Postcard from Venice

The three of us had a lot of fun last night giving a talk at Ashford Photographic Society. One of the sets of images I included was from a recent trip Julia and I made to Venice and, for those who missed out, here's a taste.

Moored gondolas with Santa Maria della Salute in the background

There aren't too many places one can go to in Europe for a whole week and not see a car; Venice is one such destination. Every form of travel that is not made on foot is via the many waterways, on a variety of craft such as water taxi, water bus or gondola. It's easy to forget that the city is home to working Venetians, so barges and other commercial craft can be seen maintaining business as usual. One can see clean laundry being delivered to the hotels in the mornings and 'water hearses' transporting dearly departed souls to their final places of rest.

Arriving in style

On the water taxi leaving the airport

There are a number of ways of getting from the airport to your hotel but the most efficient and exhilarating option is to take a water taxi. We pre-booked one about a week before with a company called Venicelink and within 10 minutes of leaving the arrivals lounge we were on our way.

Taxi drivers are the same the world over, and it wasn't long until we were out into open water, racing with the other taxis.

Full speed ahead!

Only when we were within about 500m of the city did were the engine revs cut and we were sedately navigated to the San Zaccaria taxi mooring, about 100m from our hotel, the Locanda Vivaldi. The hotel has a terrace restaurant on the top floor, offering stunning views up towards the Grand Canal and the San Giorgio Maggiore.

Late evening view from the hotel terrace towards the Grand Canal entrance

Across the lagoon: the San Giorgio Maggiore

Piazza San Marco (St Mark's Square)

If, like me, you don't like crowds then avoid the main square during busy times of day - essentially 8.30 am onwards - although, it does get a bit quieter in the evenings. The image below was taken just after sunrise.

The Campanile dominates the square

A pre-wedding shoot and a lone jogger are my only company at 6am

Buildings

Just about all the buildings in the city have that weathered look: muted earth colours and pastel shades, punctuated by the odd splash of colour from flowers or brightly-painted shutters. Here is a small selection:-

Out to dry

Santa Maria della Salute

Typical canal-side view

Window box on a house on the island of Burano

House front

Stained church wall

The people of Venice

 
The highlight of the holiday was to walk out in the evening into one of the many backstreets to discover those tucked-away bars and restaurants - the hidden gems of the city. And, in comparison to St Mark's, the smaller squares were much quieter and frequented by families and tourists alike.

'Three coffees and three cigarettes'; locals taking a break

Close encounter of the feathered kind

Late one afternoon, we sat in one of the small squares enjoying a cool beer when an impromptu 'concert' broke out before our very eyes. A group of young French children held a musical rehearsal.

Mums and dads capturing the moment

A virtuoso in the making?

Playing without a care in the world

No photo blog of Venice would be complete without a few photos of the gondoliers.

The classic shot

Parking up at the end of the day

Unwinding after a long shift (before going to count all the €€€s)

Farewell shot

If you can force yourself to get up early there is a whole different Venice waiting to be captured. The shot below below was taken at 5am, just up from our hotel looking out across the lagoon.

There is a mixture of lighting: The sun is rising from the left, the San Giorgio Maggiore is floodlit and the street lights are illuminating the gondolas and posts in the foreground.

Morning glory

Thank you for reading