Venice Part II: Early and perfect

I have always liked the island mentality! You know, that 'make do and mend' attitude that people have when they have no easy way of getting what they want or need! Venice is like that and it takes a little getting used too! Obviously there are no roads and so everything has to be transported by boat, you know this but it is still strangely surprising to see builders mixing concrete on a boat and then wheelbarrowing it into a building! It shouldn't be when you think about it, but it is!
Understanding that Venice is a working city helps you work out the best way to get from A to B without getting stuck behind a large group of sightseers. Like any city there are the tourist magnets and then there is the rest of it, trust me when I say that 'the rest of it' is magical and really needs to be explored.
We arrived by train again for the second time time and again got here early. That's important and I can't highlight it enough, early is good!
Arriving early means that you see the city wake up. People are walking to work, children are going to school and getting about is easy.
Venice is small and easy to walk around without the need for water taxis or the vaporetto (water bus). Taxis are expensive and the vapoertto, whilst obviously convenient, means that you miss out on walking through the real city.
My next gripe relates to the 'too expensive' way of thinking. If you want a couple of coffees and a sit down in St.Mark's Square, expect to pay upwards of twenty Euros. If you walk for literally a couple of minutes to one of the smaller but prettier little piazzas you will spend about six Euros. This doesn't mean you should not have a coffee in the incredibly impressive St.Marks, it is an experience like no other, you just don't need to do it every time you want a drink.
Just remember that the locals will not be spending tourist rates for a cup of coffee so go and find where they drink and enjoy the atmosphere.
Above all though, Venice has proved to be a nicer, more impressive place than I could have imagined and it is utterly unique!