get lost...

derive

tman- derive - what? who? how? when?

I thought this tread was about something else…never mind:)

been there twice. once in February and it was amazingly beautiful, even in the cold rain. again later in late August. got lost. got sick. couldn't find a doctor. when I was better I got out of there fast and fled to Lausanne where it was cooler, then on to paris where I was really happy. I don't think this answers your questions. sorry.

24-7,
it's time for you to read guy debord and others of the situationalist international.

my first time was in venice! at the dog's palace. why thay named a palace after a dog i couldnt say...

Is that the palace with the dog's all over the place? Even today?

Vado, do you know one of those dogs?

now that's what I'm talk'n about!

Like farmer, I visited Venice in early spring - it was freezing cold and poured rain for the entire 48 hours we were there - yet I still fell hopelessly in love with the city and were I a silly millionaire I would own a home there. Romantic is an underwhelming word to describe Venice - it's unbelievably fantastical.

I stayed at a hotel I would highly recommend if you have a good budget - I was a guest, I could not have afforded this place - the Ca' Pisani, all done very stylishly in Art Deco, here is a room:

.

It is very close to the Accademia, which I did not see as I was taking care of our 9-month-old boy that afternoon. My husband went and saw a room full of panoramas of Venice from the Venetian School? - he said it was like being transported back to the time they were done, the way they hung in this gloomy atmospheric room.

The piazza is also nice, and riding the boats (not the gondolas, the vaporrettos?), and even in the pouring rain - and I mean pouring - just wandering getting lost was a joy.

Hmm. I may be the only one on earth that did not fall in love with Venice, or at least not completely. It's a great city of course, but it just seemed to me that is was a dead city. The whole city seemed to me like one giant museum where nobody really lived. I guess that's why my favorite city is Paris. It has all the history, but it's still a living city. It's being changed and shaped by the people that live there, not just preserved for the tourists.

for excellent evocations of Venice as City as Corpse read James's The Aspern Papers and his longer The Wings of the Dove

also, to add to farmer's reading list:
Robert Coover's Pinocchio in Venice

I 2nd visiting the L'Accademia...the room of panoramas described by lb above does give offer an awesome view into how the spaces of Venice were occupied a few hundred years ago. The exhibits in general are beautiful, and a few of the spaces - nearest the entrance - were renovated by Carlo Scarpa (including the hardware that holds some of the paintings...exquisite).

a couple other must-sees are:
Scarpa's Olivetti showroom (which is on the Piazza San Marco),
Scarpa's renovation the Querini Stampalia, and
Scarpa's entrance to the IUAV (the Venice School of Architecture)

i liked visiting the peggy guggenheim museum... if you're into futurism, it's a must.

Spent one night in Venice:
-Ate bad pasta at an overpriced touristy ristorante.
-Got really scared looking into that murky nasty water.
-Got bed bugs.
-Missed my water cab to the bus station because I got cornered by a large woman from Texas who was desperate to talk to someone.
-Almost missed the bus to the airport because it wasn't labeled and no one knew which one it was anyways (my italian isn't that bad, "Quale autobus va all'aeroporto???" Barely got on the correct bus after teaming up with nice (also lost & frustrated) gay couple from CA and together we finally found which bus went to the airport.

I did get a sweet venetian glass ashtray for my friend though!

Wondered if what I read about the sewer system was true (that gray water empties into the canals)

lasted about 30 seconds

The Peggy Guggenheim is amazing.

I will always remember my "first time"...

...I kept the receipt.

wander - look - it is nearly impossible not to enjoy.
an old man invited me in for grappa while I was
checking out the gino valle project that I stumbled
upon - just wander and look...always remember the
open door policy - if it's open go in and look, just be
polite if asked to leave - the things you'll see.

don't miss sverre fehn's nordic pavillion at the bienale site

am i the only one who thought treekiller was trying to be rude with
his first response to this thread?

i second the scarpa buildings..and it's just nice to sit in the piazza
san marco...although overpriced. walking around and trying to find
stuff is like a game of quake or something. and walking around at
night it's always fun to try and figure out if there is or isn't a bridge at
the end of this alley.

clearly one of the most unique cities in the world...try to be there on a
rainy day and a sunny day..the difference in water level is astounding.
i was there for two days..first sunny and dry..second rainy and the city
was under six inches of water..or at least parts of the city. it's amazing to see how shop owners deal with this btw. just have
everything off the floor and a pair of boots.

Lars-
I hate emoticons and it's much more fun to play straight - but no, I was implying that getting lost in venice is the best way to experience it.
;-)

Hmm, Venice circa July 2000:
- Stayed in a co-ed hostel as hotels were far out of my price range
- The hostel had no doors on the showers, which would've been a good bit of scenery if not for the stinking toilets right next to the showers.
- Poured rain the first night and drizzle the next 3 days = miserable
- Felt like I was always, always getting ripped off.
- Spent more $$ in 4 days than 10 days in Florence
- Missed my train because the water transit is unreliable and slow
- Have a kick ass sketch of San Marco Plaza

Haven't been back since. Haven't missed it. Do miss Florence.

see the Scarpa for sure, wander around and get lost, take the boat to Burano - it's like a miniature colorful inhabited Venice.

You've gotta see the Palladio churches - San Giorgio Maggiore and Il Redentore

Wander endlessly in the back allies and streets. DO NOT eat or drink at places right next to tourist spots... Find off the beaten path places.

The Venetians live a love hate life. There economy is 85% tourism but they hate that fact are willing to bite the hand that feeds them. We simply asked what a $20 charege was at lunch (for 2 cokes!) and the guy went on a diatribe and finished with a 'you don't lika it you taka it to George Busha!'

*charge

Avoid the Biennale, it was a disappointment this year, I really enjoyed the one held in the 2004, but this one is just disappointting.

Use your time wondering around the city and visit Murano and Burano.

My best advice is :
Buy a very detailed map, or you will get lost for sure and if you don't speak a word of italian it could be a real problem.