian scene with nothing important or historical (that I know of) in the photo.

A close-up of the specifically Venetzian window styling.

My first taste of true Italian gelato. Yummy.

My 15 second gondola ride. For only a few cents you can take a gondola to get across the larger canals. These are used in lieu of bridges in those spans where bridges are few and far between. They don't ahve the romantic touch but are just as historical if not more so - in fact, my boat seemed to be full of Italians (perhaps residents). No tourists here.

I'm not really sure what this is anymore beside a cool photo.

A pretty novel door-step. One's very own bridge.

Venice is not without a fortress of some kind or other. The Italian military does have a naval yard on the northern edge which looks like its built into a old fortress.

The entrance to the fortress-style military complex.

The Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs) connecting the duchal palace to the dungeons. Likely named for its connection to Casanova or the last sighs of prisoners on their way to execution... Either or really.

Standing in the north-western distric of the Venice called Cannaregio. Only the northwestern tip of Venice is connected to mainland Italy. Train tracks encompass the majority of that connection and there is a major trainstation right on the island. A narrow highway also brings cars, although once they reach the island(s) there isn't much room to maneuvre.

Last view of Venice as it recedes into the Asiatic. I've activated my eurorail pass and I'm off to Verona on board a rickety regional train (nothing like the fancy ones I took in Germany).