Venice

Although Venice is undoubtedly one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, spending time here reminds me of being stuck on a paradise island located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

For the first few days one is flabbergasted by the sheer beauty and charm of such a place, however after the three day honeymoon period the limitations of such a place become apparent.

Don’t get me wrong Venice is truly remarkable and a ‘must visit’ for any self respecting traveller but once the sights and landmarks have been visited there exists very little else due to the fact that Venice is effectively an island cut off from the Italian mainland.

This view led me to pity the youth that have grown up around the town. Restrictive space makes many childhood recreations impractical and the teenage years hold little better in terms of sources of amusement. To me it came as no surprise that the faces that fill the manic streets comprise mainly of tourists and ageing locals, no kids playing football or teenagers gathering around an area.

Nevertheless just as many others do, we certainly fell under the cities charm during our few days in Venice. The quaint streets and buildings that stand around the cities canals almost make for a surreal never land. A day spent walking around the town is pretty much a photographers dream due to the unique beauty and architecture that cannot be rivalled anywhere else. Somewhat inevitably though the iconic status that the city has achieved has led to an inflation of prices and personally I felt that the quality of the food didn’t match the cost. A probable result of the greed and selfishness that operates behind a city so evidently driven for the desire to obtain the Euro’s of those who visit.

Upon doing a little research I was surprised to learn that Venice was once a primary trading port for all of Europe and even today is an important cog of Italian industry dismissing the opinion that Venice solely relies on tourism for its very existence. An achievement in itself given that the city was initially constructed on marshland and continues to stand strong today despite reports of sinking.

As we prepare to take the short journey south to another notoriously beautiful city, Florence, we can only hope that it can rival Venice in terms of unique beauty and personality; however I hope that the tourist industry isn’t quite as evident in life in the city. It will be interesting to see how well Venice really resembles all things Italian when compared to another of Italy’s great cities.