Jolly - Photos of Venice and Rome

Photos of Venice andRome

Alexander Co.Abroad

BY Rick D. Jolly

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Introduction

This is a companion book to Italy,Egypt, Turkey, Oh My! in the Alexander Co. Abroad series. A bookfilled with photos from Italy as we explored Venice and Rome, oneof our first trips abroad after moving to the U.A.E. Our tripstarts in Venice, known as the floating city and once home to MarcoPolo and the infamous Casanova. Traveling by train, we arrive inRome for an eye-opening experience of the ancient Italian capital.Exploring a top five bucket list destination is hard to describeand harder to document. The idea was to capture both world famousattractions and everyday life as it happens.

View of Venice whilelanding(Above) View of the Grand Canal from our hotelroom(Below)

Landing in Marco Poloairport went smooth as we eased through customs and grabbed ourluggage before a short bus ride to Venice. The airport and bus hadvery few people, but Venice was packed with vacationing Italians.Our hotel, the Continental, was a short walk from the bus stop,over Constitution Bridge and past Santa Luca train station on theGrand Canal. The 15 th century building was very charming and the staffwell managed and attentive. There was an elevator big enough for 2people minus any luggage, so we used the stairs since our room wason the second floor. Our well decorated and spacious room had anice view of the Grand Canal. European spacious means small byAmerican standards, but more than we really needed. The bathroomwas about half the size of the bedroom which was great except forthe odd tub without a curtain. The handheld sprayer made itdifficult not to get the floor wet since it sat on top of thefaucet spraying water at my shins with nowhere to hang it. To makeit worse the faucet was placed in the middle of the tub making itfeel unnatural to stand normally, but at least we had a shower in ahotel in Venice, Italy.

Once only a place found in books andmovies, but now a surreal reality as we walked down one canal andthen another before making our way through several narrow dark litalleys. The sounds of people talking and music playing pulled usfurther into the center of the city as we discovered large opencourtyards and grand churches. Imagining the city looked similarhundreds of years ago when Marco Polo, Leonardo da Vinci, Casanova,and countless Renaissance Artists roamed the very samestreets.

Various views while walking around thestreets of Venice

Outdoor food market(Above) Cozy sidestreet(Below)

Breaking away from the crowds toexplore ancient streets still used by local residents

We made our way down the GiudeccaCanal on the way to St. Marks Square. Circling the island by boatwe made our way around the large cruise ship ports for a fantasticview of the Giudecca Islands before arriving near St. MarksSquare. Walking around at 10am the crowds werent too bad as weexplored the Doges Palace and St. Marks Basilica. Hopping in linefor the bell tower just before the large crowds overwhelmed theentire square. The bell tower was my favorite part of the squarewith its jaw dropping panoramic views of the city. The ringing ofthe bell from the 5 hundred year old Clock tower drew a large crowdand signaling our time to explore other places in thecity.

Wandering the streets and canalsstopping for a tasty lunch near the Rialto Bridge, we boarded aVaporetto (waterbus) for a scenic view of the Grand Canal. The boatwas very crowded, but we managed to find a good spot withunobstructed views of the wonderful buildings lining thewaterway.

Luckily we didnt experience any tidalflooding during our visit to Venice allowing us to come and go aswe pleased. High tides combined with the continual sinking groundhas resulted in repeated flooding during the winter months causingthe local government to use platforms as a way to keep shoppersdry. The rising water flows through the sewer and water drainagesystems contaminating the streets with sewage. A tidal sea gate isunder construction that may solve the persistent flooding problemonce and for all when its completed.

We spent several more days exploringVenice by foot and boat, just enjoying the views and vibe of thecity. While not the cheapest city to visit we shared meals andcompared prices to stay on budget. Just walking around andexploring the city was free and with the Vaporetto pass we couldcover the entire city. I believe we could live in Venice and nevergrow tired of all it has to offer.