Venice - day 2

So then, a selection of pictures in the order I took them, from our second day in Venice; here my mother-in-law got in a bit of quick crocheting before we headed out for breakfast.

The view from our breakfast table outside at Sullaluna; we walked past the book shop/bistro/café the evening before on our way home from dinner, and I poked my head in to ask whether they served breakfast, which they fortunately did. Delicious it was too.

These guys, out for a morning walk - or boat ride I should say.

This kid of ours, hanging out, munching away. I must say he's an absolute joy to travel with, he can walk for hours and is happy eating anything, so no need to tailor our trips especially for him. 

This lady was busy taking selfies as I spotted her, preening, pouting and making sure that she looked perfect. This is her pretty and embarrassed smile as she spotted me taking her picture too.

Got our minds blown visiting the I Gesuiti church on the northern tip of Cannaregio. I mean look at it! The craftsmanship in all the details were out of this world. This was actually the only time on the trip that Oomoo wasn't feeling it (churches creep him out). Mr Famapa and he sat in the pews (can you spot them?) and after being told that people pray there, Mr F asked O that maybe in the spirit of things he would like to say a prayer. "Please God, get me out of here." he replied. 😂

This balcony was something else; the marble had been cut to look like heavy fabric, and it really looked like it to the eye.

Waiting at Fondamente Nouva for a water bus to take us to Murano, which you can see here in the distance to the left.

Yep, they make the world famous Murano glass on Murano the island. Here we watched a demonstration of how they go about making it.

Murano was super touristy and pretty tacky, but luckily Google Maps took us through the residential areas at one point. Those moments were the best.

Without them you'd miss the little things, like these recycled and repurposed detergent bottles. So cool.

If you go to Venice, and visit Murano, I'd recommend a visit to the Glass Museum; these murrines were made in the late 1870's, and eventually drove their creator mad. It's a shame you can't see from my pic the small scale of these, but the larger examples above the original pieces of glass are enlarged photos so you can see the detail properly. It was almost impossible to make the portraits out with the naked eye. Here's a modern example of the same technique by Loren Stump.

Spied on this guy sorting out his laundry while we had lunch.

Leaving Murano on the water bus, on our way to take in a high view of Venice, which will come in the next post, as this one is already long as it is...

Pigeon post

Space magic

One of my absolute must-sees in Venice was the Olivetti showroom on St Mark's Square, designed by the local architect Carlo Scarpa in the late 1950's. But like most things in Venice it was expensive to enter, so only me and Oomoo went and had a nosey round. Isn't it amazing?! I tried my hardest to explain to Oomoo how a typewriter worked, going through the whole process step by step. It made me miss writing on typewriters as a kid something ridiculous. Remember the smell of the ink? And how you'd get it all over your fingers as you had to move a stuck key? Or the pressure of the carriage return platen (yes, I had to google that, as I had no idea what that part was called) against your wrist as you'd finished typing a line and had to move down one row? It made me really want to get my hands on a portable typewriter, so Oomoo can have a go, and by the looks of things they're going cheap on eBay. My favourite details in the showroom were the window shutters that looked like eyes and the staircase. Kinda makes current architecture look bland and soulless, non?

Letters from Venice

Greetings from Venice

My mother-in-law turned 80 last year, and seeing as we took my father-in-law to Amsterdam for his 80th a few years ago,  it was only right to go on a trip somewhere with her too. She suggested Venice, and we're all so grateful, as neither me or Mr Famapa have ever had any interest in going there. We're pretty allergic to tourists and touristy places, and in my mind there surely can't be a place more so than Venice. But in mid March it's actually relatively quiet, so off we went three weeks ago. And guess what... I frickin' loved it. I had total visual overload and felt a bit hyper, trying to take it all in. So, here's quite a few pictures from our first day there. This is our water taxi we'd just gotten off, reversing out of the canal we were staying by. So much more interesting than watching a regular taxi reversing, don't you think?

My mother-in-law, checking out the view from our Airb'n'b.

Yep, I'd say that qualifies as a pretty good view.

After we dropped off our bags we went out to explore. Even watching someone mop the floor was pretty.

We stayed in Cannaregio, away from the crowds, in a residential area. I can't recommend it enough if you go there - so nice and quiet.

We walked down Strada Nouva (a busy shopping street, not interesting enough to photograph) towards St Marks Square, but if you looked down the alleys veering off it you saw glimpses of what Venice must have been like before the crowds descended.

Can't quite imagine having a boat to get around with instead of a car, or commuting to work on a water bus (just seen at the end of this canal here), but of course that is what you'd do if you lived in Venice. By the way, are you noticing the colours everywhere?? Pretty amazing colour scheme if you ask me.

In one of the narrowest and busiest sections of our walk, I stopped and walked in to this little alleyway and was stunned by the silence. I called the others to come too, so we had a look round and took some pictures. Everyday life is always so much more interesting than souvenir shops.

Luckily none of us wanted to go on a gondola, but it didn't stop us taking pictures of others doing it though.

Some have a feather in their hat, others have whole sea gulls.

Resting our feet by the lagoon, just past St Marks Square. Serious lack of tourist heavy pictures in this post. See that tower in the distance? We went up it later in our trip to get a view of Venice, and it didn't disappoint. 

Anyway, more about that tower in another post. Meanwhile, here's the biggest tree I've ever seen in a pot. Impressive.

We kept walking. And I kept taking pictures.

The architecture is quite something. Those details! Those windows! Those arches! Mamma mia!

And then, just like that, whilst crossing the Rialto bridge, a perfect view of the Grand Canal. Never mind that all around me everyone was taking selfies looking just so. Aaaahh, the joy of being able to frame a picture any which way you like. Lots and lots more from Venezia to come.