Thoughts on Venice & Lake Garda

My hotel bedroom ceiling

Venice, I wouldn't have missed it for the world but I am glad I did not book a week there. I loved the whole vaperetto experience and they are superb value if you book the day ticket or as I did 3 days.

St Mark's Square mid afternoon

The expensive cafes in St Mark's Square mid afternoon, notice how many customers they have.

St Mark's Square 8 am

Once you step away from the ant heap that is St Mark's Square etc you begin to see Venice for what it is, a slowly decaying tourist trap. Without tourism Venice would have been abandoned years ago. OK there are still things to see but the invention of the digital camera means people, especially kids and far eastern tourists don't look anymore they just snap and move on. My favourite experience besides the vaporetti was coming upon a man playing a wok, I haven't a clue how he did it but he conjured some amazing sounds from what seemed to be a wok with its' lid welded on.

Gondoliers aren't what they used to be.

Lovely setting for your wedding photos

Lake Garda was a whole different experience even though my visit to Sirmione was on a bank holiday, at least the majority of the crowds were locals. Garda is a good base for touring, not only the local wine trails but also for Verona, Mantova and of course the lake itself. Once again this is helped by good transport availability and cheap, cheap cheap, I will definitely go back there.

Sirmione from the ferry