See Venice and Die....

The Rialto Bridge and some random bloke who walked into shot


So the saying goes.

Not sure if I'm ready to pop my clogs yet but I did have a wonderful time there.

The whole experience was a bit surreal, the entire city look like a movie set. Everything is soooo old and crumbling in a slightly too perfect way, like there was a set designer painting in the cracks on the facades.

I even overcame my fear of boats - didn't have a lot of choice really! - and was zipping around on the Tragetto's like they were the number 36 bus. My hastily learned Italian kept slipping into Spanish, but nobody seemed to mind too much, the people are really sweet and helpful.

I'd been warned it wasn't cheap to do anything much really in Venice, and that was certainly true, I paid £6 for a small latte today, but I have to say the view of the Basillica in St Mark's Square was well worth the price. They even threw in a floorshow of tourists being attacked by pidgeons for bits of bread. This is obviously a regular occurance as the birds here are the fattest I have ever seen!

The city is small enough to get about easily, I covered most of it in the two full days I had there. The boats are fast and frequent and with my Venice Card I could hop on and off at will. The coffee was fabulous everywhere, and it was soooooo good to see one big city in the world that hasn't been invaded by Starbucks! Sadly McDonalds has infiltrated, but it was empty when I went past it.


Jeff Koons' Balloon Dog outside the Palazzo Grassi


Best of all tho was the art. I spent several wonderful hours in the Palazzo Grassi and The Peggy Guggenheim Collection, and saw some terrifically life-affirming pieces by Jeff Koons and Rene Magritte.


The Angel of the City outside the Peggy Guggenheim Collection


My hotel was in a brilliant location, right off St Mark's Square, with the city's biggest gondola terminus right outside my window. The room was small but beautifully furnished, with amazing Murano glass light fittings. Makes the Travel Inns I'm used to look even more shit now!


If you've never been, do yourself a favour and head out there as soon as you can...it really is a place everyone should visit at least once.