Europe 2010 Diaries: AROUND THE TOWN OF CHIOGGIA

Several years ago we were staying on a farm with apartments south of Padova in the Euganei Hills. We asked the owner if there was anyone else staying there and she said yes, Aldo. “How long will he be here”, we asked. She said “I don’t know. He came 2 ½ years ago and he is still here.” He was a delightful man as were our hosts. After visiting Venice by train he said you have to go to Chioggia, it is the real Italy. We did a day trip to Chioggia and fell in love with it. Now we are back and it is wonderful. http://www.blogger.com/www.terrebianche.it/en/index.htm

There are not very many places to stay in the old town area as most of it is closed off to everything but boats, but I lucked into the Casa di Carlo Goldoni. It is a beautiful villa that the Gennari family bought in 1985 and a few years ago opened a Bed and Breakfast. www.immobiliarecarlogoldoni.com

vicki and Guglielma Gennari

our alley

our back yard

Laundry day is every day.

Chioggia is a working town. It is still mostly fishing boats and a large port. Like Venice, it is surrounded with water and has canals. It does not have the tourists and the ridiculous prices of Venice. For 16eur you can catch a boat to Venice from here and with the same ticket, ride most of the transportation in Venice. As an Italian told me, “Venice is like a flower. If you arrive directly to Venice it is like coming in through the stem. But, arriving by water is like coming directly in to the flower. A much more beautiful approach.”

This artist started early in the morning and was joined by his friend late in the day. They stayed until sunset.

what he painted

what he saw

One of the canals has all the large fisning boats and the wholesale fish market. We love to eat lunch at the San Marco and watch these large boats act like ballerinas, turning and shifting positions at the dock. Today was a little slow, but we have seen days when it was wall to wall boats and though they came within inches of each other, they never touched. It's also a great place for people watching.