Being in Venice with Europe’s airports shut down is like the art/cuisine/history equivalent of being snowed in at the cabin. The city is filled with two kinds of travelers — those who weren’t flying anywhere anyway, and those stuck. And those stuck are of two sorts — those anxious and upset, and those resigned to the fact that there’s nothing they can do about it…and are thankful that at least they’re in a great place to be stuck.
Imagine the clumsy flip-flopping going on, with all the people without hotel reservations who are stuck here filling in rooms for people with reservations who are not showing up. The train station was mobbed with poor souls waiting to buy tickets somewhere — long lines that hardly moved.
I’m having such fun here, and such a rich research experience, that I still shudder to think I missed being stuck in London by less than a day when I flew out just before the Iceland eruption.
I’ve met lots of Americans on the streets here. I enjoy reminding them that if they make the most of this opportunity to make their predicament a blessing, in five years they’ll remember the eruption as the reason they had such a great experience in Venice.
I spent my first two full days here not laying eyes on St. Mark’s Square. It’s the back lanes where this enchanting city is most enchanting. Today I needed to go to the place where the causeway from the mainland hits the island to check out the parking garage situation and see the new “People Mover” monorail (which opens this week and will shuttle people from the big car park to Piazza Roma). The traffic on Piazza Roma hit me like a big fart. As I dodged traffic on Piazza Roma, the contrast hit me. I realized what a charming world the Venetians enjoy, with no traffic noise and completely owning their byways as pedestrians.
I’ve spent three days pounding what must be my favorite pavement in Europe. Guides are sharing insights: Donkey meat sausage, asino, is a local treat. A many-generations-old sign cut into the fish market wall reminds merchants that sardines must be 7 centimeters long and Peocio (mussels) must be 3 cm long. Then someone graffitied Il Mio 3.7 cm (I’m sure it’s a rude joke, but I’m not that good with metric to know). Benetton just purchased the huge post office fronting the Grand Canal near the Rialto Bridge and will turn it into some kind of shopping mall.
There are now too many hotels in Venice, and prices are going down. With big hotels having to deeply discount rooms with Web booking services, most of my recommended hotels are lowering their guidebook prices for 2011. But prices are actually meaningless because things will fluctuate with demand, and demand is so unpredictable these days. While in the past I was quite exacting on getting the price, now I’m getting a ballpark price and encouraging travelers to email several and see who’s giving the best deals.
There’s a new “historic play” in town called the Venice Show. My hunch was that it was cheesy, but I needed to see some of it (as it’s heavily advertised, and hotels will push anything that nets them a kickback) to give it a yea or nay in my guidebook. My guide friend and I talked the girl at the desk into letting us pop in free for a bit of the $50 performance. She asked the woman who owned the show for permission, and she said in Italian (not knowing my friend spoke it), “I hope they’re not trying to screw us.” Not letting that sway my critique of the show, we watched half an hour of it and left thinking that it is she (with such lofty promotions) who is trying to screw tourists out of $50 for 80 miserable minutes of cheesy theater.
The buzz among music-loving travelers here is that the €25 Baroque music concerts performed by musicians in black-and-white suits (Intrepreti Veneziani is the best ensemble) are great — and those performed by musicians in powdered wigs and leotards are more spectacle.
My work highlight so far in Venice has been trying out two of my audio tours. I got out my iPhone and let myself guide me down the Grand Canal and through the Frari Church. Each tour worked perfectly — better than I dared to hope. In fact, sitting on the front seat of the vaporetto enjoying the narration of the palaces floating by was a delight. (It reminded me of how I used to commandeer the front view seats of the same slow boat down the Grand Canal back in the 1970s as a young tour guide and bark out a cruder version of that same narration to my groups.) And it was also a treat to jump off the boat to tour the Frari Church — so rich in art still exactly where those Venetian artistic superstars designed it to be enjoyed centuries ago — and enjoy it for my first time without needing to read from a guidebook.
In the Frari, I met a couple from California with iPhone buds and me in their ears, too. They had used my audio tours in Rome, Florence, and now here, and reported they worked great. Considering that we just released eight new tours (for Rome and London), I’m relieved the vision of these free tours being a big help to travelers is now a reality.
My new taste treat: Sgroppino, a traditional Venetian drink of squeezed lemon juice, lemon gelato, and vodka designed to finish off a meal. I hope all the people stuck in this town can find a new favorite local drink. And I hope those at home with trips threatened have happy news in the coming days.
hit you like a big fart? Icky. You can write better than that.
formidable flatulence?
Rick, your audio guides are fantastic. Thank you so much for making them – they are a great supplement to the books, and have the added bonus when my wife and I both have our mp3 players of making it so everyone else at a sight doesn’t have to listen to me reading your tour directions aloud.
Rick, you timed your research trip perfectly this year. One week later and you’d be in the same boat as the rest of us. Hmm, boat, that sounds like a good idea right now.
Well, if you have to be stranded somewhere, it’s not bad to be stranded in Venice. Enjoy!
People like to say if there is nothing you can do about something, just roll with the punches. But imagine the gymnastics going on at RS’s Edmonds, WA headquarters as staff copes with phone calls and emails from worried customers, guides and hoteliers. This too shall pass, eventually, but the only redeeming value of the European travel shut down for RS is that the home team will become even more proficient at handling future chaotic events. By the way, it’s always more fun to be away from the office during crisis.
Keep your fingers cross, been planning our trip to Ireland for nine months! We don’t leave until May 5th, hard to believe that it could still be bad, but it doesn’t look too good. Couldn’t even imagine what would happen if planes can’t fly for many months!
Even scientists can’t predict how long this prolonged eruption will disrupt air travel (or predict the aftermath of ash gradually filtering down to the earth’s surface from the upper atmosphere). Mt St Helens was La Grande Paigaille – a big mess – for awhile. The prevailing and not-so-prevailing winds and the volcano itself will dictate what happens in the next weeks but even China and the west coast of the U.S. will probably see ash from Iceland’s unpronounceable volcano. My guess is that hardy travelers and airlines will become creative, land a few land hours away from their ultimate destination if necessary and take a train or bus. C’est la vie but what a pain. Better to be stuck at home, however, than paying thru the nose for an extended and unintended stay in a hotel room before you can finally fly home from our trip.
Big fart, penis size joke, getting screwed, vodka. A little more intellect and a little less hedonism is preferable.
Great blog as always. My wife, I and some friends are leaving May 7 on a flight to London. We hope this passes before we go. I agree with you Rick I’d much rather be stuck over there enjoying the imposed vacation than here. See you in Spain maybe.
I like the hedonism. Lighten up, people. :-)
Rick – this has to be screwing up your tours big time. What does your company do for people who can’t get over there? What are you doing to help tour members who can check out any time they like but can never leave?
Blog Editor to Jim: For details on our policy, see this page: http://www.ricksteves.com/news/travelnews/iceland_volcano.htm
Ahh! to be stranded in London, Paris, Venice, especially Venice and any where in Italia ! Rick you are so LUCY! Stay stranded!
I don’t mind hedonism, I just thought it was poor writing.
Rick, I would like to commend you as well on your audio guides. My wife and I used them faithfully in Rome and Florence in the Spring of 08. They were quite entertaining at times but also helped us focus on the Art / Architecture in sometimes noisy situations. I recall some confusion in the Uffizi but maybe they changed some rooms around or maybe we just drank too much wine between museums. My wife and I shared the one pair of earbuds we had for the ipod so if we were not arm and arm around each other the ear buds popped out. Quite a nice way to tour Italy. We’ll give your Paris audio guides a try this summer!
Hi, Rick, you turn into a slightly sophomoric and giddy teenager in Venice. It’s a fun side of you that your viewers don’t often get to see. It sounds like you’re half in the bag the whole time. Love reading your writing in Venice.
Agree with the other Jeff and bill. Rick, I love your writing but that was a bit coarse!
We were given free sgoppinos at the end of our meal at 40 Ladroni on Fondamenta de la Sensa in Cannaregio, you r kind of place. Sgroppinos are the the best dessert in Venice!
COME TO FLORENCE! You’re not that far, right? Might as well pay the City of Art another visit!
Rick I love the post. Must have the same sense of humor. My wife I use your travel books and DVD’S. Must say that we have never been disappointed. Keep on bloggin.
Wow. I’ve dreamed of being stranded in Venice, but I never would dream of complaining about it. Now stranded at work in Cincinnati, that I could complain about. I’m glad you are experiencing some slow travel Rick. It makes for nice reading and takes the place of my complaining.
Lean a little bit to the left, Bill.
To be stranded in a city you can’t get lost in..il dolce far niente, indeed! Your blog makes me wish I was back in Venice. Keep on blogging (and blog how you please..)!
The blogs are interesting and informative, but some of the language is so crude. Teenage years are over, so please upgrade your wording.
I thought “big fart” perfectly described the scene for me. So much that my nose crinkled. If a writer in Venice can be so descriptive as to make my nose crinkle in New Orleans…then I would say he’s a pretty darned good writer. Sometimes, nothing says it better than “big fart”. You can’t blame Rick’s writing for: “I hope they’re not trying to screw us.†and Il Mio 3.7cm…after all..he’s merely referencing the the thoughts of others??? If, after considering these points, you still feel the need to be critical… well, I can understand…after all…this is a website and blog meant to cater to folks who are self important and intolerant of others.
No problem with Rick’s word choices…love the thought that words can still evoke an emotion and a reaction in this 70+ year-old traveler. We are leaving for Venice in a week and would love to know which hotels Rick has downgraded and which new spots he has added….any way to find out before the 2011 edition surfaces? We’ve used the books in every country he has written about and will NEVER change our focus from the “back door” to the “front door” in our travels.
Hi Rick, I am one half of the “couple from California” you met in the Frari Church. No one believes that we ran into you in Venice. You have just VALIDATED US!! Thanks again! BTW, we used 12 of your 16 Italy audio tours while we were traveling and they were ALL great. If you want any testers in the future, let us know. In the words of a great tour guide, “Happy travels” to YOU.
Hi Rick, Just returned from Italy two days before the volcano eruption but used your audio tours all over, Friari, Pantheon, Colloseum they were great, now if you make 8 more guides I’m gonna have to go back to Italy soon! They were perfect and there were mayothers like me listening to Rick!
Hi Rick,we just returned from a wonderful trip in Italy.saw alot…but there is so much more to see.After being with my other half for over 10 yrs,he asked me to marry him while we were at the Trevi fountain. how romantic is that! we met so many helpful people,i called my guardian angels.One lady helped me and a few others on and off the train.I was traveling by myself, and even though i had read alot, i have never traveled to Europe before.she gave me helpful ideas,and wished me luck in meeting up with my other half ,who was traveling from Afghanistan.We(I)made some plans thru the beehive,but some nights we(he) wanted to decide once we got there.The lady on the train, has a B&B and we went there,and loved it!!! its in Perugia(Umbria). Anyone going, getting married,or just some R&R should look her up.www.laserenaumbria.com.Thank YOU Rick for everything …and I will let everyone I know,know, about your book(s) barb&bill traverse city m.i.
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