Tuesday, September 14, 2010

VENICE IN WINTER ON A RAINY DAY

VENICE is like a dream..and I am posting few photos and experience on demand from my friends ( some foodie foes also) . March is the   worst  time to visit Venice , but I did not have much choice. The Feb was busy with Venice carnival and I did not have enough money to visit during carnival.  So I and Sunny ( see Cinque tere and Begamo blog) decided to go in March with Mrs and Mr. Rajaraman , my colleague.
Being a reasonably lazy person I always excused ( Hypocrisy) myself out from seeing places. So Sunny and I framed a strategy, decide a place where to go, and book ticket. These tickets are not refundable, so we had to go and in the bargain saw beautiful places of Northern Italy. You can see my earlier blog here on Bergamo and Cinque Tere..( More to come on lakes).
Milano is connected by fast and passenger trains to all places in Italy. So one fine morning we set out to see Venice. ( Venice is there in my blood because I spent many days in 1998 on some official work on main land and used to stay in Venice and commute.)
So here are some photos ..it is pretty depressing beacuse of the rain and cold....but who will post cloudy Venice photos ? So you can treat these as rare ha  ha .
We took a train from Milano Centrale in the morning and were in Vencie by 10-40 AM.
It was cloudy , drizzling and the temperature was 5 deg C.
We got out of the station and my colleagues posed for a photo in front of the Grand canal. (Hummmm, no one took mine :-( ) I liked the big advertisement in the back drop....so took the photo quickly
(NOTE: PLEASE CLICK EACH PHOTO TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY THE DETAILS, I HAVE POSTED REASONABLY HIGH RESOLUTION PICS.)
In front of Venice station, with my colleagues,Sunny and  Mr. Rajaraman and his wife   (the Canal Grande in the back ground)

I love big hoardings, and always try to take photos of hoardings.. See the  picture above and you will know from where I captured this photo at 10X zoom..so very unrealistic.

In front of the Venice station, you get ferry (water bus) to travel through the grand Canal. Always buy a whole day ticket for about 18 Euro and you can make as many trips as you want. A single ride will cost about 6 Euro.
We boarded the Bus for the main destination," San Marco's Basilica", which is an hour's ride. The bus crisscrosses the canal to pick up or drop passengers.
Here are the photos taken from the water bus on the grand canal.
The Austrian bridge, 1st of the 3 bridges (Old ones) as you proceed down the canal



View of buildings along the Grand Canal ( The yellow bordered jetty on the right is a bus stand)


The Academia Bridge ( 2nd one)
The most famous Rialto Bridge 
Rialto Market 
The end of the Grand Canal, to the right is the "Basilica di Santa Maria dela salute"
We got off at San Marcos stop and proceeded towards the Besilica of San Marco.
We are now walking through the Piazetta San Marco ( Piazza San Marco is different)  to the Basilica of San Marco and the Piazza.To the right is the Doge's palace and Basilica in front
Piazzeta San Marco
This is the Lagoon side entry, photo  taken from the Basilica, to the left is the Doge's palace and to right is Biblioteca Marciana. The famous twin pillars representing Marco and Todaro are at the water front.


Campanile
Make it a point to go up the tower and have a look. We didn't have time . I had gone up the tower earlier, need to fish out the photos with bright sunshine.
Basilica San Marco
This is the Jewel of Venice, the most beautiful piece of architecture with breathtaking mosaics and interiors. The whole Venice was depressing due to cloud cover and lack of sunshine. You must see the night view. The view is obstructed due to maintenance of structures!
View of Mosaics in the Basilica ( Click to enlarge )
At the entrance
Few other mosaics ( click to enlarge)

















Piazza San Marco
It is in front of the Basilica. Also called as Courtyard of Europe by French Poet and the tourist hot spot..very good eating joints, shops etc. You can see, even on a rainy day , tables are laid out. If I had time , I would have sat down with a bottle of wine and some tit bits.
Walk around

We just strayed around the narrow lanes full of souvenir shops, eateries. I bought few standard ones like famous Venice masks and few magnetic stickers for the fridges of friends.




The small masks at a shop window
While walking around, I was delighted to see a Sardarji family on the Gondola, who waved at me 


The Gondola ride.
Gondola ride is expensive ( for me, but worth it) at 150 Euro for one hour and 6 persons. We took a ride, I mean the Gondola man took us for a ride. It was really nice and memorable. 
In the picture below, we are entering Rio di Palazzo. This place was used for off loading straw (the place is called Ponte della paglia (straw) ) . Walls on both sides are covered for maintenance..,,to the left is Doge's palace and to the right and at the backside is the famous prison. Beyond the bridge in front, you can see another bridge, which is called Bridge of sighs.


The bridge of sighs
The white bridge connects the court to the prison on the right. The walls are  now all covered, so have a look at internet to see how it looks. Many people think that the name has come from lovers who failed in their affair and used to sigh, standing on the bridge. ( How Bollywoodic and romantic!!!! I wish....ha  ha ).  This is not true. The sighs were of condemned prisoners, who might be seeing the outside world for the last time,( while crossing over to the prison.)


More pictures from the Gondola


The famous fish market on Grand canal ( from the Gondola), going  to the Grand canal is part of the deal)
Back to the Gondola staring point and the famous Island San Giorgio Maggiore in the back ground
Now it was time to get back and we stopped for few minutes at 
Santa Maria
Dela Salute






That famous statue at Santa Maria ( The one below , not the one above, thats NO ONE of SOMEONE)







Bye Bye Venice
At railway station ( Train at 18-20 to Milano Centrale, just enough time for ice cream )






NOTE: 
Dear friends
Venice is well publicized on the net. You get all the information there, and much better Photos and description and guidance, to visit. I am just sharing what I saw.
I am running short of recipes to post ( because I am cooking from my treasure which I dug out from your food blogs, thank you, for this favor). I am planning to add the word "TRAVEL" to my blog tittle .
Happy cooking and exciting travel too....




34 comments:

Priya Suresh said...

Actually we were planning to go for our next vacation to venice, very detailed and informative post for us, thanks a ton for sharing these pleasant clicks and thanks for the virtual visit Ushnish..

Prema said...

wow wounderful pics,After seeing the pics plan to visit atleast once...

nandini said...

What a lovely collection of pictures !!!.True Eye Candy. Would love to visit Venice someday!. Well written .. truly ur style. The Hoarding shot is my favourite. Looks like it was an amazing trip!.

Jayanthy Kumaran said...

Wow..thanx for this beautiful post...loved the excellent clicks...great to know more about Venice...simply awesome...:)

Jaya M said...

Ushnish Da,
koto shondor chobi ..dekhe khob bhalo laglo ..and I just loved how that sardarji family waved to you.Loved the mosaics pics very beautiful ..Venice and gondola reminds me a great song "do lafzon ki hai"..
Regards
jayashree

Nandinis food said...

It must've been a tremendous trip in Venice! All the photos are scrolled through were like a real tour!

Nandini's Food Page

Sanjana said...

Venice looks like such a beautiful place. I love the antithesis of the traditional cultural heritage next to luxury and modernity that is so apparent in the photos. Religious art is very close to my heart so I really appreciate that side to such locations as these. Thank you for sharing these pictures. Hope you are well and I look forward to your next post.

P.S. There is ALWAYS time for ice cream! :D

Sunitha said...

Thank you for taking me on the trip with you. It was delightful to read about it all and see the pictures. It's always interesting to see pictures and know a place through a friend than taking it from the blog.. so thanks again.

Hamaree Rasoi said...

Dear Unsnish kaku

Ki Sundor chobi gulo. Akhon obdi ami east asia obdi gechi. Venice ta dekha hoyeni. Tomar photo gulo dekhe mone hocche je er por jodi okhane jabo to aar jai hok, rasta koknono bhulbo na.

Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi

Satrupa said...

Dear Ushnish Bhai,

I am always delighted and flattered to read your generous comments on my blog. A big thanks for that.
My mom makes the version of Ilish that you suggested.It tastes heavenly ..... n I must say that I love Bengali food ..... I just hope to dine with you someday.

Venice is always my dream destination. I really hope to visit it atleast once in this life time. Your post is quite informative and amusing. Thanks for the lovely picts too.

Regards,
Satrupa

http://satrupa-foodforthought.blogspot.com

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

wow - amazing place... I would love to visit this place. It looks like a dream vacation place!

Fathima said...

very detailed post with awesome pictures... it felt like a virtual visit to Venice :-) love the Basillica pictures esp. The mosaics looks awesome and so very detailed...

Chetana Suvarna Ganatra said...

Dear Ushnishji,
Venice has always been my dream vacation....hv kept tis beautiful place to visit on my 20th wedding anni....i find tis place soo romantic...specially the gondolas...wow.
Thks for sharing such a wonderful glimpse of the beautiful city.
Cheers.

Unknown said...

Oshadharon chhobi gulo hoechhe....chhobi dekhei venice ghra hoe galo...Masaics gulo dekhe mont bhore galo...ogulo dekhar shoubhagyo kokhon hobe kina jani na...kintu apanar chhobi te dekhei mon ta sharthok hoe galo....bhishon shundar chhobi.....

Satrupa said...

Dear Ushnish bhai,

Thanks a lot for all the information. I had no clue about it earlier. Must say you are very well read :) I am glad to get in touch with you.

About Sukhua ..... well I am not so fond of it but my husband loves it

Cheers,
Satrupa

Devasena Hariharan said...

so beautiful to look at the photos-grand canal, gondolas, basilica San Marco...

Why dont you take aunty with you sometime, during one of your trips. She will love these places, moreover it will be an interesting experience.

Once in a while, lets keep aside expenses and enjoy -:)Take her also

Vikis Kitchen said...

Ushnish ji, Thanks for this detailed post. Good that you booked non refundable tickets, I will keep that in mind:) Venice photos and the narration are so nice. Beautiful place to visit.
Important question....Did you buy fish there?

Namitha said...

Awesome pics..Never been to Venice.Loved the statue at Santa Maria and "no one of Someone" looks cool in that pic :D

Thanks a ton for your warm wishes. We both (and the kidoos) had a terrific day :-)

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Devsena
I feel good you liked the Venice posting.
I really wish to take aunty out. But these days I always have to travel with a short notice and Aunty being a Gyno-Obs, just cant manage to push off with me :-(..( But it is a blessing in disguise, all husbands need some respite and freedom ha ha ha).
Jokes apart, when I was NRI, she always managed to come to Korea, Kuwait , Malaysia , UAE etc.
Have a nice day

Suman Singh said...

Superb pics..never been to Venice..sounds like a great place to visit for holidays..thanks for sharing your memories and experiences here..I am glad I came across your blog and get to see so many delicious recipes and beautiful post like this..keep blogging..have a nice day! take care!

Arti said...

Wow... Venice har always been a dream destination... The pics are just so surreal... The bridges and the mosaics, well I feel like visiting there right now!! Wonderfully depicted and described...
Loved it throughly:)

Unknown said...

Ushnishda, apni misti ta peyechhen jene amar relaxed lagchhe...noile kamon jani confused chhilam...ami kichhu phuler chhobi post korechhi dekhben...apnar bhalo lagbe...

Madhu said...

Venice is really beautiful. Thanks for bringing this closer. This is inspiring me that i must visit at least once.

Unknown said...

lucky u..:) Lovely pic & very informative ushnishda..I would love to visit venice.. it always been a dream destination....hmmmm
btw i have posted ur rezala recipe, just take a peek..:) thx for sharing such a wonderful recipe with us..

Unknown said...

great pictures of Venice, it is indeed a city worth a visit, am waiting to visit during carnival time, any city in Italy i truly enjoy, thanks for stopping by my blog...didn't know you had a food blog....better late than never :)

Adelina said...

Amazing pictures...and a dream destination for many...You do seem to travel a lot- is it the job that takes you to so many places?

Kalyan Karmakar said...

Dear Ghosh kaku, thanks for sharing this wonderful holiday with us. And the pictures. took me away to another world. Right now I am based at Fort at work for a couple of months. I look at the Gothic buildings here and try to imagine that I am at Venice. i would take it, rains and all. Went there when I was a year or so old.

Hamaree Rasoi said...

Dear Kaku,
Ami chole, rajma er jonne 2.5 Lt pressure cooker use kori. First whistle ashar por flame low te koredi. Low te kora thake bolei goley na. As you can make out by looking at my choley picture ....Ha kintu Motor dal ta khoob tricky hoye ..infact every batch of packet takes different time to cook. Tai bar bar cooker khuley dekhi Motor dal ta korar shomay.
Will post it if you say...
Take care
Deepa

aipi said...

Hi Ushnish da... glad to see you had fun in Venice I like the pictures..I always wanted to visit that part of the world..London , Italy, paris... would check-in with you whenever I plan to visit. Saw your comment on my eggplant recipe... I actually make my own garam masala.. will post the recipe sometime but if can't be bothered with making your own, I like the MDH brand.

Have a great weekend!
Aipi
US Masala

Amritha Kalyani said...

Wonderful pictures! I love venice. I am sure the shops were really interesting too :-) The masks are really really pretty. :-) I like your blog. Very interesting. Happy to follow you :-)

Satya said...

wow wonderful clicks ...i never know venice is sooo beautiful ...thank q for the virtual tour to such a wonderful place ..

Satya
http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

Alessandra said...

Ciao Ushnish,

I just arrived in NZ, I had 7 months and 2 days traveling, good to be back home, and busy writing my new cookbook :-)

I am glad that you find Italy interesting, I have just written a little thing on Venice here http://alessandrazecchini.blogspot.com/2010/10/lego-venice.html

I did a guide for vegetarian in Venice before
here http://alessandrazecchini.blogspot.com/2009/08/and-what-will-vegetarian-eat-in-venice.html

in case you know some vegetarian travelers. It is good to read about Italy from outsiders ;-)

Ciao
Alessandra

P.N. Subramanian said...

Enjoyed your Venice trip along with the rides.Loved to learn about a Sardarji waving at you. I have some black and white but brilliant photographs. Some day I shall also bring to my blog. Thanks.

Piya said...

Ushnish-da. Kewl informative post. Khub enjoy korlam. Ak nishshashe porechi...didnt know that the small white boy with the frog is famous, they appointed a full time guard in police uniform to protect it from tourist's touch..wondered why hadnt they fenced it instead! also surprized to find that san marco basilica's facade is covered since way back in mar'10, what a pity!