Venice - City With No Playgrounds

I don't mean to offend anyone, but everybody's Venice photos look the same (ours included). So I'll keep this post quite short - just the basics.

It was another early start for Team Boltwood - it's the price we willingly pay for being able to sleep in the same beds for one week. The train ride from Verona was 80 minutes, so we had to drag the kids out of bed at 6:00 am if we were to avoid the line up at San Marco. 

Made it in time to still see the catch of the day - impressive! And in case you're wondering, swordfish do not use their 'sword' to spear their prey, but rather to slash at it and stun it before eating. Can't say you don't learn a thing or two on this blog.

Repeat customers - Shirley and I were last here about 13 years ago, and I have to say Venice hasn't changed a bit. I suppose it would be more worrisome if it had.

In fact, I experienced a severe case of deja-vu as I looked up and thought, "man, it must have taken forever to make those mosaics!". Fortunately, we only had a 10 minute wait to get into St. Mark's - apparently it can be well over an hour during the summer.

The kids were reasonably impressed with San Marco, but seemed more interested in convincing the local 'flying rats' to land on them. I made it a bit more challenging by forbidding them to feed the pigeons any bread or crackers. As such, they had to rely on various tricks, cajoling, begging, and whatever form of 'pigeon whispering' would work. Annie finally landed one.

Ah, the great Venice family shot - daddy not included.

He's too busy getting pooped on in the square - not sure the black shirt is a good idea.

Rush hour on the canals - we warned the kids beforehand that we weren't going to drop 100 euros for a gondola ride, so they had to be content to watch the action from the sidelines. Scenes like this actually make you realize what a racket it is.

Wow - all of us together in one shot! This was on the Accademia Bridge with the Santa Maria della Salute church in the background.

One of the great things about Venice is that if you purposely turn left when others turn right, and if you make an attempt to distance yourself from the maddening crowd (yes, I know we are part of it), then you can quickly find yourself in tranquility. This was one such moment.

Unless money is no object, the food in Venice can be a bit underwhelming. Makes more sense to go for the picnic lunch. And since Venice is still a centre for arts, you will almost always find local musicians practicing their craft, and supplementing their income, in piazzas across the city. Here we had our 'Venetian Moment' munching on prosciutto and cheese, listening to church bells at noon, and then relaxing in the sun to a performance by one very talented cellist.

Feeling the effects of the 6:00 am start, it was time for the afternoon cappuccino - this one's for you, Shirin!

I tried to convince the kids that since this tower was undoubtedly not perfectly straight, then we could cross the Leaning Tower of Pisa off their so-called bucket lists - they would have none of it. Nice try, dad.

The only free thing in Venice.

In almost every city we've been to, there has been some sort of playground or park or green space in which we can let Annie and Owen blow off some energy. No such luck in Venice. It is an amazing city, and while children can let their imaginations run wild in this incredibly unique place, there really isn't much for kids 'to do'. It's a lot of walking, gazing, and posing.

So with tired legs we boarded the train back to Verona. Another great day out, and a perfect opportunity to catch some zzzz's on the best pillow in the world.