A day in Venice
The city of Venice is on the very top of the list of my favourite places in the world, along with Brioni islands, Rovinj, and Florence. The one advantage that I, as a Slovenian, have is the accessibility of the city, which I discovered about 2 years ago, when I was getting more into travel, and was left gobsmacked at all the possibilities sitting under my nose. Along with all the films and all the books taking place in Venice, which have the power to give anyone some serious wanderlust, I had made it mandatory to escape to Venice by train for a day. As it always is, my plans were put off until the very last day of summer, a turnout I didn't mind at all.
On August 31st at 6am, my sister and I boarded the train for Venice, and after a 2 hour long ride, we arrived to the Venezia Santa Lucia railway station. Anyone who has ever travelled to Venice by train knows that there are few things that live up to the initial view of the city when stepping outside the railway station. Some things never change, and one of them is the indescribable beauty of Venice. As we had been to the city many times before, it was not in our main interest to focus on the landmarks. Thus, we approached the city in a more relaxed manner, wandering the streets and worming our way through to see significant buildings that are either hidden in the web of water and stone, or best accessible by boat.
We began our wanderings by crossing Ponte degli Scalzi and continuing towards Ponte Rialto through the Santa Croce/San Polo 'neighborhood'. It is advisable to turn to the Fondamenta Riva Olio, from where you get a great view of Ca' d'Oro and the Grand Canal. From there we went on over the bridge to the market, past Ruga Orefici, and finally reached Ponte Rialto. Afterwards, we simply followed the signs, which lead us to Piazza San Marco, where we wanted to climb the Campanile (belltower). However, due to the lack of food and will, we decided to cross that off our list, and instead continue towards Dorsoduro, over Ponte dell'Accademia to a smaller square where we had a snack.
Once all our primal needs were satiated, we visited Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, better known as the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. There we had our first encounter with Cubism and Abstract Expressionism, with paintings of great artists such as Kandinsky, Mirò, Dalí, Picasso, De Chirico, Mondrian etc. When that was done, we reverted back to our routine sightseeing and shopping. On our way back to Piazza San Marco, we took a beeline to see the theatre La Fenice and a hidden gem Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, which promptly left us speechless for its beauty and covert location. Afterwards, we crossed Piazza San Marco and went in search of a bookshop in Fondazione Querini Stampalia, which we finally found after crossing one too many wrong bridges.
The walk back to Ponte Rialto was full of pit stops in various shops. Upon arrival to Rialto, it was time for lunch, which took form of a thick slice of pizza margherita in a hole-in-the-wall café/snackplace. After that, we continued our walk back towards the railway station, which consisted of lots of shops, coffee in a pastry shop, and another beeline into the streets to see the Fondaco dei Turchi palace and Ca' Corner della Regina (Fondazione Prada). With that, our day in Venice had come to an end, and the only thing left was a relaxing train ride back to Trieste.
The great thing that comes with not being tied to a schedule is that you are free to do whatever and go wherever you wish. Many writers say that one has not been to Venice if they had not gotten lost, but I refuse to believe that. I do however believe that if anyone is ever to visit Venice, they should definitely not hesitate to stroll down unknown paths and experience the city of water without street selleres and tourists. The most effective way to do so is to rise early and wander around neighbourhoods/quarters with less exceptional attractions. I can personally guarantee you will meet a maximum of 10 people.
Have you been to Venice before? What do you think of it?
x, Valens
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