Venice - Everything they said is True!

The Elegant Lady

What you will understand when you visit Venice is that true beauty never dies. From the wide sweeping drama of the Grand Canal where commerce thrives and the working barges transport goods back and forth from daylight to dusk, to the narrow back-street waterways where the four storey Venetian homes rise up from their footings beneath the waters of the canals, the drama of Venice goes on.

Today they say that Venetians can no longer afford to live in Venice. The houses have become rental accommodation for tourists. The minor palaces have become upmarket hotels. The major doges have become the domain of the mega-rich. This may well be a sad truth but at least we can be sure that as more and more of the GDP of the region depends on tourists flooding into Venice, the more the government will value the importance of this magnificent city, and the greater the certainty that this precarious historic masterpiece will be preserved.

The houses which line the canals shoulder to shoulder are a picture of the past like elderly ladies arm in arm, their make-up smudged, their clothes the finery of a previous decade, - yet proud and elegant still. A picture of faded grandeur they are still cared for and valued in the valiant fight to push back the harshness of the waters that eat away at their very foundations.


On the tiny islands between the canals, the small shops tucked into the ground floors of the houses bustle with shoppers drawn in magpie-like, by the rich colours of Venetian glass, by the masks, the puppetry, the trinkets, the clothes. The cafes buzz as the best looking waiters stand outside spruiking for diners.

Like a maze the lanes twist and turn leading from canal to historic square, to canal again. And then of course, there are the famous landmarks, - St Mark’s Basilica, the Piazza San Marco, the  Doge’s Palace, the Ponte di Rialto, the Bridge of Sighs … So much to see, so much to take in, so much to love.

www.unusualstays.com ( A New Zealand chronicle of unique and unusual places to stay)
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Venice - The Canals

Venice - The Waterways

From centuries of iconic tales and imagery there emerged an idealistic picture of Venice; a city of dreams, a city of lovers, a city of impossible beauty and romance. And then in reaction to these tales of perfection there was the rebuttal; the declaration that no - Venice is not a city of beauty. The water is dirty; the tourists are everywhere. The romance is dead … Well it is not. To go to Venice and not be moved by what you see would take a cold heart. Venice is everything the poets tried to capture and more.

You will never in the whole of this world, find another place like Venice. The streets are canals, and then between the canals is an intricate maze of lanes. Across every canal, not once but a thousand times are the arched bridges. Under these arched bridges pass the gondoliers ferrying their passengers through the weave of waterways. On the Grand Canal the gondolas share the waters with the barges, transporting the day’s supplies to the many, many cafes, bars and shops.











Find a narrow pathway along the edge of a secluded small canal and around the corner between the tall houses will come a single gondola transporting a couple through the quiet back streets of this astounding city. Stand on one of a multitude of small arched bridges. Watch and admire the skill of the gondoliers as they tilt their gondolas and duck to pass under the bridges, then make their way off into the distance along the canal, pushing off the tall walls on either side.










Who would have thought that everything they said about Venice was true. From a balcony a gentleman steps out and begins to sing. From a gondola a woman finds that she too must express the wonder of what she sees in the songs of Venice. La Golondrina, O Sole Mio ... the voices echo. This is not about being heard. This is about scenery so inspiring that only song can serve to capture the wonder of the surroundings.

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Camping in Venice

Venice - The Edges

Venice - the dream city. City of magic and wonder. There is nowhere else in the world like Venice. You will discover this before you ever enter the heart of the city; before you see your first gondola or cross your first canal.

As the ships pass by your front door.

On the outskirts of Venice there are places to stay which are separated by water from the inner core. These places give you a hint of the inner city, - a tantalizing silhouette across the water. Staying on the outskirts is like listening to the overture of a musical extravaganza. The scene is set; the tension builds; expectations are high. And the overture has a charm all its own.

Venice is surrounded on its isthmuses and islands, by camping grounds and affordable accommodation. The channels that separate these outer spots from the inner city are where the barges, the cargo ships, the tankers and the fishing boats constantly chug back and forth. Almost on the doorstep of the camping grounds, this deep channel lets a fascinating and ever-changing array of ships pass by.

The industrial heart of Venice

Camping is on the very edge of the port areas, the warehouses, the industrial buildings, the factories and the towering chimneys. Who would ever have associated this with Venice? And yet the harsh lights, the catwalks, the steaming vents and the huge storage tanks have a drama and foreboding presence all their own. This is the industrial edge of the beautiful city where the raw processes which keep the wheels turning take place. On this border between crude reality and the romantic dream, there is a drama for survival occurring. This camping ground straddles that undefined territory between myth and mayhem; between reality and romance.

To reach the heart of Venice small boats constantly cross these straits then make their way through  the Canale della Giudecca. On the way to the landing docks your craft will weave its way through towering cruise liners berthed near to - yet suitably screened off from - the entry point to the Old Town. Past these cruise ships, Venice - the Venice you are expecting to see - begins to unfold.

Camping Fusina - The View From Your Tent ...

Camping Fusina
15 minutes by boat to the heart of Venice
Cabins, camping
Waters edge
Bar and cafe

www.unusualstays.com ( A New Zealand chronicle of unique and unusual places to stay)
contact me via pippy.mccurdy@gmail.com
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Soave - Wines Vines and a Fabulous Fortress

The Vintner’s Town

Between the two giants of Italian fame and myth, between Verona and Venice, sits the small commune of Soave. Dwarfed in size and in importance by its two monumental and famous neighbours, Soave nevertheless holds its own. From the highway you will see Soave’s historic castle on the hillside. The village gathers around its foot. Surrounded on all sides by vineyards, the village of Soave celebrates the vine with its many cafes and bars, its famed local wine and its presses. The wine ‘Soave’  - named after the village and the region - is a much appreciated dry white Italian wine which once outsold Chianti in popularity.

The castle is unique and impressive. Surrounded by its protective walls, the castle grounds stretch up the terraced hillside to its highest point. Around the walls the entry points are marked by sentry stations and drawbridges which could once be hauled up to create a fortified front to oncoming enemies.  Now they are lowered and welcome of the tourists whose trade helps to support the village.





With three layers of protective surrounds in ever reducing circles, this is one of the most attractive castles in Venezia with its fortifications drawing in closer and closer as they ascend up the hillside. From the village below, the castle can always be seen. It dominates in its presence and is integral to village life.





Even though the tourist traffic is appreciated as valuable, it is the vineyards surrounding the castle and spreading out into the countryside which still provide the lifeblood of Soave. Soave has been a wine growing region since at least the tenth century and likely many centuries before that.  These are indeed ancient vines. With cellars and bars tucked into historic stone-walled buildings or sheltered in courtyards with a mass of vines overhead and tables casually scattered under the dappled sun, it is an idyllic spot.

Still a small village, still a commune you will have to divert to discover, this is a place to share with the locals rather than with the tourists, as you must do when visiting its more glamorous neighbours.

www.unusualstays.com ( A New Zealand chronicle of unique and unusual places to stay)

contact me via pippy.mccurdy@gmail.com

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Sirmione on Lake Garda, Italy

                Sirmione, Lake Garda and Scaliger Castle                                                                     

There is a peninsula at the southern end of Lake Garda, connected to the shores of the lake by a narrow isthmus of land. On this actual isthmus, like a romantic fantasy, the castle of Sirmione stands. This lake-edge story-book castle is surrounded by a moat,  with a channel leading into this which is deep enough for substantial fishing boats to make use of.

This is a grand castle, - a castle to admire. From its beginnings in the thirteenth century until today, it has retained all those features that make a true castle - the towers, the drawbridge, the moat, the crenelated battlements.  Handsome and much appreciated by those who come to view, it has not only withstood the weathers, it has also withstood the waters around its foundations for more than eight centuries now. This is Scaliger Castle.

The small village surrounding the castle where retainers and servants once lived has also remained intact. Now the village thrives as tourists flow through its winding streets, hunting through shops tucked into elderly stone houses converted to meet the needs of its visitors. A four-table cafe, a grocery shop overflowing with fruits and foods, liqueurs and lollies; an unadorned doorway opening into a church where locals kneel and candles flicker. The historic town of Sirmione may host many visitors but it remains a town of charm and history, with warmth, ambiance and much appeal.

The moat around the castle is wide and deeply turquoise in colour. An ancient stone wall protects the perimeter, and folk gather around this edge, leaning on the wall, chatting, whiling away the time watching the swans swimming effortlessly in the waters below. At one end the stone walls of the moat reach out all the way to the waters of Lake Garda, creating one of the few fortified harbours still in existence in Italy today.

As much a part of the lake as of the land, the castle and its stone walls form a defensive rectangle where boats retreat for shelter and protection from harsh weather, as well as from the hostile invaders and would-be conquerors of the past.

See also:

www.unusualstays.com ( A New Zealand chronicle of unique and unusual places to stay)

contact me via pippy.mccurdy@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/Stay-Somewhere-Strange-273777766054597/