Venice (Italy)

Venice - Venezia - A very brief history of venice (sorry this section is a bit choppy, Venice has a very long and complex history!) Venice was inhabited in the 5th century by refuges from nearby cities. This original population lived on small islands and marshland which protected the inhabitants from invasion. In the 6th century the inhabitants formed a type of federation which would later become the foundations for the city of Venice. Jumping forward in time a bit to 726, the inhabitants of Venice elected their first Doge - ‘Leader’. During the 11th century Venice had become a great maritime ... more

CINQUE GIORNI A VENEZIA I’ve not previously spent long in Italy, apart from brief forays into the north whilst ‘doing the passes’ from Switzerland, and a couple of docking manoeuvres courtesy of a cheapo-cruise in the Med. (I’m the person who took one look at the queue for the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, and went and had a beer instead) It is therefore fitting, that in the year I start to add Italian to my list of “languages of wine-growing nations” to which I can lay at least some claim to speak, that I should actually go there too. It was school half-term last week, and Mrs. Nibbles had been ... more

Venice. I was under strict instructions to make sure I was off duty for my birthday but unfortunately I was unable to arrange to have the time off until the following week for what was supposed to be a special birthday surprise. Unfortunately due to a couple of circumstances beyond our control I actually found out that my birthday treat was to be a trip to Venice. I couldn’t believe it as I have always wanted to go there but never imagined it would happen this way. I would have probably gone into heart failure had I found out about it at the airport so it was probably for the best I found out ... more

TRAVEL If you are coming from mainland Europe, you may be able to get a train straight into Venice to Ferrovia (the main station) which is right in the hub of Venice. We arrived into Venice Airport in January 2007. There are lots of methods to get into Venice from the Airport including Water Taxi, Train and bus. We intended to use our budget wisely, and so opted for the cheapest method - bus. We got on an ATVO blue bus which took us direct to San Roma (the cities bus station) for 3 euros' each. The station at San Roma is located very close to the River, and it is from here at one of the water ... more

There is so much written about Venice so I thought I would write about the practical things which I thought about or affected me rather than an in depth history of any place or building I visited. If you are interested in visiting Venice I am sure you will have your favourite attractions. The guide books say there are about 400 bridges; they are not as tiring on the legs as you might imagine. There was a lack of children walking and in pushchairs and I had to resist the urge to help the workmen dragging, single handed, large boxes and allsorts on barrows up and down the stairs; that is part of ... more