A foggy day in Venice

If you have never been to Venice in winter before, these photos will give you a little taste of what a winter day can be like:  fog so thick you can't see anything in front of your face.  It's days like this that you can feel mystery in the air. You can just imagine people wearing dark flowing capes disappearing down long narrow calles. It's quintessential Venice. 

 To the right of this shot, you should be able to see some of Sant'Elena's trees. Can't see a thing!

 In this shot, you should be able to see all the trees of Giardini just in the middle of the photo, but you can't see a one. Like it never even existed.

 I have no idea how vaporetto drivers cope on days like this. I know they have radar. Still, I'd be a nervous wreck.  I didn't see one of the smaller motoscafi ( lines 6, 5.1, 5.2, 4.1, 4.2) all day long, I think they were cancelled because of zero visibility.

 Beautiful foggy view on the Grand Canal

 This photo was taken about 2 pm. That's the sun trying to make an appearance. 

Kind of spooky. Venice in the haze.

Like I said, this kind of weather brings out Venice's  mysterious moods. Made me want to run buy a cape. Maybe tomorrow!

Ferragosto! Closed for holiday!

For the last few weeks, the closed for holiday signs have sprouted up all over the city.  Everyone is headed to the mountains or the beach for the traditional Italian holiday -Ferragosto. While technically the holiday is only one day, August 15, Italians stretch it for almost the entire month.

This summer is having a run of "stuff" happening, much worse than previous years, in my mind. I cannot recall a year being quite as bad as this one. Not weather-wise, it's routinely hot and humid here. But I think the weather might have contributed to Venice going a bit mad. I think all the summer madness began when the ridiculous ticket booth, il Gabbinotto, was erected at the base of the Campanile in St. Mark's square. That incited quite a bit of indignation amongst the locals, for sure.  

 

Next was the cruise ship that came too close to the embankment near Via Garibaldi. As if Venice needed any more cruise ship bad news!!!  

There  was an accumulation of record breaking algae in the canals and unprecedented numbers of dead fish. Weird. 

There have been crazy fights between vu compra (the illegal handbag salesmen), the local vendors and gondoliers.  Also weird.

The huge purple inflatable statue has taken up residence on San Giorgio Maggiore until November. Yes, very weird.

Gondoliers have experienced a new run of bad press through the summer months including the poor treatment of a ganser (the guy who helps people get off a gondola), roughing up some passengers at Redentore night, and the reported bad language addressed at a regular passenger at one of the traghetto stations.  The result:  random drug and alcohol testing for gondoliers. 

In the last week we've seen numerous articles in the local newspapers relating to poor tourist behavior- sleeping in the streets, riding bicycles, going shirtless, and swimming in the canals. (By the way, Venice has several rules about proper decorum in the city- one of them is going shirtless.  Riding bicycles is an offense which carries a fine.)   

(photo from Il Gazzettino)

(photo courtesy Sebastiano Scomparin)  

Not to be left out of all the summer chatter is ACTV- the company that operates the vaporettos. The boats have been running behind schedule on numerous days; they have been unbelievably overcrowded; there have been altercations between tourists and the  workers on the boats, instigated undoubtedly by the crankiness due to those late arrivals and all those crowds;  and there have been staff on board boats checking tickets and writing out fines left and right.  The latest from ACTV is the new poster announcing fines for people on the docks without a valid ticket. 

And last but not least, just two days ago, an oil spill on the Giudecca canal near San Basilio that necessitated two days of clean up, probably caused by one or more of the cruise ships in port that day. 

I seriously believe Venice is overdue for a vacation.  I expect to see one of these Ferragosto closed for holiday signs hung on Venice's front door. 

Buon Ferragosto, Tutti!!!  

Good news and bad news for vaporetto users- effective TODAY!!

First- the bad news:  The price of a 60 minute vaporetto ticket has gone up from 6.50 Euros to 7.00 Euros effective May 10, 2012. That's today, folks.

Unfortunately- there is more bad news- price of the traghetto is going up to 4 Euros. Thanks to one of my readers MaryK for checking alittle further on which traghetto. I see now on the announcement I didn't read down far enough. I assumed it was the traghetto crossing the Grand Canal. It's  not. It's to use the regular vaporetto to cross a body of water, for example from Lido to S. Elena. Thank goodness it's not the one's crossing the Grand Canal! I was about to have a little hissy-fit!

Here's a photo of the announcement posted in the vaporetto docks today:

And the good news- according to the second announcement, the multi-day vaporetto ticket prices have been reduced.  New prices are posted below.

I'm going to add my 2 cents in here: compared to other European cities (for example Prague), Venice's public transportation is quite expensive. Considering the number of tourists using the vaporetto each year, ACTV must be doing pretty well. We all should buy stock, if it's a publicly held company! Venice's coffers are dry, despite it being a major tourist attraction. I would venture to bet the city is not getting any of this increase in the vaporetto fees.  Everywhere you look on the internet you will see articles and editorials moaning Venice's financial status, and the reasons why. I'm still not clear on why a tourist tax is not an acceptable alternative. Whenever I fly into the Dominican Republic, I pay just to enter the country. You cannot walk through the arrivals area of the airport without  handing over a $10   US "tourist" fee.  OK, Venice. There's my 2 cents. 

New Vaporetto line- the Boat of Art!

Today in the news I read an article announcing a new Vaporetto line beginning April 25, 2012. This new line, the "Boat of Art" will leave from the Train station and end at San Giorgio Maggiore, with 8 stops in between, and will run every 30 minutes.  It will work like the Hop-On, Hop-Off buses you see in lots of big cities, and will require a special ticket. Purchasers of this special ticket, which will be available on line as well as at ACTV ticket office,  will also receive a welcome kit including a city map and other information about cultural institutions who are partners in the project.

Alright, now we have yet another initiative to aid tourists. I'm wondering how different this is will be from purchasing a 12 hour vaporetto ticket. Isn't that just like Hop-on, Hop-off? You can get on and off anywhere you like, anytime you like within the 12 hour time period.  I am going to hope that the advantage to using this special boat/ticket will divert the crowds of tourists from the regular vaporettos. That would be a huge advantage.  You may see me personally directing people to the ACTV ticket office.  Ok, people, step right up, buy your Boat of Art ticket today!!

New Vaporetto line numbers

Recently, ACTV announced a renumbering of several vaporetto lines, effective November 2, 2011.  Here's a handy chart to help make the transition. I can't even imagine what kind of havoc this is going to cause with all the maps of Venice having the old numbering system on them. I still see maps with Line 82 (changed to number 2 several years ago) on them. All very confusing for tourists, I'm sure.

Everything looks pretty easy enough, except for whatever they did to the LN line. It's now 10, 12, 14 and 14L ??

 It will be lots of fun for awhile. I'd better print this chart out!  

A bad boat week

Sciopero.  Now there's an Italian word you should learn quickly. It means strike. The verb is scioperare- to strike.  And yes, this week in Venice there was yet another transportation strike.  Fortunately, most of the time the strikes are short in duration, this one was from 9:00 until 12:30.  The one we had about a week before that was a 24 hour strike, which was very unusual.  But this week, the strike just compounded my boat woes.

The whole week started out badly for me with the onset of a terrible cold (raffredore) on Sunday. By Monday morning I was in no shape to get up for my daily trek to FateBeneFratelli for therapy.  So I stayed in bed.  Tuesday morning I felt only slightly better, but missing therapy two days in a row was not on my agenda- until I looked out the window to check on the weather. Fog was predicted for Tuesday morning. This wasn't just fog, this was the worst fog I have ever seen in my life! I could not see out the window.  For certain, there would be no boats running this morning. I dragged myself back into bed, a little bit thankful for the double reason not be going to therapy. Now, mind you, at the end of therapy every day I am grateful that I went, because I feel so much better afterwards. But the actual process of doing it is sheer torture - the pain is unbelievable.  And the commute is no picnic either.

Wednesday morning I was feeling much better. Not over the cold, but was feeling better after Mike had made a trip to the local farmacia for me the day before. He came home with a bag of goodies- pills for a runny nose, lozenges for the sore throat, and syrup for the cough.  All worked wonders.  And the fog that was predicted for Wednesday again didn't materialize. I got up, got ready, and was out the door headed for the boat dock at Sant Andrea on time.  The minute I arrived at Sant Andrea, I knew I had a problem.  When there is no one else at the dock, it's a sure sign there are no boats running.  There was no fog, and no other signs posted indicating anything different happening this particular morning, but I had to trust my gut instinct. No boats were coming.  I walked to Piazzale Roma.  Just as I made the turn around the corner by the Coop, I had the answer to the mystery.  It wasn't just the 42 or 52 boats not running, there were NO boats. Aha-  a strike.  The electronic sign over the boat dock confirmed this.  The stike would last until 12:30.  Ok- I would  at least get home from therapy, if I could actually get there.

I considered walking the whole way. It's a long way, and my knee was not feeling happy at all. So, I used Plan B- hire a private water taxi. These guys must love strike days, cause the locals use the taxis when they otherwise would not.  10 minutes and 40 Euros later I was standing at the doorway of FateBeneFratelli.

Thursday was a nice day, and the boats ran on schedule. I was thanking the Boat Gods.

On Friday, I double checked the weather forecast. Fog was not predicted.  Good. I walked to the boat docks, and again, there was no one around. The dock was open, but there was a chain over the exitway leading to the boats, which was a bit unusual.  I sat for a few minutes, during which time just one other woman arrived. This was definitely unusual. At this hour of the morning there typically is a pretty good crowd waiting.  I threw in the towel and walked to Piazzale Roma. Sure enough, the # 52 was not running and the # 42 was leaving from Piazzale Roma.  I didn't see any explanation for why the schedule changes, but it didn't matter, all I needed to do was get to FateBeneFratelli.  The # 42 wasn't running on it's normal schedule either, apparently, as  I waited 30 minutes for the boat.  I started to get nervous that I wouldn't have enough time to make it to my therapy appointment.  Fortunately, the boat arrived.

As we rounded the corner onto the lagoon leaving the Cannaregio canal, I saw what the problem was. The fog out here on the lagoon was thick as thieves. You could not see in front of your face.  I couldn't even see the shore line and I don't think we were 100 feet away from it.  I wanted to be mad. My whole week was sent topsy turvy by the boats this week. But- I just couldn't find it in me to get mad. Instead I was mesmerized by the view. Venice is even more mysterious, more beautiful when it is veiled in fog.

New Vaporetto dock at San Marco opens

In a city that is all old, old, old, it's just plain odd to see something so new. It sticks out like a sore thumb, but, I must admit I understand the need for it. Just opened this week is the new Vaporetto dock at San Marco-Vallaresso, and I thought I'd give you a visual tour of it. It has a design very similar to the new stop that opened up on Burano last season. It's open and airy, with lots of covered space. Much better than the exisiting docks which can get too cramped with people while waiting for the boat, especially in hot weather like we've been having the last few weeks.

Only the #2 and the LN embark and disembark at the new dock. The #1 still uses the older existing Vallaresso stop. It seems the city is encouraging the use of the #2 for tourists, and that is a good idea, as most of them want to move between the train station or Piazzale Roma and St. Mark's anyway.

There is a brand new ticket booth located inside the waiting area. I like the new wooden finish to it, instead of the old white booths. Complimenti to whoever came up with the whole design.

The wide open waiting area has plenty of bench space. I'm liking not being packed in like sardines anymore here!

I also like the new electronic boards which tell you when the next boats are arriving. This is a welcome addition at all the vaporetto stops all over the city this season.

This photo just caught my eye while standing out on the new pier. New pier, old cardboard boat signs!

Here's a view of the loading area, taken while on the vaporetto. Compared to all the rest of the vaporettos stops, this new one is huge.

And one final glimpse, taken as the boat was pulling away headed down the Grand Canal. Despite the fact that I don't particularly like to see new construction here, I will admit this is a much needed addition. The Vallaresso stop was always a crowded madhouse during the tourist season, and this will relieve that situation. That can only be happiness for all of us, tourists and residents alike. I would have only requested that they design it to look like it fit in with the rest of Venice. Where's Walt Disney when you need him??

365 Days of Venice - the white boat

I snapped this shot just the other day as I was walking over the Accademia bridge. Normally the Grand Canal in this location is very busy with vaporetti coming and going, picking up and dropping off people at the vaporetto stop here. And at this moment, here is just this one little white boat all to itself on the Grand Canal. Not one boat moving behind or around it as far as I can see. How incredible is that?

Wondering if the man and his little son down there in that boat understood how special this moment must be, I thought.. they are probably so used to this, it doesn't occur to them they are in one of the most beautiful spots on earth, with it all to themselves. But if it wasn't a special moment to them, it certainly was one for me. To catch this glorious little few minutes, to watch them alone on the Grand Canal, probably rowing home from somewhere, gave me great pleasure.

And today I enjoy it again as I post this blog.

365 days of Venice - Daily transportation

Venice has no driveable roads, so the only way to get around is by water or walking. There are only a few methods of transportation available. Private water taxis are expensive, but they are convenient. Most every day travel is done via the Vaporetto, or water bus.

You must have a ticket validated before you get on board the vaporetto. If you do not have a ticket before boarding, and have not asked the attendant on the boat to purchase a ticket, the fine is fairly steep for riding without a ticket. Purchase your ticket at the station before getting on. You can get a ticket for one ride good during a 24 hr period, or you can purchase an unlimited ticket good for 3, 5 or 7 days. Venetian residents may by a monthly ticket, good for unlimited rides in that month.

Each Vaporetto line is numbered and the routes are published. The #1 , probably the most popular line, runs up and down the Grand Canal. If you are getting on a vaporetto, check at the station to be sure you know which direction you need to travel in, and take notice of the route information on each dock. This will show you the direction the boat will be traveling in, the stops it makes along the way, and the times you can expect the boat at each station stop.

One of my must do's in Venice is a ride up and down the Grand Canal on the #1, sitting as close to the front of the bow as possible. I love this ride during the day and also at night.

365 days of Venice - The City of Romance

I remember the day I took this photo. I was on the #1 vaporetto headed down the Grand Canal going back to the hotel. I looked up and was lucky enough to catch this scene. To me it was just a perfect image.

Couples come from all over the world to be married in Venice- and I know why. The city of romance is only one of Venice's many nicknames, but it is certainly appropriate. There is an air of romance here, you can feel it in your bones. There is no way to pinpoint what it is exactly, but it's there.

Maybe it's knowing that Casanova made his home here. Maybe it's the music that always seems to be in the air. Vivaldi is always playing from somewhere in the background. Maybe it's always seeing couples snuggled together in a gondola. Whatever it is, it's inevitable that you feel it. You cannot avoid it.

365 days of Venice --- Finding your way

Here's today's photo selection......

Getting lost in Venice is highly recommended. You never know what wonderous sight is around the corner, and you would never have discovered it if you hadn't gotten a bit lost. And how does one get lost? Just keep walking. Don't pay attention to your map too closely. Walk in the opposite direction that the crowds are going. Dare to be adventurous! One can never get too lost in Venice. Someone had the ingenious idea to post signs to help us find our way back. Like the one in this picture pointing the way to the nearest Vaporetto stop. Funny they knew we'd need the assistance. And in this particular spot, you are way off the beaten path and totally in need of that push in the right direction. I walked under this archway, ran into the wall and without that sign, wouldn't have known which way to go.

Whenever you can't figure out which way to go, just seek out the nearest building and look up to the top of the first floor, on the corner. There you will see one, or possibly more signs, pointing you in the direction of a major landmark like St. Marks or Rialto or Accademia. This will either help orient you on your map again, or just allow you to keep walking in the general direction you choose, eventually you will arrive where you need to be. It's really quite simple, and so helpful.