Jun 17, 2015

When Holidays Don't Work Out As You Expect - Annie West

When I picture an upcoming holiday destination I always imagine it with bright blue skies, usually balmy clear weather and mild temperatures. I don't picture crowds on the scene or weather extremes or travel delays or anything other than fun. Having said that, we have made a conscious choice sometimes to travel in winter for various reasons, and take our warm woollies so we're prepared. The reality is often quite different from my imaginings. For instance, I keep finding scaffolding on lots of major buildings I want to see. Either they're all crumbling badly at the same time or it's a conspiracy to deprive me of a good view. (All about me, of course!).

Recently I was lucky enough to visit Venice again and this is how I pictured it, a clear(ish)day with a blue sky and great views. And, even though I was there in early February (winter) that's what we got - for part of the time. I have lots of photos of Venice looking gorgeous and captivating and romantic, but our holiday wasn't quite as we expected so I thought I'd share some of the OTHER photos. Here's one:
Who knew it snows in Venice? It's not only on the coast of the Mediterranean but actually on islands off the coast. Ignorant Australian that I am, I imagined rain but not snow. It's not a brilliant photo, I know. I was too busy taking in the astounding views. Sadly the snow didn't settle, but it was an amazing experience. 

Now, I mentioned rain. We did have some - at least on one day. But what we had 5 times in our week's visit was the acqua alta - the high water which sees some of Venice underwater - not just the canals but the pedestrian zones as well. Here's a shopkeeper in Piazza San Marco mopping up after one.

The acqua alta affected the local fashions too. I knew to expect well-dressed Venetians, having been there years before. But I hadn't expected this sort of footwear. 

Fur coats with wellington boots? And what's with those tourists wearing yellow gaiters over shoes? I soon found out, as soon as I hit the high water near its peak.

Fortunately our hotel had a range of waterproof boots in various sizes, which we borrowed. I'd thought of taking some from Australia but decided the chances of needing them were slim. Ha! This will give you an idea of why they're needed. The water here was ankle deep but got much higher. Below is a view down a street towards the Grand Canal. Hard to tell where one ends and the other begins, isn't it?


Plus, yes, there was some rain. And on the day it rained we also had a little wind - enough to test the umbrellas.

We got to see a different side of Venice, one complete with duckboards so people could walk through certain areas without wading. 

It may sound perverse, but we were glad to got to experience this other side of Venice. It was an adventure for one thing (especially since we didn't have to deal with the flood damage). Lying in bed listening to the city's acqua alta alarm was a novel experience. We became adept at finding relatively dry ways around the city and were quite proud of our sturdy borrowed boots when some others weren't quite equipped for Venice in the wet. Of course, too, it gave us good reason to stop by inviting cafes that were dry. Here's the famous Cafe Florian in Piazza San Marco. If the weather had been fine and dry every day we'd probably not have visited.

Or time in Venice was wonderful. We had lots of new experiences, discovered great food, friendly people, romantic atmosphere and brilliant carnival costumes, But I'm sure what's going to stick in our memories is the fun we had wading through the high water, admiring the way the Venetians went about their business despite the conditions. 

Have you ever had a trip that didn't work out as you expected? Maybe it was better, or worse or just different? I love the unexpected on my holidays (though preferably not bad-unexpected) and would love to hear about yours. Do you go with the flow, or find it hard to enjoy yourself when things don't go as planned?

I'll leave you with a final shot of Venice early in the evening. Sigh. It really was enormously attractive!




34 comments:

  1. Wow! Challenging. The pics are great, rain and all. :)
    Ann Cameron

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    1. Hi Ann, it was challenging but enormously invigorating. Glad I don't have to live with it though.

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  2. Oh Annie

    Its still must have been beautiful and I can see a very strong hero rescuing a heroine in all of the water so her feet and shoes don't get wet :)

    One of the cruises we went on a few years ago to Fiji was a bit that way we skirted a cyclone so the weather was really rough we left Sydney a day later than planned because of high seas and only visited 3 stops of the planned 6 stop but they did add another one in LOL we ended up calling it the rock and roll mystery tour but we had the best time and it still brings smiles to our faces when we look back on photos and talk about it :)

    Have Fun
    Helen

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    1. Helen, that cruise sounds like a real adventure. Personally I'd prefer to avoid cyclones! Argh. Glad it brings back beaut memories.

      Actually, I did see a handsome young man carrying his girl over the floodwaters. They looked like tourists and they were enjoying every minute of it.

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  3. Oh Annie - you had me at Venice. Will be visting for a second time (20 years apart!) next April.

    We've had a lot of different trips away and the experience is always mixed. Usually we have positive expereinces but occasionally negative.

    The one place that really surprised the hell out of me was Disneyland. We went there for the kids. Had we not had kids we never would have darkened Disneyland's doorstep. We're just not "ride" people. We were so near Napa valley and I longed to go there instead but hey, the kids were little so its what you do, right? But, oh my! I freaking loved it! I was super impressed with everything and their attention to detail was simply a-mazing!

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    1. Amy, I've always wanted to visit Disneyland. My best friend as a kid went to live in the US and I was so impressed she'd get to visit. Maybe I will one day too.

      Hope you have a brilliant time in Venice! You're bound too. It's magical, I think.

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  4. Love love love your photos, Annie! And your trip sounds like such an adventure that I'm with you on the perverse pleasure.

    I remember my very first trip to Europe not being quite what I expected...in a good way. We went in Jan/Feb -- so...winter. But in five weeks it only rained one day -- it was one of the mildest winters on record (mind you, it was cold enough for me) which made it fabulous for sightseeing. :-)

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    1. So glad you like the pics, Michelle. I was smiling, pulling them out.

      How great to visit the UK and get just one day of rain. On our first trip there the rain followed us - no matter where we were in Britain it rained, even if it was sunny elsewhere.

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  5. Wow, what fabulous shots, Annie. I really felt like I was there with you (just off to get a towel for the wet tootsies!). I've been in Venice in the middle of winter and it was absolutely freezing but not snowing. And grey skies over those beautiful scenes are actually pretty atmospheric. You can imagine people getting up to skulduggery in some of those narrow alleys!

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    1. Anna, there was definitely a danger of wet feet. I must say I loved the cloudy days as being so atmospheric! Sometimes that even better than blue skies.

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  6. Annie, your trips sounds very interesting and very challenging. I think it's a wonderful measure of the fabulous person you are that you found so much to be thrilled by given the high water etc. :-) I've yet to visit Venice (hopefully next year if hubby isn't made redundant) but I do look forward to discovering it less inclement weather than you had. :-)

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    1. Argh, where's an edit function when you need it! I meant "look forward to discovering it IN less inclement weather than you had"!

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    2. Yvonne, I don't know about being fabulous, but it was a memorable experience. Hope you get there next year and that all's good with your hubby's work. You'll love the place, I'm sure.

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  7. Ahh, Annie, Venice. It is one of the most beautiful places to visit, and no. I've never seen it like this. But I bet you didn't have to deal with the multitude of tourists at this time which to me would make the rain almost worthwhile.
    I think you've got to take the weather in your stride. Why sit in a hotel room sulking?
    We had a day like this in Florence, and in the end we (and every other tourist) were soaked, as were our maps that became unreadable making us very lost, but I remember that day more than some others I spent in Italy.

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    1. Oh, Sue, I bet that day in Florence was fun, and as you say, memorable! One of my strongest memories of Venice was the day it rained and we sheltered in a lovely restaurant eating soup and sipping wine from the Veneto, while looking out at everyone scurrying by.

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  8. These beautiful photos Annie. I've been to Venice few ago and I must say it is a unique city. As for a trip that did not work, I have to say it was about five years ago. We were at sea the month of August, then here in Italy is the middle of summer, but in the two weeks we were there it rained every day and it was very cold. We never had a swim in the sea or we could not lie down on the beach, but just stay in and read, or walk around with the umbrella and raincoat.

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    1. Oh, poor Franca. That must have been a disappointment! Two whole weeks without sun would be hard to take, especially at sea!

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  9. I loved this post, Annie. I can sense your enjoyment and delight even with the bad weather. Lucky the hotel gave you boots!

    We went on a river cruise which became a bus tour because Europe had the worst floods in five hundred years. It was gruelling rather than relaxing, but we got to see some lovely sites that weren't on the itinerary.

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    1. Oh, Cheryl, I remember that trip of yours and the amazing floods. So glad to got to see some lovely sites. It's a beautiful part of the world.

      Yes, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip!

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  10. Amazing photos, Annie! And so vastly different from the usual pictures that I associate with Venice - fascinating! How great that the hotel was all prepared with appropriate water-proof footwear for the guests who wanted to venture out! I'm impressed.

    We went to England in Spring many years ago and were prepared for really cold weather. It was unseasonably warm for 4 weeks of our holiday and then all went pearshaped for the last week with floods in the Midlands and snow showers where we were staying in Cornwall. I did feel for those people in the affected areas. It was so odd watching the news and seeing flood waters in the lovely places that we'd just been through.

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    1. Sharon, I know what you mean. We tourists might complain about it interrupting our sightseeing, but how much worse for the people putting up with the full ramifications of it?

      Our Venetian hotel was brilliant and the staff just wonderful. We were so lucky they had those boots!

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  11. Sounds like the experience was enriching in different way. Love the photo's and it's nice to see the other side of one of the most beautiful tourist destinations. All hail those boots.

    Smiles,
    Efthalia

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    1. Glad you liked them, Efthalia! I grew very fond of those boots.

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  12. Gorgeous photos, Annie- and great for you to see the fun in a very different side of Venice! Living in England for so many years we did get used to unpredictable weather- (i.e. usually rain..) and we tried never to let it stop play, although planning barbecues became a rarity!
    Trying to think of a time when we were on a trip and things turned out unexpectedly, and can only think of one camping trip that failed badly as we approached the campsite in a very broken car that had about 1 kilometre left in it before the gasket blew, to be told that the campsite was being evacuated because of a fire and could we drive 10 kms round the hill to the other campsite. We managed to freewheel there and when we eventually arrived the sites were so full we had to double up with a very grumpy family...nothing we could do- the car was totally broken by that time. But we had wine and food and a sense of humour- and sometimes that's all you need ;-)) (Oh, and AA membership, which got us home in one piece!)...

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    1. Louisa, that does sound like an adventure! The sense of humour and the AA membership would have been absolute necessities in the circs. Hope the grumpy family relented enough to let you enjoy the place. What a holiday to remember! You know, I don't think of wildfires in the UK. Shows how little I know.

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  13. Wow - those photos are amazing. Do you have some incredible camera, Annie? I love, love, love Venice. I was there with beautiful autumn weather a few years ago and set my first published book there after being so overwhelmed to its beauty and mystery.

    I had an interesting holiday to Spain many years ago when the train I was travelling blew up! All the passengers got off okay, but lots of people suffered from inhaling thick smoke.

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    1. Hi Jenn, I'm chuffed you like the photos so much. No, I have a little old digital camera with absolutely no bells and whistles.

      I'm with you, I think Venice is just the spot to set a book. I've got it on my list...

      Amazed at your train that blew up story. That sounds quite frightening. Hope everyone recovered.

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  14. Great pictures! Good for you to just "go with the flow" - especially the water ;-). I think sometimes we get so involved in our plans for the perfect vacation we forget it's a real place with real people living there, real weather, etc. And even Disneyland has snafus!

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    1. Hi Grandma Cootie,

      Yes, it was fun and relaxing to just go with the flow. We decided early that we weren't going to try and do everything and, with that pressure off, really made the most of our days there.

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  15. Love this post, Annie! I also enjoy the unexpected: I find that my memories of trips long-ago tend to be about those little adventures. Like when my sister and I were lost in Kyoto and could not find anyone who spoke English to interpret our map ...despite being assured that this wouldn't be a problem, that you can always find SOMEONE. This was pre-mobile-phone/GPS, so we're talking a good old paper map.

    Eventually we did find a lovely young girl who spoke a (very) few words of English and she shepherded us to her home where we had green tea with her family and it ended up the funniest day and the most unexpected as we tried to interpret each other. We did understand their hospitality and their helpfulness and in the end they did get us to our destination, via taxi, and we still talk about that unexpected day.

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    1. Oh, Bron, what an utterly lovely story! That's brilliant. No wonder you remember that day so vividly. I bet they remember you too! Worth getting lost for, wasn't it?

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  16. Annie, that trip sounds amazing! I agree with Bron - it's the adventures and the unusual happenings that always stay in my mind. Thanks for sharing the photos!

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    1. My pleasure, Rachel. I must say I rather like the unexpected, so long as it's not too scary!

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  17. I love your posts wit the pictures! Such breathtaking views, can't wait to start travelling.

    I'm currently using Etihad Airways to book my trip next year to Australia.

    Check out the website let me know your thoughts

    http://www.etihad.com/en-au/

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