The Grand Canal, Venice
Milan and Venice: February 2010
We have just survived what was likely to be the “killer” sector of the trip: catching the overnight train from Paris to Milan (getting in at 5:38 am); a hard day’s sightseeing in Milan, then a train trip to Venice, all within the space of around 25 hours.
In Milan we managed to see and do quite a lot. We stowed our luggage at the Railway Station, and had croissants, coffee and orange juice for breakfast at the station. Then we went to the beautiful cathedral, which is close to the station. Thankfully it was open.
After that we went to the Pinacotera di Brera – a marvellous art gallery, which was open. What a wonderful place! I especially remember a painting by Mantegna of the Dead Christ. There were many other wonderful paintings, including several of the Last Supper.
After this we had lunch, and walked to the Castel Sforzesco, to see another of Michelangelo’s Pieta: the Rondanini Pieta. I cried when I saw this – I found it extremely moving, the image of Mary with her Son Jesus.
There was also an exhibition called Venere, I think, with images of women.
We had booked to see Leonardo Da Vinci’s Cenacolo, and we made our way to the place where you can see it. They only let a few people in at a time, and they were eager to push you along, much as one would have liked to linger.
After this we found a Metro station, but we couldn’t figure out where we were, or where we wanted to go. It was very confusing; there seemed to be no “You are Here” indication. Other tourists were confused too. Somehow we got back to the railway station, in time to retrieve our luggage, and catch the train to Venice.
After a very long and challenging day, we reached beautiful Venice, where you get off the train, and then you’re on the Grand Canal! we found my self-booked 2 star Venice hotel on the map, but had absolutely no idea how to get there at 9 pm at night. The hotel might have been a 2 star, but they charged like a 4 star! Anyway, it was only for one night.
A water –taxi (€60) solved the problem, although the taxi-driver had to phone for directions. When we arrived, our hotel was picturesque and comfortable, and on a canal, even if there’s a quite lot of mould on the walls! There is an elevator, although not to our room, of course. I found the evacuation notice amusing – in case of fire, it advised prayer!
Breakfast wasn’t great. There was a coffee machine, but alas, it wasn’t working.
Sunday (yesterday) was both Valentine’s Day – the Italians are very romantic – and Carnevale! Venice was full of people dressed up – a bit like the Wellington Sevens, but oh so much more stylish. They all looked like variations of Doges (Dukes), while the ladies could have stepped out of any of the famous paintings, complete with tubercular masks. There were Harlequin masks and hats for sale everywhere – looking gorgeous but when you got up close, made of polyester and made in China, no less!
There was a huge crush of people that built up as the day went on. Fortunately we had got up early and bought one hour tickets on the Vaporetto (of course, there was a stop near our hotel!) so we sailed up and down the Grand Canal in the brilliant sunshine.
When we got off at St Mark’s Square, you could hardly move. It seemed as if the rest of Italy had come to Carnevale. We met couples from Napoli, for example; several Germans, but almost all Italians, commenting on l’aqua, the water which at high tide laps at the entrance to the famous cathedral, and made quite a lot of the square water-logged, in spite of the sunshine.
In 1974 we shared the famous square with a cold wind and thousands of penguins. This time we shared it with sunshine and the rest of Italy. We made our way to a queue for a tour of the Doges’ Palace, and got in reasonably quickly. Too many wonderful highlights to mention here, apart from the chastity belt, complete with lock and key! There were some wonderful early maps.
When we came out it was impossible to move. We wanted to go across the Grand Canal to our hotel and the Santa Maria della Salute, and the Peggy Guggenheim museum. Ever the romantic, JD asked a gondolier to take us across, but they would only do a tour. A water taxi quoted €30! We turned him down then lost him. The vaporetto system is complicated by the direction of the boat and which side of a canal they stop on, so you can’t necessarily just go from A to B.
Plan B was to get there on foot, which entailed pushing our way through a maze of streets and piazzas until we got to one of the bridges. We were grateful to our Hong Kong tour guide, Crystal, for having taught us to “aggressive Kung Fu style” (yes, a verb) to get on the Hong Kong cable car ahead of thousands of others. We applied these skills assertively in Venezia.
Strangely, there were very few places to eat: a few snack bars, but the hotels were mostly dilapidated and the prices horrendous. I eventually found a nondescript looking place that had a hidden dining room where we ate and drank in style (good preparation, as it turned out, for standing 3 hours on the train later in the day). For the record, I had spaghetti con ragu (onions and anchovies, with parmesan), insalata mista, and panna cotta with berries and blackcurrants to follow. Vino Bianco, aqua minerale, and espresso completed the experience (with a bottle of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar beside our table to dress the salad).
When we came out from lunch the crowds in the streets had eased a little, and we made our way back to our hotel to pick up our bags. All transportation was packed. We crowded on a vaporetto to get back to the train station, then queued to validate our Eurail passes for the train trip to Firenze.
Trains to Firenze were full. We were advised to run to get on a regional train to Bologna, leaving in 45 minutes, where we could change for a fast Eurostar train to Firenze (another €20 for the fast train).
We clambered on the already full train, eventually pushing our way into the carriage. We are so pleased that we are travelling light (!): one small wheeled suitcase each, plus our Kathmandu jackets and purses.
We stand for the entire trip to Bologna, about 3 hours in all. The oddest thing: no one is drunk, or drinking; no one gets upset (except the people outside who can’t get on this train); most people have brought some kind of snack (biscuits, chocolate, bread sticks), but there is no mess and no coffee cups, no chips, no debris, and few water bottles. There are no announcements. The train stops and starts from time to time, seemingly unpredictably.
When we finally get to Bologna, the day’s drama is not quite over. We now have less than 5 minutes to get off this train with our bags, find which platform has the train to Firenze, and get ourselves on that train. We manage it, and ride in high speed seated comfort (with refreshments gratuito) for the next 25 minutes to Firenze.
I have checked the address for the Corona d’Italia in the via Nationale. This street runs alongside the railway station. Of course, being Italy, the station is the size of several stadia, and we exit on the wrong side. When we find the via Nationale, the numbers are erratic – 20, 21 on one side, 57 across the road.
Our hotel is wonderful, thank you Jane: a large room with a marble desk and coffee table; bathroom with bath, shower and bidet, and a nice breakfast; it even has a fridge and minibar, pay as you go wireless internet, and a television set. We are back in the safe, avuncular, patronizing and predictable arms of the BBC.
I can only imagine how BBC4 coped with Valentine’s Day; but ours, with Carnevale in Venezia, and all our other adventures, was capped off with 3 red roses and an amaretto in the trattoria next door. Bene!
I am determined to read Corriera Della Sera each day we are here and try and get my Italian up to speed. We have 3 days in beautiful Firenze, then it’s on to Roma, Napoli and Palermo.
PS JD’s navigation skills are legendary! I organize the daily event plan and find where to eat; he figures out how get there. He also forks out the €’s, and manages the laundry.
More to come! Nga mihi nui.
Classic Barbarian 