What happens to a place like Venice when there is no one left but the tourists? Anders read an article about Venice recently that said people were moving out of the city in droves; that they couldn’t afford the price of groceries and that there is no business left there except tourism. I wonder how many of the buildings along the canals are empty; abandoned. There are only 60,000 people residing in the city, though the total population including all 118 islands that make up Venice is 272,000. That’s not very many considering the amount of tourists averages 50,000 A DAY.
Both the kids and Anders were a bit disappointed with Venice. I was the only one that had been there before, and I found myself gazing happily around because I didn’t remember ANYTHING and thus it was all new to me. I knew what to expect, and because it was a cloudy cold day the crowds weren’t nearly as numerous as I had anticipated, which was a plus. The Piazza San Marco had a large section blocked off; San Marco itself was half covered in scaffolding, and we hadn’t really made any plans for what to see, other than my desire to go to Murano where the glass production will dominates. Even if Venice isn’t really that romantic anymore, and even if it is overpriced and crowded, it’s still spectacular.
Piazza San Marco and the Doge’s Palace from the Giudecca Canal
Along the Giudecca Canal
Il Redentore, the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer, on the Giudecca Canal
Grand Canal with Gondolas
Snapped by Karin
Ponte del Sospiri: the Bridge of Sighs (connects the old prisons to the interrogation rooms in the Doge’s Palace)
Twice now, I’ve been to Venice and not ridden in a gondola. That’s like going to Paris and ignoring the Eiffel Tower!
Grand Canal and Ponte Rialto (originally a pontoon floating bridge; it is the oldest bridge across the canal. Rialto means “marketplace”)
Karin & Martin aboard a Vaporetti to Murano
Daffodilly Crocus-silly Belated Birthday Wishes to blue_eyed_girl and Meg Fowler