That's "Venetian" for Grand Canal (Canal Grande in Italian).
Most of the traffic is public transportation, but since there are no cars in Venice, a boat is the only way to get around besides on foot. There aren't enough streets without a bridge so no bikes either.
Since there are zero cars and trucks, we saw a lot of things that you would normally see being delivered by car or truck - like this boat full of fruit and vegetables. We saw 2 boats filled with household items - tv, plants, bed - Moving Day!
There are plenty of gondolas to tour the city. At 80 euro per person (that's over $100 each), we decided this was not so important to us. This photo is also taken while we were sitting at another cafe'.
We had lunch at two different "touristy" restaurants along the Grand Canal and the food was really good at both places. This is not by my standards because I'm happy with a hamburger, but by Jim's standards and he knows good food!
The traffic gets congested from time to time and there didn't seem to be any organization to it all. Best we could tell, there's no right lane or left lane and traffic goes both ways and in the middle! Those large vessels are their equivalent of a metro and called a vaporetto. They were always crowded and we stayed off them for a variety of reasons, not least of all the security of our wallets. It is Italy!
The Canal runs through Venice in an "S" shape and is about 2 miles long.
These boats with the wooden upper half are taxis.
They are really beautiful.
The water in the canal is very clean and a wonderful blue color.
Most of the traffic is public transportation, but since there are no cars in Venice, a boat is the only way to get around besides on foot. There aren't enough streets without a bridge so no bikes either.
Buildings along the canal are from the 13th to 18th century. This picture is taken as we are sitting at one of the many cafes along the canal.
Since there are zero cars and trucks, we saw a lot of things that you would normally see being delivered by car or truck - like this boat full of fruit and vegetables. We saw 2 boats filled with household items - tv, plants, bed - Moving Day!
Three bridges cross the Grand Canal. The most famous is the Rialto (above), built in 1588. Notice the width of the whole thing and that arch in the middle. The bridge looks exactly the same on the other side. The middle is open and all those windows are little shops.
You can see the boat in the foreground is delivering a load of "something" in boxes.
This is the interior of the Rialto Bridge. Since there are two identical sides, you can walk up and down either side looking out toward the canal or use these steps in the middle with shops on both sides. It's a total of 75 feet wide.
There are plenty of gondolas to tour the city. At 80 euro per person (that's over $100 each), we decided this was not so important to us. This photo is also taken while we were sitting at another cafe'.
We had lunch at two different "touristy" restaurants along the Grand Canal and the food was really good at both places. This is not by my standards because I'm happy with a hamburger, but by Jim's standards and he knows good food!
The traffic gets congested from time to time and there didn't seem to be any organization to it all. Best we could tell, there's no right lane or left lane and traffic goes both ways and in the middle! Those large vessels are their equivalent of a metro and called a vaporetto. They were always crowded and we stayed off them for a variety of reasons, not least of all the security of our wallets. It is Italy!
The gondolas are moored for the night. Sunset on the Canalasso.
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