Venice 2015

Images of Venice and colorful Burano. Images by Phil & Janet
  • Ahh, Venice! One of the most beautiful cities in the world. Gondolas parked waiting on customers. : Vinice
  • Our hotel in Vinice. We lucked out with a room on the front (the three windows together on the right side).
  • We were fortunate to arrive on the one day a year that Venice features its Regatta. Colorful boats, all powered by oarsmen in wild costumes, went directly under the bridge we were standing on. This is the lead boat, but there are many more to follow. : Regatta, Vinice
  • Here's a close up of the lead boat. The oarsmen are in yellow, while the guys in red costumes play trumpets. There are drums on board as well. : Regatta, Vinice
  • Here is an example of a simpler entrant in the Regatta.
  • Colorful carnival masks. They aren't cheap. : Vinice
  • Here's a gentleman tending his flower garden. There is no space in Venice to have a real garden. Hmmm, what's that tall, green leafy plant? : Vinice
  • Our hotel offered tasty happy hour snacks such as this one. It went great with a glass of Prosecco. : Vinice
  • This is the Ponte (bridge) Delgi Scalzi near the western end of the Grand Canal. Our hotel is just out of the picture to the right. This is the bridge from which we photographed the Regatta. : Vinice
  • This is a water taxi, the primary mode of transportation in Venice. We are about to board this one which will take us to meet our gondoliers. : Vinice
  • A night scene on the Grand Canal taken from our water taxi. : Vinice
  • A night view of the Ponte di Rialto on the grand canal. : Rialto Bridge, Vinice
  • The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark (officially known in Italian as the Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco and commonly known as Saint Mark's Basilica). It was undergoing renovation at the time we were there. : Vinice
  • Here's where our group embarked on our night gondola ride through the "streets" of Venice. This is the gondola station Bacino Orseolo, which is just a stone's throw from St. Mark's Square. If you go to Venice and seek a gondola ride on your own, it will cost about 100 euro, depending upon the mood of the gondolier and how well (or not) you're dressed. There's no set price, so buyer beware. : Vinice
  • Here we are with our traveling companions ready to start our trip through the streets of Venice. If you decide you want to go to Venice and spend your days as a gondolier, it's not quite that simple. A gondolier must complete rigorous training and apprenticeship, followed by an exam on Venice history and landmarks. Gondoliers must be licensed, of which there are about 425 currently.
  • I'm not sure what these ladies are doing here, but I doubt if their mothers would approve. Maybe, they were just watching us go by in the gondolas. : Vinice
  • Here's a night shot from the Ponte Delgi Scalzi. Even at night there's a lot of traffic on the Grand Canal. : Vinice
  • Street musicians taking a break.
  • She looks like she's ready to pounce.
  • Early morning along one of the canals. Again, the light was nice. : Vinice
  • We both enjoyed photographing the laundry hanging out to dry whereever we found it. While Venice is known for its canals, you can walk almost anywhere on walkways such as this one. : Vinice
  • More laundry hanging over an outdoor restaurant. : Vinice
  • A gondola passes under the bridge on which we are standing. The reflection of the building in the background is particularly nice. : Vinice
  • Same shot, but a gondola going the opposite direction.
  • Gondolas waiting on customers. While a gondola ride is expensive, we were told a gondola costs about $35,000. : Vinice
  • More gondolas. And reflections. : Vinice
  • A nice decoration on a gondola.
  • The still water in the canals produced an almost mirror-like reflection of the building in the background. : Vinice
  • These are actually aprons. At only ten euro, I should have bought one. Just couldn't make up my mind which one. : Vinice
  • One of the frescoes over the door of St. Marks Basilica.
  • A strong afternoon sun highlights the gondoliers and the rugged stone walls. : Vinice
  • All that walking in Venice and taking all those photos worked up a thirst. A cold, tasty brew - and nice light : Vinice
  • This image shows how old and rugged many of the buildings are. The green line marks normal high water, but there have been floods when the water has gotten much higher. That would give new meaning to a "flooded basement."
  • A canal scene in Venice.
  • An outdoor restaurant. "Cigarette, pen, two glasses, and a bottle of wine." : Vinice
  • Gondolas parked on a narrow canal. The water in the canals is not something you would want to swim in.
  • An early morning shot just before we left Venice. This was taken from our hotel room window. The dome in the background is San Simeone Piccolo. : Vinice
  • Here's Burano! It's a small island about 40 minutes by water taxi from Venice. It is well known for its wildly colorful buildings. This is the main "street." : Burano, Vinice
  • Another view of Burano. Not much time to photograph here, so it was pretty much "run and gun." : Burano, Vinice
  • I'm not sure what this shop sells, but the sign in the window says something about "hand made glass work our own produce." : Burano, Vinice
  • An accordian player.
  • We had lunch here in Burano.
  • Here's our tour group awaiting another great Italian lunch. Note that there's plenty of wine on the table.
  • Unlike most of Venice, the buildings in Burano are anything but drab.
  • Even the buildings on side streets are painted.
  • More laundry! In Burano, even the laundry is colorful. These look like they might be aprons.
  • Roses for Janet that I purchased in St. Mark's Square for the gondola trip.