A Gondola Ride in Venice

Holi-day 5 - Venice. I'd heard it'd be smelly and horrid. But it wasn't at all. It was however a very, very strange place. Stranger than The Vatican. A distinct lack of cars or any other vehicles. Even bikes seem to be put off by the canal networks, and the little bridges that are necessary to cross them. Lots of little twisty alleys, little shops, tourists, hot hot sun, boats, kamikaze pigeons, water and Italians (specifically, Venetians).

And in Venice, the one thing any respectable tourist has to do is take a ride on a Gondola. Since I was a respectable tourist here I am:



Things to note from the picture:
- We have plastic cups full of wine. Yep, they let you do carry-ons. A nice bottle of recently purchased Chianti, can you think of a better place to drink it?
- Our gondolier has not yet donned his hat. He will shortly, when we reach the Canal Grande. Not sure if that is local law, custom, or just because it's less sheltered from the heat.
- I no longer own the sunglasses I'm wearing, since I accidentally stood on them at the weekend. I have since bought a new, identical pair.
- I do still own the hat.
- There isn't too much spare leg-room in a gondola.
- Sometimes you pass more expensive gondolas with musicians in as well as riders. They cannot be seen in the photo.

The way the gondoliers pilot the boats through the narrow channels and heavy water-traffic is hugely impressive. They seem to be able to fit through the smallest gaps without hitting things, and are completely unphased if they suddenly come to an intersection and find boats coming at them from all sides. I doubt I could even balance on the bit where they stand! I remember how awful I used to be at punting...

After the ride, on for dinner, then back to the mainland to take the coach to the hotel. A coach full of slightly drunk people singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" can be very entertaining.