Venice, Italy. Nicknamed the “city of water,” “the city of bridges,” “the city of light,” and “the most romantic city” in the world. We’ve all heard about it. We’ve all seen travel brochures for it. We’ve seen it in photos, seen it in the movies, in books, on TV, heard about it in music. And we all know that it is sinking. In fact, many of us have even been to Venice, as it is one of the most touristed cities in the world. Well, not surprising, even I have been there. And not just once. Several times. Six times in five months, to be exact. Yes, I suppose I could have just visited the city once, but something about Venice drew me back to this place again and again. It is hard to really define why, but while I was in Europe on my five-month solo journey, Venice, Italy became one of my favorite places on this Earth.
One of the activities I loved to do when I went to Venice was to just wander around. Wander with no particular purpose, other than to experience either walking with the busy, touristy crowds of the main streets, or to stroll through the tranquil peacefulness of the empty side streets, or to see the local people taking their afternoon passegiatta, or even to wander the “real” streets of Venice – the waters of the canals. For some reason, there was something about meandering through the streets of Venice that lifted my spirits and touched my soul. Here are some of my experiences of wandering in Venice.
My first wandering experiences were along the main street, with all the touristy crowds, that leads from the train station all the way to St. Mark’s Square. I actually walked this street several times over my visits to the city. Sometimes I would need to refer to a map to get around, but other times, I decided, “who needs a map when I am just going to wander.” Besides, there are plenty of directional signs around to get me to the Square and back. There was also a second main street right along the edge of the canals of water where I could experience the views. During these walks, there were many stores for window-shopping, many vendor stalls selling their items, and many artists selling their paintings and other artwork. I walked past hotels, restaurants, and I definitely walked past all the gondolas.
But many times during my visits to Venice, I decided to get off the beaten path and experience the quiet, quaint, and empty side streets. Here, I was able to see the colors of the homes of the local Italians who live in Venice; the boats that they use for transportation; the older buildings with worn down paint and wood, with their reflections in the water; the laundry hanging out to dry in the warm sun; the shutters of the windows; and the flowers on the window sills. I even observed one woman sitting outside a restaurant with a pile of arugula preparing it for the meals to be served later that day. And, of course, even wandering through these “paved streets,” some of which were quite tiny and narrow, I would see the waters of the canals.
During the early evening one day, I ended up wandering around the streets of Venice at a time when the locals were out in the cool evening air visiting each other, socializing, where to me it sounded like a symphony of the Italian language. Men were joking, women were gossiping, children were laughing. Grandmothers were singing to their grandbabies.
One morning, I had to walk through the streets of Venice in the dark, early morning hours in order to catch a train. At this time, no stores were open, no vendor stalls were selling their items, there were no artists, and no crowds. There were only a very few other people awake: a drunk person or two stumbling around, a romantic couple who had stayed up all night, and some people who were preparing to go to work. The stillness of this experience was unlike any other.
And finally, since technically the streets of Venice are actually the waters of the canals, I even wandered these quiet and quaint “water streets” on a gondola ride during a warm Italian sunset. Good for the spirit and the soul.
There is nothing like wandering in Venice!
Sweet Travels!