Hello Again!
I've sat in front of my screen for a while now contemplating how to sum up Venice in words!
For a "Boat Bum" like myself its the perfect places. Buses are boats, taxis are boats, you have a boat licence instead of a Car.
Venice is a city I've always been amazed by, the structure of how the city flows, canals not roads. Boats not cars. A taxi but not, its a beautiful peice of craftsmanship with an inboard diesel engine that's louder than a tractor.
The first time I visited Venice I was with my family. We travelled by train from Lake Garda which was an absolutely stunning train ride that took us through the rolling country side to the Adriatic Sea. You look out and see the foundations of where the city began, it's breathtaking. I was lucky to first visit the city with our families resident "travel guru", my mother who has worked in the travel industry for almost 30 years. She knew the hot spots, the must visits and all the places inbetween. She has some amazing travel content on her instagram @thetravelguru_ni.
There's something truly romantic about Venice, the low lighting in the streets the gentle noise of a wake breaking onto the side of a canal. For me Venice offers everything you could want, Boats,Boutiques and Booze. There are a few things in this life that I truely love, boat's being one of them and the one very much is boutiques be it unique jewerelly, hand crafted art work or in this weeks purchase it was Shoes!! I love shoes! Rarely I treat myself to new ones, wondering down the narrow street I disappear from the crew and they know absolutely that I've spotted a fabulous pair of shoes that'll " Go with everything ".
Half an hour later I'm out of the shop ,having tired on multiple pairs and telling myself "there's no space in the bilge or the shoe locker". I've my news shoes in hand and vibing like I'm Carrie Bradshaw having just bought a pair of Christian Louboutin's. (In my dreams).
Bringing a yacht into Venice isn't the simplist of tasks it takes a lot of pre-planning and booking between captains and agents. There are lots of regulation that a yacht must follow in order to enter Venice. Such as; you cannot wash the boat Down with anything but vinegar water (No bubbles in the grand canal friends), for obvious reasons we cannot use the water makers within the lagoon of Venice, so water consumption onboard was restricted slightly.
Location- Rialto Bridge
The approaches into Venice through the lido Chanel is simply breath taking but as a sailor it's a pain in the A** as no one knows the rules of the road, so being on the ball is essential.
Close navigation is a great excercise for all crew on deck to be aware of traffic around and what the correct course of action is,operating with a narrow Chanel comes under rule nine of the collision regulation.
We were berthed just before the enterance into the Grand canal outside Piazza San Marco... As you can imagine the traffic was like the M26 at rush hour- so many water taxis, Gondala's, barges docking and undocking around us we came into berth on the piles to the port side of Punta Della Dogana. We put the boat to rest and carried on with our day to day jobs and then got a trip ashore.
I'm always mesmerised by the talent on very street corner's of Venice, we stumbled upon some incredible musicians, the one in the video below can only be described with the feeling of goose bumps.
Mel's Must Do's in Venice !
Take a ride in a GONDOLA
Stand on the RIALTO BRIDGE (it's worth it for the view)
Have Dinner/lunch at Trattoria Alla Madonna https://www.ristoranteallamadonna.com/en/
Have a Bellini at Harry's Bar
Lastly Don't try and navigate Venice let it take you on an adventure, you'll eventually always end up back at Piazza San Marco!
Ahh Venice, I know I'll return to this city as its a place I'd love to experience and explore more of but until then I shall continue to love it as I did the first time I visited.
The next few blog posts maybe less destination orientated and more Yachting and career based. If your enjoying reading my blogs so far please continue to like, comment and share with your friends and don't forget to subscribe for more updates.
As always keep smiling, laughing and loving the sea 🤍🌊
Shaped by the Sea xo
Sailed into Venice many a time and just love the atmosphere there. Enjoying your blog Melissa, reminds me of my adventures. x
And have a coffee and ice cream at Cafe Florian - yes it’s a premium but what a place to sit and soak up the atmosphere of Piazza San Marco and the music.