Venice used to be a romantic getaway. Now it's kinda like being in grade school, because there are just so many rules you have to follow. Last year, we warned you to keep your shirt on--being bare-chested, or eating a picnic on St Mark's Square, can get you fined almost $40. But starting next week, feeding pigeons will be banned, too.

Venetian authorities are sick of the repair bills the birds cause, not just from droppings but also because they peck at gaps in building facades. Feeding the pigeons is apparently much worse than exposing your chest, because the fines start at €50 (nearly US$80).

We're not sure that the pigeons will get the message here, as they've been ruining St Mark's Square for decades now. And we're curious about what activity will be next on the "Not in Venice" list.

Related Stories:
· Venice to Fine Tourists Who Feed Pigeons [Reuters]
· Topless Tourists in Venice Fined [Jaunted]
· Bare Chests Banned in Venice [Jaunted]

[Photo: Malingering]]]> amandak 2008-05-02T09:45:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/3/27/93847/0185

Il Terraglio is the stretch of road between the Province of Venice and the uber conservative city of Treviso. By day the road is seemingly unassuming, lined with your typical Italian trattorie, coffee shops, and villas. But by night it's a sexed-up superhighway filled with prositutes.

On a recent drive back from Venice we counted thirty-five in a 2-mile radius at which point we felt slightly violated for even being on the same pavement, not to mention they were getting picked up left and right. Eww. Suddenly there it was, this salty sign provocatively posted along the street. In English it says, WATCH OUT FOR PROSTITUTES.]]> CourtScott 2008-03-27T15:01:24-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/3/26/74037/4204

We thought our summer camp days were long passed, but a recent list publicized by Reuters of the top ten camps for adults has got us thinking twice. The list includes a few camps we're personally not so interested in--poker camp in Vegas, or crossword puzzle creation camp on an Eastern Caribbean cruise--but there are also a few we're really hoping our parents will spring for.

Winemaking camp in the Napa Valley, for example, sounds like a nice way to spend a few days, especially if we get to sample plenty of what the camp leaders have already prepared. In Venice, there are gondolier training camps, vet safari camps in Africa where you can follow a micro-chipping, ear-notching vet on his travels and elephant care camps in Northern Thailand.

The list is full of programs offered by hotels or tour operators that perhaps aren't strictly vacation camps at all, but we do like the idea. We're going to put the gondolier camp on our birthday wish list. Are you listening, Mom?

Related Stories:
· Top 10 Quirky Vacation Camps for Adults [Reuters]
· Hilton Venice Offers Gondolier Training Classes [HotelChatter]

[Photo: Ayres no graces]
]]> amandak 2008-03-26T09:20:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/7/15/4149/19581

With the suffocating appearance of books, websites and TV shows listing places to travel "before you die" (they make us feel kind of pressured and inadequate, no matter how well-traveled we are), it's nice to read a list that tells us to chill out at home for a bit.

The Sydney Morning Herald travel blog recently posted the things not to try before you die list, which somehow seems much more interesting. Not that we're guaranteeing we'll follow the advice, but drinking Ugandan tap water and using a squat toilet on a train are travel activities we already were a bit suspicious about.

Further anti-advice includes not going to a glass-blowing demonstration in Venice, not flying into Heathrow or Gatwick airports and not taking a Greyhound bus across the U.S. It says not to fly on any U.S.-based airlines either, which kind of limits a lot of travel possibilities. At least we don't feel the pressure of crossing things off a "before you die" list.

Related Stories:
· 100 Things Down Under [Jaunted]
· Things Not To Try Before You Die [SMH]

[Photo: tspauld] amandak 2007-07-18T08:47:22-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2006/6/7/10216/79971

Finally, Matt Gross of the New York Times Frugal Traveler column has decided to undertake something of a challenge. While we've liked the weekly reports thus far, traveling on the cheap where everything is cheap is less of a trial than making your way through Venice on a budget, as he did today.

Venice can feel like a giant tourist trap. There are obligatory things to see all in once place, and as Matt mentions, it's hard to feel like you're having a moment if you've paid 14 euro for a bellini at Harry's Bar. He recommends the spritz, a combination of prosecco and Campari, instead, but it's still depressing.

Ultimately, for us, Venice is a lot like living in New York City. It's great if you're a student and don't mind surviving on sandwiches and pizza, or if you have a ton of money, enough to not care how much you have to drop to do everything you want (including a 100 euro water taxi ride to the airport, which we highly recommend). Doing it in the middle is the hardest. Besides, gondolas are cheesy, but you have to do it at least once. Where's the fun in denying yourself a gondola ride?

[Image via pensiero/Flickr]

Related Stories:
·   Making the Most of Venice [NYT]
]]> AVB 2006-06-07T10:55:02-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/