Venice - the city built on water

It was a bit of a mission for us to get from Slovenia up to northern Italy. Our only option on a Sunday was to get a mini-van at 8am for the 3 hour trip. There were so many people heading to Venice that they had to get 4 minivans – surely it would be better to have a bus running. It was a pretty good trip until we broke down about 2km out of Venice with a blown head gasket. We thought we were going to be stuck there for hours but luckily one of the other 3 vans came to pick us up after about half an hour. 

We had heard great things about camping here, so had booked two nights at camp Jolly – about half an hour from the island of Venice. This proved to be a winner! It was way cheaper to stay here than on the island itself, and the campground offered regular shuttle buses to the island each day for only €4 each return. The place also had a swimming pool which was nice as it was a humid 32 degrees when we arrived. It was nice to have a swim and chill by the pool before our big day in Venice the next day.

Relaxing in the pool at Camping Jolly

We had been told one day was more than enough to check out the island of Venice, so got up early to spend a full day there. Venice is actually made up of 117 small islands which have been connected together being built above the water on piles. There is nothing else like it in the world really. The people who live here all have boats and use the canals like roads. It was pretty cool walking over the canals, watching the boats cruising along and giving way to other boats at intersections. One thing I found interesting is that all of the doors to the houses are only just above the waterline of the canals - they say that Venice is slowly sinking so maybe this is why. Who knows, it may not be around in 50 years 

time.. 

Canals are the way people get around in Venice

Water level just below the doors of this house

We managed to see quite a bit of the island just walking around. In the morning we walked from north to south – over the famous Rialto Bridge to San Marco. We walked up the other side of the Grand Canal in the afternoon where there were some decent views of cathedrals & old style buildings lining the water. We stuck around until most of the tourists had left for the day - it was much quieter and more chilled out walking around which was nice. We found a nice spot to have dinner at a restaurant next to one of the canals – the only thing which disappointed was the food.. Very pricey for an average meal that is for sure!

Gondola's parked up on the canal

Rialto Bridge across the Grand Canal

Much quieter in Venice after all the tourists go home

It was nice to relax and take advantage of the swimming pool at our campground the next day. Camping is the way to go here if you are on a budget! We were impressed with the friendly staff, tidy facilities, solid tents, shuttle service, and of course the swimming pool – all for NZ$21 each per night.

One day in Venice was more than enough for us and our next stop is Istanbul in Turkey where I am sure it will be quite different!