Revisting 2015

In 2015 my husband became unwell, prompting him to retire early for a period of time in order to make memories as a family. We took our children out of school for 7 weeks and travelled through Europe exploring the world and making priceless memories with our two youngest daughters. My husband is doing okay now and we don’t regret for a moment the financial sacrifice we made to do this – money can be replaced but memories and time together cannot. This post is one written in 2015 capturing that adventure and has been posted unchanged and unamended.

Venice…the city of love. Venice…the city of art. Venice…the city of glass. Venice…the city of water. Venice…the city of – – – – – – smells. After a lovely train ride (yes first class again thank you very much – worth it for the comfort and drinks/snack service along the way…especially with kids), we finally arrived in Venezia Island aka Venice. We knew from lots of friends who had visited before, that the city could be a little smelly from time to time depending on the weather, so we were prepared for this to a point. The point we had failed to factor in was how close were were to St Marks Basilica and the square, and what happened when the sewerage backed up and started bubbling up the drainage holes, coupled with some rain. For interests sake, what happened was the square and some of the cobbled walk ways/alleys became somewhat lapping with liquid causing a stench that was spew-worthy. We had originally wondered about the trestle tables stacked up throughout the outer area of the square and had imagined they were for some market they had, however the morning that everything bubbled to the surface we found they were actually walking platforms so people could get across the square and into the church without stepping into the *ahem* water and smelling for the rest of the day. The kids found this kind of cool to see the city *s(t)inking* but Mackenzie was notably overwhelmed by the smells as any sensory kiddo would be.

When initially arrived we took up the offer of a porter to take our bags over all the stairs – it was lovely but we soon realised that he took us the long way around with his special cart and that we could have gotten there with less crowds and little stairs at all…at 35 Euros it was a costly lesson. Our hotel was an old refurbished one right off the Basilica so it was perfectly close, and the decorations were older and quaint making us feel like we were a little more old world. The only down side I guess in being so close to a major tourist site, was the scores of peddlers selling their wares illegally throughout the area…until the Polizia were in sight at which time they scattered. We knew that there may be a bit of rain throughout our three days in the city so the first day we decided to do all the big stuff we wanted to do like Murano and Burano Islands, the Gondolas, and a general wander around.

OUR HOTEL

PORTERS ON HAND TO GET LUGGAGE OVER STAIRS

So we headed off to Murano Island on the boat, excited to see glass making and explore this exciting little island. We stepped off the boat only to be ushered toward a glass making factory by a salesman, but we wised up quickly and broke away to experience our own adventure. We quickly realised which were authentic and which were mass produced items, and stumbled across a cool little shop with onsite produced glass products that we could actually see being made by father and by son. We bought a few lovely little items (Lauren wanted to buy the entire store) and Mackenzie was in awe of the process and outcome. We did find the island a little smell though and couldn’t bear to eat there.

MURANO ISLAND

After much walking and searching and different bridges, we finally found the boat to Burano and jumped on board. I’m glad we took the advice of a friend and went to this island to because it was far better than Murano with a definite charm, (less smell), and the most exquisitely coloured buildings you’ve ever seen. All the buildings were painted different vibrant colours that made the entire island come alive. We had a delicious lunch and began to explore the surrounds.

BURANO ISLAND

I’m glad I researched the island and found that Burano is known for its lace if you go to the right stores. We went into two stores (one was Emilia and very famous), and we saw the Nannas making the lace right in the store by hand. The laces were exquisite and if only we had more disposable income we could have bought up more. We left Burano and headed back to Venice just in time to do the Gondola experience.

LACE CREATING NANNAS

We jumped on a Gondola with all four of us in the one and even though I am still terrified of deep water and the gondolas were rocking violently in the water, I still plucked up the courage to get in with the family. I held my breath right up until e got out of the main waterway and into the little canals. It was simply magical and worthwhile doing, with us being able to see some famous bridges, and the previous homes of Cassanova, Vivaldi, and a famous painter. We went under so many bridges, it is an experience you just have to see to get a feel for.

GONDOLA RIDE

We didn’t forget to experience art whilst we were there, with Lauren buying a piece of original art and Mackenzie buying a handcrafted mask. We did also manage to see the Rialto Bridge but being that it is currently under renovations, there was not much to see.

LOCAL ART PIECES

Our last day was super wet so we chilled out inside, and the girls chilled and watched a movie so hubby and I could go in search of a laundromat and give the girls and us some much desired clean clothes. This did give us the time to sneak a little lunch and gelato on our own as a couple – laundry and lunch…so romantic lol. We were ready to leave by the time our stay was up, and caught a speedy taxi to the train station to head to Firenze aka Florence – and once we arrived all our plans changed….

…..tune in again for that one!