GETTING LOST IN VENICE--What a wonderful experience!
We found our way easily to The Rialto Bridge... shopped a bit, had a very reasonably lunch at the foot of the Bridge and watched the gondolas and water taxis passing by. Then we started back through the tiny streets confident we would find our hotel within the hour. Unfortunately, we forgot that we had crossed the bridge and should have backtracked over it. We were now on the residential side of the Grand Canal! Soon we were caught up in a maze of narrow streets, 3-foot wide lanes, dead ends, and brick and stone walls everywhere. After our first moments of panic, we decided to surrender to it!
They say that getting lost in Venice can be most rewarding, so we allowed ourselves to have a new adventure and found a street with
numerous shops. We tried on a few masks and checked out all of the Venetian souvenirs in the little shops, meandered through the calli and campi of the city finding tiny souvenir shops, craft workshops and boutiques with both Italian and international designer clothing.Eventually sunset was upon us and Venice's maze of narrow streets started to frustrate our navigational skills. One of the most exasperating parts of the "lost" experience is realizing that, while you've got the phrasebook and can ask or point to the right questions, you can't understand the answers.
Aside from shopping, the Dorsoduro area is so beautiful and quiet unlike the other parts of Venice. There are no touristy shops or stalls, there are no gondoliers offering the "best" tour in Venice, there are no huge crowds to fight your way through. There are just the canals and the peace and quiet you would find in any private neighborhood. We felt very safe. We were able to go into churches and be the only ones inside, we were able to walk down streets and be the only ones there and able to stand in front of a gondola factory without having to get in line in order to get a good view or picture.
But we were SO ready to be found again! We wandered until we inevitably popped out onto a major square with a church where we found a local and asked directions back to our hotel (figuring he would know the famous hotel). Unfortunately--he knew where it was--but we couldn't understand his Italian. We took off in the direction he pointed and started to navigate our way back to the well-known side of Venice... and eventually found our hotel...simply with the help of the setting sun, gut instinct... and luck!
SHOPPING ON THE TINY STREETS Experience the charm of out-of-the-way campi (squares), calli (streets) and ponti (bridges). Regular store hours are usually 9-12:30 and 3:30 or 4-7:30 PM; some stores are closed on Saturday afternoon or Monday morning. Food shops are open 8-1 and 5-7:30, and are closed all day Sunday and on Wednesday afternoon. However, many tourist-oriented shops are open all day, every day. Some shops close for both a summer and a winter vacation.
Suggestion: Don't drink much on your shopping or walking excursions if your hotel room isn't nearby because you are not allowed to use toilets anywhere (even McDonalds is a problem --if you can find it!). In order to use a restaurant's toilet facilities you will need to buy something to eat or drink in return. If you come upon a little bar-- combine a shopping break with a "refreshing" vino break.
Here are a couple of souvenir ideas to take back home from
Venice:
Masks and Costumes –
If you are ever in Venice during their annual carnival, you will surely want
to bring home a mask or costume for remembrance of a spectacular event.
The carnival starts around 2 weeks before Ash Wednesday and ends on Fat
Tuesday. (February 11 - 21, 2012).
Piazza San Marco becomes a real 19th-century theatre, hosting shows,
artists, traditional events, and concerts while the audience is dressed in
exquisite carnival costumes. Throughout the carnival there are 19th-century mood performances, a traditional parade, entertainment
dedicated to the children, traditional food and wine products... a
celebration much like our Marti Gras.
Since the 5th century, the people exploited the opportunity during the days before the beginning of the Lent to amuse themselves and savor the pleasures and joy of life. As long as the carnival lasted everybody wore the mask; the doge, the priest, the nuncio and even the maidservant enjoyed the celebration “incognito.” They were concealed as they went shopping, visited, and went about their ordinary life; the mask made it possible for them to say and do everything they dared! I bet this was their favorite time of the year!
The spectacular Venetian carnival masks and costumes can be found throughout the city and are really the most characteristic objects of Venice. Designed and made by the leading Venetian tailors, they use only the finest fabrics: damasks, brocades, oriental silks.
Murano Glass Objects:
You'll find a huge assortment of glass objects and jewelry in shops all over Venice.
If you're heading for nearby Murano: the glass
island, you can do your souvenir-hunting in the many shops along the
island's central canal.
Earrings, rosaries, necklaces, wine stoppers, bracelets,
paperweights,
elegantly decorated bowls and cups, Christmas ornaments, funny
knick-knacks
and vases in a
dizzying variety of shapes and bright colors.
Be sure to carefully inspect any glassware to ensure its quality.
Burano
Lace:
Similarly, some of the world's finest and most intricate lace is found here,
if you know where to look. Like everything else in Venice, the best place to
begin your shopping excursion is in Piazza San Marco. Prices are a little
higher here on average, but so is the quality of the merchandise.
Gondola Everything: Gondola music box, painted ceramic gondola, furlanes (traditional gondoliers’ velvet shoes with rubber soles which look like funny slippers). Gondolier straw hats, practical and attractive on sunny days... even better if you own a gondola.
Furlane shoes/ slippers Straw Gondolier Hat Bronze Horse Wooden jigsaw puzzle
Games and puzzles: Wooden jigsaw-model puzzles of such Venetian landmarks as the Rialto Bridge and the Salute Church, are available at several shops around town.
Book lovers: You will find a wide selection of books, maps, posters and postcards available in all parts of the city. Art prints, posters, and wall maps make wonderful gifts and souvenirs.
Chic clothes: Shoes and accessories can be purchased in several locations throughout the city. Unquestionably, the San Marco area is the fashion Mecca in Venice, with copious pathways, canals and squares lined with outlets of prestigious designers like Armani, Prada, Valentino, Versace, Laura Biagiotti and many others. The second area with a great variety of fashion boutiques is Campo Santo Stefano, as well as Calle della Mandola if you are looking for leather goods of the highest quality. Traditional Venetian silk and velvet, plus delicate lingerie, are to be found in several stores around San Polo and Canal Grande.
