A travel blog of Ireland, Europe, and New Zealand

Well, let’s face it, for a city with the heritage of Venice you are not going to see a great deal when you arrive on day 1 and leave on day 4. But here’s what we did see.

The weather was superb. Blue skies most of the time with temperatures around 32 degrees every day. There was a moment when we whispered, just to ourselves, that it would be nice to get back to the cool of Dublin.

Of course, there is the history, as in so many European cities. But what stood out here was the wealth that has accumulated over centuries. If you’ve got it, flaunt it, could well have originated here.

Have a look at the marble and gold on display.

The above shots are of St Mark’s Basilica in the Piazza San Marco. The inside was similar but no photos were allowed. Magnificent renaissance art works grace many church interiors – one smaller church has a couple of Tintorettos just hanging up fairly casually, probably worth millions of Euro each.

We saw the Rialto Bridge, above, dating to 1591, although the original bridge was a 12th century wooden structure. The crowds were thick with selfie sticks on the bridge itself. The average number of tourists in Venice on any one day is 60,000. This also happens to be the permanent population figure for the entire city. (Caption contest entry: “I wonder if these chairs would fit in our dining room?”)

So then to the waterways.

It is quite common, where space exists, to find cafe tables right alongside the canal. But there is a very slight, how shall I put this, odiferous waft from time to time that would quite put one off one’s pizza marinara.

But many of the waterways were much tighter, just flowing between buildings.

It’s not surprising that traffic builds up a bit from time to time.

Finally, to evening on the Grand Canal. The light is quite intense in Venice and as the sun gets lower, the terracotta and russet red shades reflect in the water which seems to catch fire until turning an inky blue black as the sun falls below the horizon.