Venice – it’s like being in a postcard

This is a our second visit to Venice. When we visited in 1999 it was with our children and vey much our first serious overseas trip. It was an adventure particularly as we were traveling with our kids.

We visited Venice in the middle of winter and it was cold. Venice felt dark and closed in, almost sinister. It was magical but not really as I’d imagined it.

This time its quite different. The colours of Venice in late Autumn are quite extraordinary.

Venice is an attack on your senses. There is a new perspective with every turn. Sometimes closed in as I recalled from our previous visit and then around the corner a light filled piazza, the grand canal or a view across the water.

Basilica S Maria Gloriosa Dei Frari

There is a church on every corner. The Basilica Saint Maria Gloriosa Sei Frari was truly spectacular. Donatello’s John the Baptist was amazing, as was the Alter to the Relics and the Monks Choir Stalls. There are no pictures, as they are not allowed.

Peggy Guggenheim Collection – The Angel of the City

Another truly special place in Venice is The Peggy Guggenheim Collection. It provides a contrast from the Venetian art, showing contemporary works in a stunning setting. Artists on display include Max Ernst (who for a short time was married to Peggy Guggenheim), Jackson Pollock (whose Blue Poles displayed in our National Gallery in Canberra caused so much controversy when it was purchased).

Olive Tree - gift by YokomOno to Peggy Guggenheim

Olive Tree – gift by Yoko Ono to Peggy Guggenheim

Pictures are allowed to be taken at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, mine certainly didn’t do it justice!

While it’s worth going inside the numerous churches, museums, and galleries the true Venice experience is walking the streets, taking the vaporettas, visiting the islands, stopping at the bars and restaurants and simply gazing.

When you do, you’ll realize that you are in a postcard.