venice // the tourist
it wasn't quite love at first sight...when we first arrived in venice, we were the typical american tourists: lost and confused at the airport. neither of us had been to venice before (nor had we done our homework) so we didn't know what to expect. after a taxi tried to scam us, we found our way to the public water taxi because it seemed like everyone else was doing the same. we then proceeded to sit on that boat for an hour and a half. we immediately regretted that decision and promised ourselves that we would take a private taxi boat on the way back. we then had to carry all of our luggage up one of the most crowded bridges because our hotel is located in a central tourist area to get to our hotel. after a long day of traveling, the over crowded streets, stairs, and scorching heat were the last things we needed.
with very little planned upon our arrival, we researched a venice photo walking tour to get a better feel for the city. we stumbled upon the venice experience and decided to meet with mike bright and early before any of the tourists emerged from their hotels. the only way to truly see and appreciate this city is with minimal tourists or their selfie sticks. so i packed up my favorite coach backpack with my camera and headed out the door.
mike took us on a unique path and skewed away from the traditional tourist landmarks. he took us to areas, while discussing a little bit of the history, that were mostly local residents and showed us where they filmed the movie the tourist (with angelina jolie and johnny depp). it was also funny because he pointed out that even the hanging laundry was art!
mike made my initial reservations about venice become more positive as we saw venice in a completely different light. i got to have a little bit more fun with my photography that morning and as always, it is so nice talking with other photographers.