Looking back to Venice Italy on this date 7 years ago…Then on to Tuscany for three months…

As our ship made its way to the port of Venice, our mouths were agape in surprise at the historic treasure before our eyes.

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We noticed one historic building after another.

The memories of that day are as evident in our minds today as if it was only months ago, not the entire seven years from this date. We’re often surprised at ourselves for remembering finite details of touring renowned locations such as this. But, we found ourselves in awe of this and, of course, many other such sites throughout the world.

Many of our readers have written to us over the years sharing their experiences in places such as Venice, and in each case, they’ve loved it too. No doubt, we did as well, although one missing element has been our lack of interest in shopping.

The waterways were exactly as we had perceived them, crowded with a seemingly never-ending maze of canals.

In my old life (before traveling the world), I would have been over the top with excitement to shop in a place like Venice. The colorful little shops lined the narrow walkways with a plethora of tourist-type and specialty products.

Whether it was hats, scarves, leather goods, artwork, or jewelry, the stores, with relatively high prices from paying high rents to have the opportunity to be located in this area of constant tourist traffic, all was appealing to the eye.
Over the years, we’ve found a degree of enjoyment simply from window shopping as we did in Venice so long ago.

Check out the crowds!

In 2013, cruise ships were allowed to dock at a nearby pier that only required a short shuttle ride and about a 15-minute walk to arrive at the canal city. Over the years, that has changed as indicated in this article below from this site:

“The Italian government has announced it will be rerouting cruise ships away from central parts of Venice. This move follows a long campaign by residents to stop large ships from docking in the Unesco-listed city.

Every direction we turned, there was another waterway.

On Wednesday, Italy’s transport minister Danilo Toninelli said that cruise ships would be diverted away from their current route, reported the Financial Times, therefore banning them from entering the historic grand canal.

Toninelli said he had been looking at temporary ports “to avoid witnessing more invasions of the Giudecca by these floating palaces, with the scandals and the risks that they bring.”

What a view!

In 2018, 502 cruise ships brought 1.56 million passengers to Venice, contributing to the overcrowding already swamping the narrow canals and walkways.

Meanwhile, there are environmental concerns about the impact of ships passing through the Venetian Lagoon and along the Giudecca Canal.”

The buildings along the canals were often unique, but more were attached.

In June, a collision between 2,150-passenger ocean cruise ship MSC Opera and Uniworld river cruise ship The River Countess (four passengers were injured) heightened calls for a ban. Italy’s environment minister Sergio Costa tweeted that the incident confirmed ships must not pass the Giudecca area.

Next month, some cruise ships will dock at the Fusina and Lombardia terminals away from the city center but still within the lagoon. However, from next year a third of cruise ships will be rerouted away from the city.

The cathedrals were breathtaking.

A plan to reroute cruise ships dates back to 2017 when an Italian governmental committee decided that cruise vessels weighing 96,000 tonnes or more would be prevented from docking in the lagoon in front of St Mark’s Square.”

All these photos were taken from our ship as it maneuvered through the main channel approaching the cruise ship pier in Venice.