Report from Venice

RHYS BOWEN: I'm reporting in after spending the last glorious week in Venice.  I fell in love with this city when I was a child. For several summers my parents rented a little villa outside Venice. We'd drive across the causeway, my parents would give me some money and say to my brother and me, "See you at five" and we were off and free for the day. We went everywhere, back in the days when there were few tourists, which meant that I now know a lot of short cuts across the city!

This time we stayed at the Pensione Accademia which was my aunt's favorite hotel--an old palace with a splendid garden in which breakfast is served. She recommended it as it was one of the few gardens with shade in a hot city. It really is lovely. The only downside is it's on the wrong side of the Accademia bridge, meaning a lot of steps to climb every day. (52. I finally counted the steps)

Venice is not for the unfit or lazy. It requires a lot of walking, a lot of steps up and down bridges, and over uneven pavements. Each day we've put in over three miles on my Fitbit, and that doesn't count the steps up.

Other observations: Venice is a city of bells. They ring at odd times, not as one would expect at noon or 6 p.m. So many churches and all of them have bells that ring out--celebrating a saint's day? Who knows. I love to hear the sound floating across the water or waking me in the morning.

Venice is a city of birds. Swallows swoop overhead, seagulls shriek and squabble and pigeons land hopefully near our breakfast food. The hotel employs a little man with a spray bottle to drive them off.

It is a city of shops: the regular sort of tourist shops, of course, but also really interesting and different shops. A shop devoted only to pens--impressive pens, old fashioned pens. A shop dedicated to marbled paper and handmade books. One with primitive carved wooden dolls. Where else could such items make someone a living?
And of course jewelry and leather goods--such amazing leather in brilliant hues. Soft leather purses for 20 Euros and designer purses for 2,000. Murano beads, coral and cameos, and such stylish clothing (at a price!) How do Italian women manage to look so good? A plain linen shift and they look like movie stars. And they walk on cobbles in high heels!

And above all, it is a city of art. There are so many art galleries, exhibits and almost every open space has a piece of ancient or modern art in it. It's as if the whole city is one big art gallery.
Venetians say that the high tides in winter are not as dangerous as the constant speedboats and barges that eat into foundations. There are so many water taxies--all, it seems, driven by handsome and lean Italian men. I'm amazed that they all seem to be occupied as the fares are certainly not cheap. It cost us 60 Euros from the station--about a five minute ride. And they add on for extra people, luggage etc etc. But then they are cheaper than gondolas! And really the only way to get around if one has suitcases and doesn't want to drag them over bridges and onto packed vaporettos.

It's been a magical week. I've done lots of research for my upcoming book. It's amazing what the words "I am a bestselling author and I'm doing research for my next book, set in Venice," will do. I spend a morning in the historic library in the Museum Correr in St. Mark's square, being attended on by librarians bringing me a constant supply of books--all in Italian. By the end of the morning I was goggle eyed but had a lot of good info.

Now it's onto the next stage, heading up the Rhine to Amsterdam and then back to Paris for a couple of weeks. But Venice still has a special place in my heart.