Publius Ovidius
Well-known member
We were in Venice for a couple of days this week at the end of our holiday and when we arrived, it was really stormy and wet.
Anyway, we walked to the Rialto bridge, which is actually being repaired so you couldn't get to one side of it and noticed that there was only a few gondolas out. We dived into a bar next to the grand canal and were amazed at the people in the water taxis and gondolas that were operating.
Without exaggeration, almost every water taxi, at over 100€ a pop was filled with Chinese people and that was the same with the gondolas again at €100 a ride. The taxis held around 8 people and the gondolas around 6 people. The Italians must be making a mint as the rest of the Europeans/ Americans etc were all crammed in the vaparetos ploughing their way up and down the main canals.
From visiting a lot of European cities over the years, certainly the demarcation of nationalities has swung towards the east and it has been quite a change in how people's behaviour has also altered. One hotel we have stayed at in Barcelona in the past was full, so we went and had a drink in their bar and the maitre d told us that they had stopped advertising in the European websites and magazines as they get their hotel filled by the Chinese and could do so 10 times over every week.
I would say they are a hell of a lot more polite that the Japanese, but that may just be a cultural thing.
Anyway, we walked to the Rialto bridge, which is actually being repaired so you couldn't get to one side of it and noticed that there was only a few gondolas out. We dived into a bar next to the grand canal and were amazed at the people in the water taxis and gondolas that were operating.
Without exaggeration, almost every water taxi, at over 100€ a pop was filled with Chinese people and that was the same with the gondolas again at €100 a ride. The taxis held around 8 people and the gondolas around 6 people. The Italians must be making a mint as the rest of the Europeans/ Americans etc were all crammed in the vaparetos ploughing their way up and down the main canals.
From visiting a lot of European cities over the years, certainly the demarcation of nationalities has swung towards the east and it has been quite a change in how people's behaviour has also altered. One hotel we have stayed at in Barcelona in the past was full, so we went and had a drink in their bar and the maitre d told us that they had stopped advertising in the European websites and magazines as they get their hotel filled by the Chinese and could do so 10 times over every week.
I would say they are a hell of a lot more polite that the Japanese, but that may just be a cultural thing.
