Venice, the capital of region Veneto, is located in northern Italy. It is also called the City of Water for a very good reason. There is water everywhere. The city is criss-crossed with canals. According to Wikipedia, Venice is an archipelago of 122 islands separated by about 150 canals in a shallow lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy and connected by about 400 bridges. You get around on foot or in motorised waterbuses (vaporetti) or the classical gondola (more for tourists). If you are fed-up with motor vehicles and highways, Venice is the place to be in.

The buildings of Venice are constructed on closely spaced wood piles, which under water in the absence of oxygen does not decay. They are pretty hardy as most of them are still servicable after centuries of submersion.

Many says Venice is gradually sinking. This was actually caused by drawing of water from artesian wells. This was banned in the 60's and the sinking process has slowed greatly since. The city is prone to flooding though. Some have suggested pumping water into the soil underneath the city to physically lift the City to a greater height above sea level.

One of the main attraction of Venice is the St. Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco). I was there 30 years ago. It was full of pidgeons. I got myself photographed with the pidgeons resting on my outstretched arms. Unfortunately I don't have that photo with me anymore, otherwise I will get it scanned and upload it to this post.

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Travel To Italy – Rome And Venice

By Nomadrick Chapo

Where does one begin to start when discussing Italy. Well, if you intend to travel there, Rome and Venice are good places to start.



Rome



Perhaps you’ve heard of it? It goes without saying that Rome has a rather prominent past. Lets see, in Rome you will find…[deep breath]…the Vatican, Coliseum, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Church of Saint Agnese, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and a guy name Allassandro. Just making sure you’re paying attention. Indeed, Rome is filthy with historically significant attractions. It seems you can’t turn around without bumping into something an Emperor built, captured or destroyed. For those willing to risk potential wrath, there are also the new Divinci Code tours, which take you to the locations found in the book.



In all serious, Rome is a city you should visit at least once in your life. No article could ever do it justice, so I’ll just stop here.



Venice



I fondly refer to Venice as the floating city even though it is apparently sinking. If you’ve seen Venice is movies or televisions shows, the depictions are accurate. Piazza San Marco looks exactly the same, birds and all. The Grande Canal is, well, a grand canal with incredible houses lining it and boats putting up down this water way. Built on mudflats in a lagoon, the city doesn’t really have much room to grow. It just seems paralyzed in time.



Once you’ve conquered the tourist attractions, it will be time to get serious about Venice. The best way to do this is stand in front of your hotel or hostel, determine which direction the tourist attractions lie and start walking in the opposite direction. While you may feel like you’re driving the wrong way on a freeway for a few minutes, you’ll eventually start getting into real Venice.



An entirely different side of Venice will appear and you’ll love it. You’ll find little cafes with locals happy to talk to you [and non-tourist prices]. In fact, the Venetians will tend to hold you in high regard since you’re a tourist who is bypassing the tourist areas. This, of course, will logically lead to a whirl of introductions to this nephew, that son of a brother and so on. Next thing you know, you’ll be complaining about Italian politicians and how things used to be better in the past.



While Rome and Venice are excellent travel destinations, you can’t really go wrong in Italy. For the adventurous, set your itinerary with the old map on a wall and dart technique.



About the Author: Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com - makers of travel journals. Writing journals are the perfect travel accessories. Visit http://www.nomadjournaltrips.com to read more travel articles and travelogues.



Source: www.isnare.com

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Venice, Italy – The Bird Lady

By Nomadrick Chapo

Venice is an old and somewhat eccentric city in Italy. Built long ago on marshlands, I was surprised to find myself spending my first night in the city with the bird lady.



Rent a Room



As is common with many cities in Europe, one can rent a room in a private home at the train station. The advantage of renting a room is you get to live with a family and the costs tend to be a lot cheaper than a hotel room. If you’re lucky, the family will take a liking to you and haul you around to see the “real” city you are in.



I had just arrived in Venice on a train from Paris. It was late, I was tired and in no mood to be picky about lodging. As I walked up to the rent a room desk, I had two priorities: sleep and a shower.



The elderly lady at the desk smiled at me and we got down to business. Apparently, arriving in Venice around midnight in the middle of August wasn’t a wise move. I was told most everything was sold out, but there were two rooms still open. The first was 45 minutes outside of the city while the second was just off Piazza San Marco, the central square you see in all the movies. I booked the San Marco room, given a map and off I went.



As it was late and I was tired, it never occurred to me to ask why a room so close to Piazza San Marco was open when everything else was taken. As I walked through the very narrow streets of Venice, I was too tired to really care.



Following the map, I walked into the square and started heading toward the glass shops at the far end. The walk through the otherwise delightful square was a killer on my headache as the mini-orchestras dueled the night away. Reaching the end, I found the little alley indicated on the map and through I went into more winding little streets.



Eventually, I found the door and gave it a knock. Like a bad Monty Python movie, a little viewing slot opened, eyes looked at me and my backpack, the door opened and I was literally pulled inside. Before me stood a little older lady with wild hair. At this point, I started to understand why the room was available. Turns out I was wrong, as “Michelle” turned out to be very sane and nice.



Michelle gave me the run down on the house and her basic rules. She went into a long diatribe about keeping the doors closed because of something she didn’t know the English word for. I kept nodding and we proceed to the door that would let us into the house proper.



Inside the door, the house took on an entirely new atmosphere. Michelle was a big fan of birds. She had little yellow birds, red birds, black birds and I swear a few humming birds. None of them were in cages. I had booked a room in an informal Aviary!



Fortunately, my room had been bird-proofed by keeping the door closed. As I lay in bed, however, I could hear chirping and wings flapping as the other guests flew around the rooms. Over the next two days, I never got use to opening the door and seeing birds whipping by or perched and staring at me. I imagine this is where Alfred Hitchcock picked up some of his ideas.



As far as I know, Michelle is still in Venice and still renting out rooms. If you’re a bird enthusiast, just ask for the bird hotel at the train station in Venice.



About the Author: Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com - makers of travel journals. Writing journals are great travel accessories and travel gifts for him or her. Visit http://www.nomadjournaltrips.com for more travel articles.




Source: www.isnare.com

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