To macjake: Venice

[ChrisJ]

Hi Craig.

I loved Venice. First off, the train station was right by the Grand Canal and no taxi to the city centre was required. Secondly, I found a reasonably cheap hotel room a few hundred metres from the station without a prebooking and there were bridges over the canals. Thirdly the 24 hour ticket unlimited hop on hop off for €20 on the Grand Canal was way cheaper than a gondola for €80 for 30 minutes. There was an interesting outdoor art exhibition at St Georges Cathedral. I also had perfect summer weather with blue skies. I found the people in Naples much more pushy, but enjoyed that city too. But if a few of those mega story cruise ships were docked at the same time that could have changed the crowds to an intolerable level. Just the one ship when I was there. The only downside was that a guard started yelling at everyone sitting on the steps in St Mark's Square (several others besides me) to vamoose, no sitting allowed! Even local Venetians that live there are fed up with these strict rules. Padua / Padova just west of Venice could be an ideal option if you just want to do day trips and save on accommodation. Padua is well worth a visit in its own right. From habit, I avoid the tourist crowds with flags, and go and find something else to look at until they finish. The moment they move on, then I go look at what their tour guide was discussing. I can read up on it later on internet after I get the shots. On one tour in Western Australia the guide droned on for 30 minutes leaving me just 5 minutes to tear around and take a few quick grab shots before the bus left. So I try to avoid tour groups unless I want to see a lot of stuff quickly that is difficult to access using public transport.