Interview with Venice about Venice

What is something you remember from the Basilica tour?

I liked how they tricked Napoleon into leaving without the golden picture! I also liked how we could go up and see the water, it was really beautiful! 

What is a beautiful view you remember?

What I said in my previous answer, the water from the top of the Basilica! 

What would you like to see again?

Maybe the glass blowers, just so I could try to blow glass again!

Is there something you wanted to do but didn't get to do?

Well, I wanted to take a gondola ride, but I also wanted to buy these little glasses. (side note: I got one at the airport that was close enough!)

What did you like to see at the museums?

The red keys work was amazing!

What did you think of the food?

A lot of it was really rich, but I liked almost everything!

Do you remember anything about how the Venetians did thing differently or something you noticed that was odd?

They called all children "boys" which, I guess, in their language was the same as children, but for me it was weird because at first I though they thought I was a boy.... of course a lot of languages do this, but then they did it in English, too...

How would you describe the buildings, canals, bridges, etc. to someone who had no idea what Venice, Italy looked like?

Tall and skinny mostly, they have to be so they can fit everywhere!

What are the sights and sounds of the city?
Well, everywhere there where smokers, they don't seem to have rules on that. It's very noisy form 7am to 11pm. Some of the water is really gross looking, but some is really pretty :)

Day 8: Traveling Back to Berlin

The retractable-ceiling of the dining
area of our hotel (with rain on it)

Early rise, breakfast, and pack. Venice decided, last minute, she really did want one more item (a "Murano" drinking glass). We found "the one" but the store was closed. It seems most stores open around 9 or 9:30 and our taxi was arriving at 9am, so it wasn't going to happen. We're crossing our fingers that a souvenir store at the airport will have one...

We had planned to take a gondola ride while in Venice. We thought, perhaps during one of the our days there. But it was so darn hot, sitting in a black boat just didn't sound appealing, or we were too busy doing something else. Then, we decided, we'd pay a little extra and take a gondola road in the evening, last night after dinner. But the rain came and we all decided that we'd rather not sit in the boat in the pouring rain.

And today we're leaving. The thought of another body-to-body boat ride did not sound good. Chris decided to splurge on a private taxi to the port, which cost as much as a gondola ride. So we decided to pretend our taxi rides were "just like a gondola" ride.

Taxi ride to the port.

You'd think we'd have security down by now, having gone through several in the past week. But Chris beeped, not sure why, as he didn't beep in the past and isn't wearing anything different. Weird. Update: There WAS a "Murano" drinking glass at the airport souvenir store. Not quite the colour scheme Venice wanted, but close enough! And I saw a few watercolour images on the store's walls (part of the decor, not for sale) that I would love to try to copy someday (I've been wanting to learn watercolour, so here's something to aim for!). So I took photos of the three images, which got me strange glances from the woman running the shop. Whatever, I'm leaving!

A new bridge (about seven years old?), very modern.

We bought a few sandwiches and snacks to tide us over, since we'd be traveling during lunchtime. We ate them in the terminal, watching for our plane to arrive. Everyone was relaxed and happy to be returning home. And we all called our apartment in Berin, "home"! Going to Berlin first, to set up, and then to Italy, accomplished what we had hoped. This schedule created a sense of "home" in our apartment and we were all ready to take a break from "tourism" in our new digs.

Random photo of someone wearing "my" shoes.

After a while, Xander decided to go check the gate and came back running, "They're boarding and it says 'Last Call'!" What? We grabbed our backpacks, ran to the gate, and sure enough, he was right.  There was no line and we sailed through our ticket check-in. As we hustled down the stairs, we came out onto the tarmac and saw a bus, fully with people. Oh yeah! We have to take a bus to the airplane. We now remember that we got off our plane, upon arrival, and got onto a bus that took us to the terminal. DOH!

We squeezed onto the bus, and about 6 more people came after us (so we weren't last!) Phew. Made it. Side note: I'm so done with the smell of smoke (people smoke everywhere, ugh) and the smell of B.O. (although, that smelly person might be me, I'm not fairing well here in Venice!)

Fun tidbit: On Air Italia, they offer you a drink and the choice of, "sweet or salty"? On the way there, the salty choice was a type of Frito, but on the way home it was more like croutons (I was a little disappointed, needless to say).

After returning to our apartment (it was still there, hadn't burned down or flooded or anything, phew), the kids rested and Chris and I went out to get some groceries. He showed me the ATM that is less than a block from our home, then we went to the market to buy as much as we could carry.

Funny story. We were thinking of making baked potatoes and we like sour cream with these. So we thought of sour cream. But, we also know that's somewhat an American thing, so we were going to look for crème fraiche" instead. We found the dairy part of the market and found TONS of yogurt and milk and such, but I couldn't find the crème fraiche. So, resorted to asking and practicing my German. I asked a worker, at one of the dairy cabinets, "Where is the crème fraiche?" (in German), and she paused and said, "Crème fraiche?" I said, yes... and she pointed, right in front of her. Sigh. Most embarrassing. We bought it and then promptly did something else with our potatoes, so didn't even need the darn crème fraiche.

Back home, we cooked our first home cooked meal since we left for Italy. We even had time to read a chapter or two in Ready Player One, our current read-aloud book.

Nice to be at home.

Venice Food

Dinner on the Grand Canal. 

Three of the Caprese salads I ordered (so tasty on a hot, hot day).
The first one was closer to a classic style.
The second one was served with very little balsamic, but had nice olives to add tang.
The third one was served, also without dressing, but had a sort of "basil granita" of sorts.

It's amazing how quickly you get tired of pasta and pizza. This curry chicken with black rice.

Kids are super excited to get Coca Cola (we gave in and allowed it).
While we parents get bellinis, the kids got sunrise-juice! 

One of Xander's gnocchis.

We call the kids "groms" all the time, so we liked this gelateria!

Chris' seafood pizza. Crazy!

And here is the side table preparation of Chris' sea bass.
I said, "yes," when they asked if we wanted it prepared.

Venice Recap: (Xander)

Making faces at mom on our last taxi ride.

"The busses were extremely crowded. I felt unhappy while standing on the bus." (about our first bus ride to our hotel)

"All the glass in the glass factory was beautiful." (about Murano)

"I think the end of the island, the point, where you could see a lot, had a pretty view."

"The bidet is pretty much a poop sink. I used it when ever I pooped. You poop in the toilet, then you use the bidet instead of toilet paper. It felt weird. I don't think I would want one at home because it was weird to use."

Not the four cheeses gnocchi,
but still a good one.

"The gnocchi with four cheeses was really good." (his favourite out of the three he ordered)

"It's a little crazy that the whole city is pretty much floating. I bet everybody that's old enough know how to drive a boat, just because there's no cars." (when asked about a place with no cars)

"The caffé gelato was really good." (when asked what gelato he liked best)

Day 4: First Day in Venice

Wahoo, and we're off to Venice, Italy! Just a 25 minute taxi to the Berlin airport, with a lot LESS luggage than the last time. Phew! Venice was a little nervous about going through security, remembering the last time, but we pretty much sailed through... until they found scissors in her backpack. Ooops. They've been there the whole time, but this is the first time security found them. They had her take them out, saw that they were "kid" scissors (basically blunt tipped) and let her keep them. Another, phew!

They checked ID (passports) at checkin, but then nothing when we arrived in Italy. We got to walk through the Schengen arrival doors, so no customs since we were flying from within the Schengen area. Cool! I think this was a bingo item for Venice.

Side note: Chris was signed a seat in a different row than us. But, just before take-off, he asked to change to an open seat and was able to join us. Just weird. The entire row in front of the kids was empty and the seat next to me was empty. And yet, Chris was signed a seat a few rows up next to a mom with an unhappy baby. He got to sit with his family, and the mom had more room to move with her baby. Win-win!

Ready! Set! Arrived!

Upon arrival in Venice, Chris and Xander figured out what tickets to get for transportation into Venice. The last time we traveled here, we took the train from the Bologna airport, so this was new to us. We took a city bus to Venice and then a water taxi. The water taxi was crazy full. People shoved right up into your personal space. A taxi worker kept telling us we had to take our backpacks off. You had to either stow it or hold it. I guess they figure it makes more room for people to be shoved all in. I think I stepped on a dog's tail, who was sitting so quietly with his owners. Sorry!

We checked into the hotel and left our bags (too early to get into the room), and went out to find lunch. This restaurant was just something to tide us over, so nothing special. We did find out something interesting about the bathrooms here. It is typical to have a door to the bathrooms open into a small sink area. Then, there are two doors, one for women and one for men. Doesn't sound odd. But the sink area is small and it is sometimes awkward to be sharing space with the opposite sex when you are used to having a lot of space alone. The first one had frilly mirrors and girls primping, so if you're a dude, you have to walk by them and into your bathroom stall, just inches away. Not horrible, just different. After a few uses, I got used to the idea and, really, I didn't bump into anyone in all that time... it was mostly just the anticipation that kept me on my toes.

Clock tower (left). Government building (middle-left).
The kids playing in a giant water puddle (middle-right). The left-front of the Basilica (right).

We walked to Piazza San Marco. Oh, my! It was crowded! Again, I don't remember it being this crowded. But the buildings were just as beautiful as I remembered. The kids took a break from the heat by wading through the giant puddle that covered the middle of the Piazza.

We had no real plans for today. Just to walk about and take it all in. We headed to the water's edge at the port. The kids stuck their feet into the water there. The beauty of the place definitely takes a little weight out of the heat.

Gelato. We must find gelato. Ok, not hard to find, as there is a gelateria on every "block". You just have to find a good one (but I still argue that they are all probably good). We hunted for a specific one recommended to us and enjoyed our first-of-many gelatos. Then onto our hotel to find our room and take a rest.

View from our balcony at the "Starhotel Splendid Venice" hotel (left and middle)
Venice, pretending to think the bidet was a water fountain (right)

We stayed at the Starhotel Splendid Venice, thanks to HotelTonight's help with this one. It is located between the Rialto bridge and the Piazza San Marco. Great for walking to all the main spots. But it is a slight trade-off in that you are in the heart of the the hustle and bustle (translate to noise and crowds). We are in a family room which is ginormous. Three big rooms (entry, kids beds, master beds) with a large bathroom (tub and shower, bidet, big counters). And thanks to science, we have air conditioning, the BEST thing about the room, really! We do have a wonderful balcony and a views of a canal and bridges... but did I mention the air conditioning? Love it.

Side note: The electrical plugs are NOT the same as in Germany. What? But don't panic, Chris brought one universal-converter and we were able to share that one to recharge all our devices. Phew! We didn't bring laptops, but boy, we needed our phones (for navigation and communication) and the kids NEEDED their iPods to be charged! We scraped by with the shared converter. It just meant that the kids had to leave their iPods to charge in the room during the day, so they couldn't take them out to take photos of their own. Lesson learned. May need more universal-converters for other travels in the future.

As much as we wanted to rest and not do much (we were all tired from an early start), we decided we must walk to the other side of the island to meet Alessandro, one of HotelTonight's hotel-side correspondents. He grew up in Murano and has now lived in Venice for many, many years. He works with the Hotel Antiche Figure on the Ferrovia side of Venice and LOVES his city. He loves to share his knowledge of its history and ideas of where to visit.

Kids and map (left), Chris and Alessandro (middle), Kids walking (right)

We met Alessandro at his hotel and were greeted with warm welcomes and bellinis. He spent a long time showing us the map and pointing out places to see, eat, and visit. The kids had their iPods this time (this was before we realised the outlets were different) and occupied themselves quietly as we studied the map. Alessandro then walked us to dinner before heading home, and we enjoyed a nice dinner to end our day.

Alessandro had sent other clients to the same restaurant (clients who were staying at his hotel) and they sat right next to us. They were ending their 2 week trip (a New Jersey family with three grown daughters). As we talked about their trip, our trip, and other niceties, Venice and Xander (but Venice in particular) were super tired and ready to go back to the hotel for some good rest.

Side note: I am now remembering how long the Italians like to eat (or enjoy each other's company at the table). You get service and food very fast, but it takes about a year to get the bill. EVERY TIME we have to say, "Il conto per favore". And even that takes a while.

As a result, no kid brushed their teeth tonight. It was straight to bed with those sleepyheads.

Day 4: Selfies and Crowds

Well, either Venice, Italy has changed, or I have changed. I do remember it being crowded and very hot, even though we went in late September. This is the place where I walked by a man whose arm brushed against mine and left a visible puddle of sweat on my arm. Ick. But boy, it's REALLY crowded. Almost like "Disneyland" crowded. I just don't remember it being this crowded. How is it ever romantic when you are just walking through a sea of people all the time? And, still, it is crazy hot.

I'd like to share with you, the crazy stream of people that you have to wade through to get anywhere, But first, let me take a selfie.

The selfie-stick. 

Doesn't he look cool?

There are black-market dealers selling items on the street. Glow in the dark items, splat balls, twirly things, and the selfie-stick. Just a few Euros. And people are buying them. I didn't see anyone in transaction with these guys, but the selfie-sticks were everywhere. I'm not against taking selfies, I do that plenty, but there is something about a selfie-stick that makes me laugh. So much that I spent many photo opportunities taking photos of people taking selfies with their selfie-sticks. And yes, there are new signs in certain places banning the use of the selfie-sticks.

Here we are (Venice taking our photo)
being photobombed by a selfie-stick.

This woman was pretty pushy with her "Pardon, pardon," as she pushed her way to the
edge for her selfie-stick photo with her male companion. I just hope the back of my
kids made it into her photo for eternity!

Look closely, this is a three-for-one shot (three friends taking their own selfie-stick photos!

The RIGHT way to take a photo with your pal. Ask a stranger to take it for you!
Thank you, Chris, for taking one for these guys!

Ok, now that we got that out of the way, let me tell you about these crowds. It was super, duper crowded. I was overwhelmed by the sights (so many people, stores, restaurants), sounds (crying babies, clanging of silverware), and smells (B.O., strong cologne, food, cigarette smoke).

Here's how it works:
If you are wanting to window shop, you will feel like you can't. The crowd will push you along and you don't have any time to see anything in the window. Your only other choice is to stop, causing the stream of people behind you to adjust and move around you. Do this quickly, get to the side! This is the same if you are lost or aren't sure where you are going. You will try to read street signs, but they will pass to quickly and there is no way you will find them on a map as you are moving like this. You must pull over or into a side alley to be able to read your map.

On the flip-side, if you know where you are going (you can actually remember which shop you saw that cute glass item in), or are in a hurry, you will be irritated by all the people who are strolling painfully slow, window shopping, confused as to where they are.

You are in either camp. One or the other.

Admittedly, there were a few times we were, blissfully, "The Strollers". I think gelato had something to do with it.

Day 4: Zombies Traveling

Well, yikes. We're all so tired. The kids are zombie-like this morning. No conversations. Simple0-blank stares as they nod acknowledgement. Poor Venice had a bout of insomnia last night. So, we're all tired this morning.

But, the taxi will be called in a few minutes and we'll be off!

As a P.S. to yesterday's post (fighting with the machines), I forgot to add that Chris spent several attempts trying to change the stove's clock. On-line manual to rescue, again! But it was a funny-frustrating thing to have to figure out (it seemed to always end in lots and lots of beeping alarms.)