Venice

Venice

That Sunday in Florence was probably the hottest day I’ve ever experienced. The stones on the pathways and the bricks and stones forming the buildings were pulsating with heat. Even the steps in the shade were radiating such warmth that you could almost burn your bum if you sat on them! After our walking tour we had lunch, and then decided to walk up the hill to the Rose garden our guide had recommended. But we hadn’t gone far before we all felt like we were melting and I felt such a drained exhaustion from the heat that I thought I might collapse. I didn’t though, and the agreement that we’d head back to the bikes gave us a second wind to make the journey back to Poupe. And there’s nothing quite like a bit of time ducking into some of the lovely shops who also have air con! Win win!

We all had a cold shower and dinner, with a rest on the grass when we got back and then started out on the road towards Venice. Josh spotted a lake on the map halfway there, so we drove into the night and ended up parking on the road near an old ruin overlooking the lake.

The old ruin at the lake

The walk around the lake. In the background is a very ancient little chapel. 

The next morning we took our time, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the surrounding farms, and exploring the ruins we’d parked next to. It was a huge big old place with pigeons and rats and mice nesting everywhere, but with a lot of the main structure still intact. The big ceiling beams and stone floors, huge big open chimneys and stone staircases shows it might have once been a grand big farmhouse. There was even a lovely stone sink still in the kitchen. I always find it so sad to see old places forgotten and abandoned, their owners and carers long gone and forgotten too.

We enjoyed a walk around the lake which must have been a man-made dam, and found a spot we were allowed to swim in, even though we were unprepared for swimming - no difference between underwear and bikinis anyway right! There were many amazingly huge fish in that lake too. Just goes to show how well fish can manage without human interference, as there were only a few places people were allowed to fish.

After that lovely little country interlude it was back to the industrial zones of highways and service stations. We parked up in the outskirts again of the city near Venice, called Mestre and the next day we biked to Venice. The bike paths were out of action though and we ended up having to bike on the motorway and through the backyards of factories for a while - passing dozens of Indian and Pakistani men wearing blue hard hats on their lunch break under the trees outside the factory, all giving us questioning stares. But we finally reached the sea and the 5 km bridge that stretches from the main land to the islands of Venice. It felt good to see the ocean again and to experience the free feeling of speeding along on our bikes, racing each other to the end.

The bridge from Venice to Mestre

Venice has no roads except waterways and footpaths, so it was a lovely change to be able to walk through the old streets with only people to dodge. And people there were! The main attraction of the San Marco and the Ponte De Oro (Bridge of Gold) was totally overflowing with people, but many of the smaller streets and piazzas were manageable. We enjoyed meandering around the beautiful shops and came across some amazing museums and displays, one of which was a museum of classical instruments, housing some very old, and early specimens of violins, violas, cello and double bass. So amazing to see some of the original ideas for these instruments in real life.

Hardly anyone else in our picture here!

Making lunch by the canal.

We biked back to Mestre in the evening and returned again the next day, this time with Josh dropping us at the beginning of Venice with the kayak and then he went back to park in Mestre and he biked in again. Unfortunately it ended up raining pretty hard for the time we had the kayak out and Josh and the two girls, who were taking the first turn ended up getting soaked. Noa, Esmae and I sheltered in a cruise tour building we found with free toilets and internet. Needless to say, we weren’t all that keen to get soaked too, or scowled at by the gondola oarsmen -who were not happy to see a kayak on the canals! (Josh had researched in advance if kayaking here was ok and it was permitted.) It was still a lovely day though - exploring the city, and looking in the old shops. We even found an op shop!

Josh, Phoebe and Fern on the kayak

And look at this funny wee creature we saw riding back towards Mestre in a swampy area!
Apparently it is a Coypu (thanks for finding that out Howard!) that were introduced from South America
It had a wee family of tiny versions of this one. Apparently they are becoming quite a problem in Italy.