The obligatory photo opp on the gondola boat in Venice.
OK, it’s touristy and expensive and taking a trip on a gondola boat in Venice is like going on a ride in Disneyland. Yup. All true. But I HAD to do it. And you know what? I loved it!
We took our gondola trip later in the evening, around 9 o’clock. Leaving from St Marco, we were the only boat heading out. It was actually fairly quiet on the Grand Canal. And once we turned off of it and went into some of the “back alley” canals, we were mostly on our own. Just us and our own private gondolier. It was lovely and romantic and just what I’d dreamed of.
Another gondolier at work on a side canal.
I could not resist taking lots of shots of these beautiful boats.
These flat-bottomed boats have been used as a means for getting around Venice for centuries and while these days they are mostly used to take tourists for a ride, they are still well-suited to lagoon travel. By law the gondolas are black and that while there were somewhere 10,000 gondolas in use during the 17th and 18th century, now there are just under 500. And our gondolier has been rowing people around Venice for 35 years.
Gondola parking on the Grand Canal on a foggy morning.
Even the fronts of the boats are beautifully detailed.
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Gorgeous pics. Love the one in the gondola.
You should check this out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R9v8v_vulo
Aw, thanks James! And I love the video link–especially the fireworks at the end. But how come her “gondol” looks like one of those fishing boats from over by the Medeltids museum? Did you see the net at the front?
Aaawwwwwww. How romantic!
Hehehehe
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