THOUGHTS ON VENICE

Venice is a wonderful city and one we’ve been excited to visit for many years.  We’ve loved its beautiful canals, narrow streets and rich history.  Unfortunately, we’ve had to look past the crazy amount of fellow tourists crowding the streets, shops and restaurants to find it.  The population of Venice is 60,000 people and we were told on a guided tour today that Venice averages 20 million tourists a year.  Twenty million!  Tourism is the only thing supporting the Venetian economy these days.  We are told that the younger generation is leaving Venice to find work in other parts of Italy.  They are leaving to seek more high tech jobs but also to get away from the high cost of living here.  We asked a waiter at a pub if he had a recommendation for a good restaurant.  We asked “where would you go to eat?” he smiled and said honestly that he wouldn’t eat in Venice because it is too expensive. 

Speaking of expensive, we chose not to take a romantic gondola ride.  Why?  The rides cost €150 ($215) and that doesn’t include the gondolier singing.  If you want him to serenade, you need to pay even more.  It was something we wanted to do, but just couldn’t justify the cost.  Maybe we’ll take a ride the next time we’re in Las Vegas at the Venetian Hotel.  It won’t be exactly the same, but it will have to do.