By LisaTravels
Photo by LisaTravels
Venice with boys, or should I say, boys with canals, bridges, water and boys. In my continuing series of articles on our trip to Europe this past summer with our 2 sons aged 8 and 10, our time in Venice yielded the most surprises – and not because of the number of times we got lost. We began our time in Italy with a trip to Venice. First off, Venice in the summer is stinking hot and very humid. The need to keep the boys hydrated led to the boy’s discovery of all of the unique fizzy citrus drinks available in Italy. Not only did we all enjoy way too many Oranginas and Sanpelligrino Arinciatas, but discovered that Fanta in Italy comes in many flavours not found in North America including blood orange. The fact that Italy had pizza, pasta and great orange fizzy drinks cemented in my boys minds that Italy was for sure one of the great culinary capitals of the world.
Our time in Venice was mostly spent wandering around, getting lost, finding our way and getting lost again. We also took the vaparettos, Venice’s waterbuses, to the nearby islands of Murano and Burano, which were well worth the visit. Murano, the famed centre of Italian glass-making, gave the boys the chance to see craftsmen at work and pick out their own cute, little candy glass confections as souvenirs and presents. The too often overlooked fishing village of Burano, is extremely picturesque with its brightly painted houses and quaint local flavour. The vaporetto rides also doubled as an inexpensive way to enjoy some time out on the ocean and way to see the local area.
Were the boys enchanted by Venice, one of the most famed cities in the world – not really. Yeah, they found it cool for a little bit, but it quickly lost its lustre after too many times walking up sets of stairs, across bridges, down sets of stairs, over and over again, especially on hot sweaty days. That being said, they did have a great time and there are two highlights that stand out. The first was the playground we happened upon adjacent to the Grand Canal.
Photo by LisaTravels
Not only did it have playground equipment in a shady area, but most exciting for the boys was the plentiful number of colourful, quick moving lizards dashing around the park. My husband went out and got some food for us to make a picnic and we spent several hours in that park as the boys contentedly played and chased after the lizards (don’t worry no lizards were injured). We enjoyed the moment for what it was and soaked in the scenery and history of this unique city while sitting on a park bench beside the Grand Canal. The second highlight was the evenings spent after dark in the large open squares with other kids from around the world shooting 1Euro flashing rockets into the cool night air. Not only did the kids enjoy themselves and appreciate the awesome sight of dozens of flying, coloured lights in the air, they marvelled at the other kids from around the world they met who thought nothing of being speaking 2, 3 or 4 languages – and they thought learning English was hard enough! These 1Euro rockets sold by street vendors from distant countries (which led to thought provoking questions and an interesting discussion on the topic of migrant labour) were one of the best investments of our trip as they opened our boys to many new experiences and memories and a world much bigger than themselves.
About the Author: Lisa Singer is a Toronto based mom and communications professional. Her love of travel was set in motion on her own backpacking trip across Europe where she met her now husband. Lisa also loves food and tries to weave in learning about local food and its growth and production on all of her travels.
