Row, row, row your Batela… on the Venice Canals
One bright sunny day, we rented an electric vehicle in Ljubljana and drove ourselves to the (sadly unimpressive) town of Marghera — across the water from Venice. An adventure in learning about charging EVs and some delicious Slovenian food out of the way, two full days in Venice were about to begin.
I was ecstatic! We had chosen to stay in Marghera (located on the mainland across a strip of water from Venice along with Mestre) for the convenience of better and less expensive AirBnB options. Venice lay only a 10-15 minute bus ride away, teasing me from across the water. See below for Marghera tips
The evening of anticipation was made even better by Alya’s sudden desire to unpack all our bags. She is the best valet I’ve ever had, and her love of organization and beauty shines. After she was done with our bags, we rewarded her with a rare ice cream (yes - just ice cream) for dinner. Queue stares of disapproving Italian waiters, servers and busboys en masse… those crazy Americans!
Il Primo
My cheeks hurt. I couldn’t stop smiling. I was so so happy just to be going to Venice in the morning that nothing at all could bring me down!
And nothing tried. The weather forecast was perfect 70’s, and the sun was shining. We were on our way to Venice, looking for some breakfast cappuccinos and croissants, before our “Venice with Kids” experience with Federica.
We had an hour and half to complete a mere 25 minute walk down to our meetings spot at Campo Santa Maria Formosa. That’s plenty of time… unless you are me in Venice! I stopped at every corner, and sometimes not even a corner… as every one offered something beautiful to see and snapshot!
So, in the end, we barely had ten minutes to eat some quick breakfast croissants and drink a cappuccino before arriving 5 minutes late for our appointed meeting time. Not to worry! Our scavenger hunt exploring San Polo and Cannaregio awaited. The kids in the group received their scavenger hunt sheets and we went off in search of Venetian lions on flags and buildings, funky faces above arches and other interesting things we were about to discover. We saw Venetian “busses”, “police cars,” and “ambulances” — in reality just covered boats — as well as a funeral boat, also with its own designated colors.
And we learned the beautiful history of a city formed by people escaping an invasion. They had boats and the invaders did not. So, they got in their boats and went to the nearby islands. Here, they found ways to expand the land territory, ferrying down wooden trunks from the Dolomites and creating a sort of petrified-forest foundation still holding up Venice today. They built bridges and ports, created rain collecting systems for clean water, and grew one of the most magnificent trade cities ever built. They spent money on celebrating, beautifying their buildings and on eating their hearts out. And when they got flooded, they used the flooded items (like books) to build more, like the steps at the Acqua Alta Libreria above. It is really quiet magnificent!
After the great tour, and some ice cream at Gelatoteca Suso, Alya was ready to partake in another Venice tradition — the masks. We were lucky to find an adorable workshop where she got to make her own mask. The adults, meanwhile, snuck off for a wee break to a nearby Cicchetteria (Venitian tapas) to have a bite and a little glass of vino. All were perfectly happy with the results!
Needing some more refreshment, we made our way to our one and only reservation in Venice — Trattoria Da Mamo. A recommended lunch joint that feeds the fancy and the gondolier alike, this place blew our minds! We loved our food and especially our honey eggplant/tomato burrata appetizer, heavenly chitarra burrata pasta, traditional Venetian squid ink pasta with calamari, and Alya’s butter pasta… over which we clashed forks more than once. We loved it so much that we went again on our 3rd day in the city, an unplanned 3rd day which we added mainly to go again to Trattoria Da Mamo!
Having filled up on the good stuff, we had two events ahead of us — a ride on a Gondola and a class for learning to row a batela. We decided to take a Gondola shortcut instead of a one hour ride, and hopped on a quick 3-minute Gondola canal crossing. A few minutes and only a few Euro later, we checked the Gondola experience off our list!
And now, it was time to make our way to the much less touristy part of the city — Cannaregio. This is where “Row Venice” operates. This is a company run entirely by women, and it teaches people how to row a traditional Venetian boat — a botela — that is actually used by Venetians (unlike the Gondola) to get around. A botela is operated by two people typically. One stands in the front and does a sort of dance back and forth with the oar, and the other stands on the back of a boat like a gondolier — steering and rowing at the same time.
Us inexperienced folks got to be up front. We took turns row row rowing the boat along, and even Alya did an amazing job. She also serenaded us along the ride. “When the moon hits your eye…vlike a big pizza pie… that’s AMORE!”
The views of the buildings and the residential part of Venice from the water was peaceful and beautiful, and like the rest of the city, a bit magical.
And once we were done rowing in the calm canals, the teacher decided to test us by guiding us to the open waters. This was wavy, turbulent and almost as scary as the mosquitoes that were constantly trying to bite us in Venice. At this opportune wavey time, Misha got to try being the person on the back of the boat. The effort balancing on the end of a thin constantly rocking log of wood while also trying to steer it can be seen clearly on his face
I don’t know if he’d call it a highlight. If you’d like to see more of what this all looks like, I recommend the Venice episode of “Somebody Feed Phil.” He also learned to row a botela with Row Venice, and his show captures it quite perfectly.
Having worked up a healthy appetite, we too wanted someone to feed us. So, we decided to have some ice cream on the steps of a bridge and then head home for the night.
We wound up wondering back through the Venetian Jewish Ghetto. This was the first such place in Europe, formed in 1516. Jews were segregated to that part of the city until Napoleon arrived in the 1797 and decreed that this is nonsense. There was something good about Napoleon after all -- short lived as it was. The area still has some Jewish restaurants, synagogues and folks wondering around in kippahs and such. It does, however, look smaller and older than many other areas — a sign to this day that all was not well.
Il Secondo
On the second day in Venice, we decided to explore the outer islands of the city — Burano, Murano and Torcello. This was a lovely small tour on a speed boat, during which we got to feel the wind in our hair, take some pretty cool pictures, enjoy the colors, and learn about the history of Venice -- including fascinating tidbits about how you bury folks on islands, the religious history of Venice (we stopped by a Franciscan monastery island), and how Murano was formed in the first place.
Did you know that, in the old days, Venetian lords were so afraid that the special secrets of their glass-making would be stolen that they moved all the glass-workers and their families to the island of Murano and confined them there? The businesses were passed down through the generations, and one could go in and out of Murano solely by special permission.
(Check out the boat tour we took with Matteo here and a separate post just about this day here).
After the tour, we disembarked mid afternoon in Venice and made our way down to Piazza San Marco. This, by the way, is the only Piazza in all of Venice as the rest were simply campos in the old days. A Campo is a cultivated field, while a Piazza is a dedicated open meeting space. I digress.
We enjoyed the extravagance of the Piazza, with its many cafes and live bands competing for attention. We did not, however, make it up the Campanile or into the Basilica (which was a bummer). Our poor timing here didn’t account for the fact that they closed at 4:30pm. Lesson learned — stop maybe only on every other corner to take pictures. And keep in mind, the Campanile and Palazzo Del Doge require tickets/reservations ahead of time. Finally, we learned, do not sit on the steps of the Piazza, you will get shooed off like the little pigeon that you are, tired feet or not.
Having taken in the views, we made our way up the other side of Venice back toward some food and the train station. We roamed Dorsoduro and Santa Croce, with their many museums, old palaces that you can wander, and art galleries. We strolled on many bridges, into many alleys, and onto square after square. We roamed the galleries, enjoying the funkiness of the 3-d art and glass flowers. And Misha became one with the city itself.
I enjoyed the slightly less touristy feel of this part of the city. I could see myself sitting at a little table, eating tiny sandwiches and sipping away.
Part of what makes the city so alive is also a practical aspect of the annual flooding here. People do not live on the first floor. Instead, the first floors are typically shops, cafes, restaurants, mask and glass studios, bars, and galleries. We enjoyed shop after shop after restaurant after restaurant. And then we went home, tired but sated.
Tip: If you want a good restaurant, make a reservation. Typically - by phone. Italy does not appreciate online reservation systems.
Dolce
Having woken up on the next day, packed and ready to leave the Venice area, I found that I simply could not. I had not had enough. Venice was calling me from across the water. “Come,” she said. “Come and eat some more, stroll some more, look some more.” And so, with a bit of eyelash batting, pleading and pouty lip cute faces from Alya, as well as a promise of another meal at Da Mamo, we convinced Mike that one last half day in Venice was exactly what we needed before our drive back to Ljubljana.
We spent the next few hours wandering around, absorbing the beauty and tasting free chocolates at each and every Venchi chocolate store (a chain chocolate shop that we’ve seen in other places since then — just look for the chocolate fountains in the display). We bought some souvenirs. I mean, who wouldn’t buy a Bali wooden mask in Venice?
We ate our hearts out again at Trattoria Da Mamo.
We wondered bridge after bridge, after bridge. And last, but not least, we visited the only playground we are aware of in the city. Right across from the train station, and the perfect treat at the end of a long day.
Tired, sated, and happy, we waved goodbye to our new friend Venice and said Arrivederci… see you soon!
Digestivo
A few words on logistics:
(1) Getting to Venice: Catching Bus in Marghera is very easy and it’s a 10-15 minute ride. Tickets and day passes can be purchased on your phone electronically via an app that works for all transport in Venice (AVM Venezia). If your phone number won’t work for registration, try your email.
(2) Transport in Venice: Vaporettos (bus boats) do go to many places in the city, but mainly along the grand canal. You have to walk elsewhere (unless you get an expensive water taxi or gondola) and the touristy areas are slow for walking. Note also that Vaporettos travel on the Grand Canal and it is wavey. If you get sea-sick consider taking a pill or not using a Vaporetto.
(3) Food: While you can wander in for lunch in many places and there are many places to have a drink and cicheti, dinner is a whole other affair. Most good places were booked out - you need to make a reservation, likely by phone. Look up your dinners and try to reserve them.
(4) Mosquitoes: There are a lot of them, and they are hungry. They do not make reservations for their dinner…they just bite. We bought 50% DEET in a pharmacy in Venice and that barely worked. Definitely drop by a pharmacy for the high DEET if mosquitoes tend to like you.
(5) Tours vs Roaming around: Make sure you leave room for roaming around the city if you have tours scheduled. That’s just the best part of Venice. There is something beautiful around every corner. Take your time, and relax into the atmosphere in the city. The few things you do have to plan in advance, however: Tickets to Campanile and Doge’s Palace if you are going, time for the line to the Basilica, and your glass blowing/design class if you plan to take one. There are some great options for kids available on AirBnB experiences.
(6) Other Islands: Last, but not least, if you plan to go out to see Murano and Burano, keep in mind that public boats need waiting time. It’s quite a ride and you need to wait for the next available boat. This is why we opted for the semi-private tour. It was pricier, definitely, but we covered a lot of ground quickly. If you want to relax and roam around Murano and Burano - plan most of the day for that.
ENJOY LA DOLCE VITA!