Slowing the Pace

Crossing the Accademia bridge on our penultimate day in Venice, the pavements lead to the Zattere, a peaceful little area immediatey south of the Grand Canal, the perfect stop for a morning coffee.  There are tourists here, but it is less hectic and far more relaxed; cafe tables are easy to find and there's an air of peace about the place.  Our first port of call is our final church of the trip, Santa Maria della Salute, standing at the beginning of the Grand Canal like a guard at the city gates.  In 1630, Venice suffered a terrible outbreak of the plague which killed nearly a third of the population.  When it subsided, the people of Venice vowed to build a church to Our Lady of Deliverance, a votive offering for the city's deliverance from pestilence.  A competition was held to chose the architect, with Baldassare Longhena selected to design the new church.  Construction began in 1631 and took 50 years, finishing in 1681, one year before Longhena died.  Inside, the church is surprisingly bright, surprisingly octagonal, and obviously in the Venice guidebook for visitors from many different countries, such is its popularity.  For me, however, it is the exterior that is most fascinating - its location is striking, its dome iconic, inspiring the likes of J.M.W. Turner and John Singer Sargent.

Looking from the Accademia Bridge

J.M.W. Turner's Dogana and Santa Maria della Salute

Santa Maria della Salute

The interior of Santa Maria della Salute

A quick ferry-hop to the other end of the island, we're on the search for a different kind of church.  Venice, I have heard, has a fourth-tier football team who play on the far side of the main island.  Our walk takes us past the naval college and into a world inhabited purely by the local population, far more interesting and Italian than many other parts of the city, where washing is strung up between windows, and children run around uninhibited by crowds of snap-happy holidaymakers.  The stadium itself - Stadio Pierluigi Penzo - is a blink-and-you-miss-it sort of ground, a ramshackle set of stands that makes Plainmoor look like Wembley Stadium.  Still, for the Venice football faithful, this is home, and it must all work ok - F.B.C. Unione Venezia won their division this season.

Stadio Pierluigi Penzo

Off the beaten track in Venice

Once again it is punishingly hot by lunchtime as we join the crowds lining the waterside all the way back to St Mark's.  Their presence is due to the America's Cup World Series, which has come to the city for a four day event.  I must admit I am totally ignorant when it comes to sailing, but the sight of so many tall yachts sailing around the lagoon is a mesmerising experience - their height and their speed is seriously impressive, and in the heat of the full sun, I can't help but envy those on board, spray blowing into their face, wind rushing through their hair (in truth, I'm sure it's back-breaking work to race a yacht).

Yachts in the America's Cup World Series

Back to the hotel for a cool shower, then out again to St Mark's Basilica to see if we can get late entry into the final sight on our list.  Unfortunately, we only have half-an-hour before it closes, and with the queue still disappearing into the distance, it doesn't seem worth the wait.  Tomorrow being Sunday, the Basilica is closed to tourism, and so our chance to visit St Mark's passes.  It would of course have been nice to see, but with so many other churches crossed off the list, it doesn't feel like too much of a blow, and we can still admire the architecture from the square, pick up a gelato, and head to Tarnowska's American bar for the evening, to watch the European Cup final.

St Mark's Basilica

Enjoying an evening gelato

On our final day in the city, the pace of life slows to a virtual standstill.  We've done the main tourist sights, the museums and the cultural centres, so now is the time to do one of my favourite things in a foreign city - wander.  

The day starts back on the Zattere for a chocolate brioche, before we eschew the maps and let our feet take us wherever they choose.  The back canals and squares of Venice are indeed very beautiful, and although we have no idea exactly where we are, we work out that it is actually impossible to get lost in the city - whichever way you go, you will eventually hit a large body of water.  This makes Venice the ideal city to explore even for those with no sense of direction, and with it comes a lot of freedom - you lose your fear of being lost.  In true fashion, then, I'm not really sure where exactly the following photos depict.

Breakfast on the Zattere

Getting lost on the waterfront

Snapshots of a day's wandering

A whole day of leisurely strolling done, there really is just one thing we need to do in Venice - take a gondola ride.  As we're on a budget, the full experience is out of the question (prices start at around the 80 euro mark), but gondola ferries called traghetti cross the Grand Canal for 50 cents a person, and we gingerly step aboard for our two minute ride.  Apparently it is the tradition for men to stay stood up during the crossing, but this is evidently a bad idea on the rocky vessel, so I perch on the side.  No such problem for the gondolier, who dodges the boats and steers us across the lapping canal with the skill of a professional.  It's a cheap and simple pleasure, but one that the two of us thoroughly enjoy.

Aboard the traghetto

Our time in Venice comes to an end, bringing with it the usual reflections.  We've loved our week in the city - its class, its style, its art and its architecture, its food, its people, its sheer beauty.  If we were being honest, a week in the city was perhaps more than we needed, but it allowed us a couple of days to unwind and observe the city at our own relaxed pace.  This, for me, is the best way to explore Venice, as it matches the rhythm of the place, particularly outside the tourist hotspots of St Mark's and the Rialto.

Late into our final evening, the two of us end up on a bench in the shadow of the Doge's Palace, watching the remaining gondolas complete their rounds down a side canal.  It's a beautiful final evening, with a rare and magical feeling that only comes when you're in the company of the one you love, in a place that borders on fantasy.