The Waterfront: A Day In Venice, Italy, Part IV

Near the waterfront there was a small open market. It was nice to walk along with the trees making it very pleasant. Continuing along the walkway opens up onto the waterfront.






The waterfront was bustling with activity. There were boats everywhere docked along the sidewalk.






The harbor was also filled with boats.





Lots of people were waiting to get on boats of all types. (Click on photos to enlarge)




It's very striking to see the long line of buildings right down close to the water.The buildings on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore look majestic from here.

There are so many beautiful sights to see.










Looking closer usually brings even more interesting details of architecture and decoration.
The four cranes visible in this one photo shows that quite a bit of construction or reconstruction is taking place.
The Piazza San Marco is an incredible place. There are more archways than it seems possible to count.













The pigeons provide additional entertainment.











There were many people here, having come to visit from all over the world.


In all directions there's something grand that catches the eye.









The buildings are huge and incredibly ornate.










The attention to detail in sculpture and artwork is almost too magnificent to fully appreciate in just one visit.A proper study of the city would take dedicated enthusiasm and time.

On a more leisurely note, we sat down for a refreshing drink to absorb the atmosphere of the surroundings.













Looking to the right we could see beautiful buildings...












...and to the front, the island of San Giorgio Maggiore...














This quaint image is my most favorite of all that we saw on our visit to the city of Venice.

Walkways And Canals: A Day In Venice, Italy, Part III

There are many pretty walkways along the canals in Venice.












The gondolas are always there to take people directly along them.Elegant taxis for a city.















The carving on the woodwork is beautiful.










The buildings are very interesting because there are so many different styles and colors. This gentle pink with the deep green of the water is appealing.














There are restaurants dotted all over the place where tables are set by the waterway.











The views from the different restaurants are pretty.

It's fun to see the doors of houses opening up onto the canal, pretty much as you would in a normal street.










The fronts of some of the buildings are especially warm and attractive.




Looking up also brings lots of novel sights...











Worn, but warm surfaces...












Varieties of colors and brick...



Dark and mysterious narrow alleys...


















Utilitarian spaces...


























Graffiti, bringing us back from the quaint surroundings with a reminder of what today's 'street art' looks like...

Beautiful doors making a grand entrance...



These characters above the nameplates, the doorbells, are striking.










Here's a closeup showing how piercing those eyes are. His tongue, nose and even ears are certainly shiny!

Looking up from the narrow walkways down below, the gentle afternoon light can be seen glancing off the side of the walls.














Much of the city takes place above eye level.








The scene is so relaxing with the calm water up against the buildings.




Larger canals give room for more grand buildings.



Venice is a remarkable place.


Walking out from the small walkways and canals enclosed by the city brings you out to the more open waterfront with large squares and very grand buildings. To see more of this, stay tuned for the next, and last one, in the A Day In Venice posts.

The Shops: A Day In Venice, Italy, Part II

The shops in Venice are almost a wonder in themselves. (Double click on images to see larger.)







There are all sorts of shops and items for sale.









Dolls and crafts...









sleek clothes stores...




market stalls...

Glass pottery that looks like candy.

This type of glassware has appealed to me ever since I first set eyes on it as a kid. I guess it's all the bright colors.

















The soft pastels in this 'shell' pottery are gorgeous.








There are lamps and all sorts of glassware...













The food displays are sumptuously and decoratively arranged.
Some of the shop fronts take care of their security needs with delicate, almost lacy, ironwork.




Shoes and handbags...









Perfume shops...









Swim wear...










There are many shop fronts with all manner of souvenirs displayed in them.












Glass pendants for necklaces...


















Masks...

















Fruit and vegetable shops...


















Bakeries...














Restaurants...








...this one was decorated with an amusing bread mask.




Grocery stores...







Fine stationary...













Toys...

















All varieties of things...









Elaborate animal masks....
Colorful glassware.

And here this eagle stands out, almost ready to fly out of the shop window.




Stay tuned for Venice, Part III to see many of the walkways and canals in the amazing city.

A Day In Venice, Italy, Part I

I recently read an article in the BLDG BLOG by Geoff Manaugh called "Post-Residential Venice", where he points out that Venice is said to be on course to becoming a city virtually without residents within the next 30 years. It seems that it could become something like a Disneyland, teeming with holidaymakers by day and ghostly empty by night except for a security guard here and there.

This image of Venice by night and being a security guard there keeps popping up in my mind since I read Manaugh's article. I had a very short-lived try at being a night security guard, which confirmed only too well that I'm a complete coward and scared of the dark, with too good an imagination.

And so I've found myself thinking of the day trip to Venice that we took a couple of years ago, where we had a great time - during the day.
We arrived on the train and crossed the bridge over the Grand Canal. The views from the bridge are tremendous.



Boats are docked along the edge of sidewalks like cars.














The canals are filled with gondolas and many small motorboats as well.


The smaller avenues of canal between the buildings offer much more quaint views, with small bridges criss-crossing along the way.










The buildings are very grand. Zooming in on the last photo you can see the many statues elaborately decorating the top of the building.




The gondolas are beautiful.













It's fun to see them making their way between the buildings.




Here's a top-view of one.









And, at a somewhat funny angle in the camera viewfinder, an even closer look shows the relative luxury of the seating, carpeting and ornate styling of the gondola.


The narrow streets were filled with people.







There are restaurants dotted all over the town, some in busy areas, while others are tucked away in more quiet, secluded places.




The canals wend their way around the buildings in irregular paths.


There are lots of things to see, with many narrow 'streets' and walkways.





The buildings are a mixture of many different styles. Stay tuned to see more of Venice.