Enjoying the Vogalonga in Venice

We recently spent 5 glorious days in Venice and were fortunate enough to be there, just by chance,  when the 2012 Vogalonga took place. Probably just like we did, you are asking yourself,
“what on earth is the Vogalonga?”

The Vogalonga is a celebration of all types of  watercraft, which takes place in Venice every May. It began in 1974 on Saint Martin’s day, when a group of people interested in Venetian rowing got together for a regatta. Since the world was turning more and more towards motorboats, these lovers of Venetian traditions wanted to show their commitment to the older traditions and encourage others to do the same.They instituted a non-competitive regatta, the first of which took place in May 1975.
500 boats arrived that year, carrying 1500 participants, and nowadays there are about 1500 boats with over 5000 participants. It is an exciting day in Venice! The event, whose participants were originally only Venetians, has grown to include lovers of their oars from other parts of Italy, Europe, and beyond.

Early in the morning, from the windows of our hotel room which opened onto the Grand Canal, we got to see all the boaters travelling towards Piazza San Marco, where the regatta begins. There were sculls with crew teams, individual kayaks, and gondolas. The celebration of color and camraderie was so exciting on that glorious late May morning, and even as tourists and onlookers, we really felt that we were participating in an extraordinary happening.

Here’s a short video, taken from our window, of the rowers heading towards Piazza San Marco at about 7AM:

The Unforgettable First Time

So I introduced my boyfriend, who became my husband, to Italy. And he loved it, and we got engaged in Florence, travelled to Rome, visited my “Italian family” at their house in the countryside and all was good.

A year or two later, we’re back to Europe and it’s time to show him Venice-the city, the canals, all the Venetian glass and more Italian beauty. We had travelled extensively in those years, as we both worked in the travel industry at the time- we had been to other parts of Europe, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Kyoto. But nothing prepared him for seeing Venice for the first time.

My husband was a relatively sophisticated traveler even then, back in the mid-80’s. Maybe we’re all jaded now, and some people say that Venice has become a sort of Disneyland, but this was around 25 years ago….

Train travel was de rigueur for us in those days, and suitcases didn’t have wheels, or at least ours didn’t. So we get off the train, walk straight out of the station, and lo and behold, waddaya know- water! Well, you would have thought I was married to Gomer Pyle! Golleeeee. You know that delight when you see your toddler realize something for the first time? Well, I felt that same sensation seeing his face. Now he gets it; the lightbulb just went on. And it made me love him all the more.

Enjoy these photos of Venice, brought to you by my friend and fan Jodie!

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