April 16, 2012

Little known truths about Venice

by Laura Bauerlein

1. Venice deserves a real stay, not just a hit and run.

Of course, two days in Venice is better than zero days in Venice. Many people have limited time and a long list of places they want to see, and the common misconception is that Venice is so small, one or two nights will do.

Beyond a lot of churches, monuments, museums, galleries, art, food… in other words, the old spiel that’s true for pretty much every Italian city, there is a unique silent beauty all around. The light reflecting in the water basically everywhere, the silence (no-cars-no-cars-no-cars!! NO CARS!!) and the calm that comes with that. The fact that it’s an island — in so many ways. Every day in Venice, I felt like I was quietly rehearsing my role in an important play on a beautiful stage, and everyone was doing the same.

We all know there’s something special about Venice, but it’s hard to grasp how very special that something is. Give yourself enough time to settle into the spectacle, and enjoy it fully.

2. Venice isn’t touristy.

What? Yes, you read right. It’s super-über-nauseatingly touristy during high season — but only in the touristy areas. As soon as you step out of them (which is easy as they are so concentrated), you’re just that little actor in the big play again.

Many neighborhoods in Venice are very genuine, with extremely nice people (Venetians have a great sense of humor) and ‘Venetian integrity’. Think Sestiere Giudecca, Castello Basso, Cannaregio, S. Croce and S.Polo. They all have their touristy spots, but the rest remains pretty much untouched!

by Michelle L.

3. It’s a party on the beach.

Venice Lido is just a 15-minute ride on the vaporetto (water bus). Once there you’re on an island with the true feel of summer: sand, beach, and relaxation. And if you happen to go during the Biennale, there’s cinema too. There are many famous movies and books set on Venice Lido, Death in Venice by Thomas Mann being the most famous.

4. The lagoon around Venice is extremely ‘rich’ with protected wildlife.

Most people only experience the city center, and perhaps the beach. In the surrounding lagoon you can birdwatch, hike, take a trip to Burano (with its colorful little houses) and Torcello (a special flair, only 15 residents, most of them over 90 years old!).

5. Venice is GREAT with babies and toddlers.

Babies — you can just carry them around all day. They’ll love the soft splash-splash of the water and being lulled to sleep. They’ll love to be walked around in that perpetual state of nodding off.

Toddlers will love the variety of boats. They’ll enjoy the Venetians musically raving about them and the treats they’ll be handed while having their cheeks pinched. They’ll love the pigeons (it’s not as bad anymore! just a handful of pretty healthy birdies). They’ll love the bridges with steps (endless ups and downs!) and they’ll love the fact that they can pretty much run freely everywhere without having to worry about traffic.

If you need or want to take a stroller along, these days many bridges are wheelchair accessible and there is a special wheelchair ‘parcours’ (LINK) which will make pushing a stroller around much easier.

Also, the owners of Casa delle Rose offer a service for baby equipment called Venice Baby Rental.

6. Venice is a perfect example to demonstrate that we really do have a problem with our waste on this planet.

You knew we have a trash problem already, I hope! Venice is small. It’s an island. Most of its streets are narrow. No cars or trucks can drive by and get that waste out of your field of vision (and with that, out of your mind, right?). Venetians know what a true WASTE PROBLEM is. They have to be super-organized with their garbage, otherwise in the blink of an eye things can turn from a problem into a full blown catastrophe, like finding their city literally buried under waste.

Avoiding making trash should always be the key. And then recycling, of course. In Venice you need to be very punctual in timing your trash-disposal. This is particularly important if you are renting a vacation home and need to be responsible for your own garbage. Waste is to be deposited in the streets, within a certain time frame, typically between 6 am and 10 am ONLY. Not before (say, during the night. Rats, anyone?). It’s not a joke – listen carefully to what your host has to say about disposing your trash.

(Sidenote: I was in Venice recently during a three-day strike of the garbage-management workers. It was pretty bad.)

7. The postman is your best friend!

If you are as naive as me (probably impossible) you’ll arrive in Venice, look at an address (which is typically just an indication of the neighborhood plus a number, so ‘Castello 2915′ or ‘Cannaregio 5960′) and without hesitation hit the street for that number, thinking you’ll find the place in no time. Ha! Don’t be fooled.

Unless for some reason you are incredibly lucky and just stumble upon it, you could be doomed forever. Numbers in Venice are no joke — or, are they? There is basically no logic to it. You could be looking at a ’6789′ and the next house down will be a ’3546′.

There’s only one solution – find a postman! They are the ONLY ONES who know the numbers.

That being said, if you want to find a place, don’t write it down with the address being ‘Sestiere XY, number xyxy’ but rather find the nearest PIAZZA, or ‘Campo’, as they are called locally. In Venice only Saint Mark’s is allowed the name ‘piazza’ (square); all the other minor squares are called ‘campo’. This will also distinguish you from the category ‘tourist’ and bring you closer to being a true Venetian.

8. Venice might change your life.

If you only go for 2 days, you will probably confirm that it’s as gorgeous and romantic as you thought it would be. Or, you might think you’ll NEVER want to go back – if all you see is the heavily touristed side.

With no cars and all that beauty, Venice seems otherworldly. The different rhythm of life makes you question a lot of things, pulls you inward.Venice is not just about seeing Venice but feeling it. ”Life without cars” – my favorite phrase. Can you even even IMAGINE that?

Laura Bauerlein is half Italian, half German and grew up mostly in Rome. She’s affectionately known as the Cross-Pollinate gypsy and Venice expert. She recently spent a good deal of time there with her partner and 2-year-old daughter, meeting owners and inspecting properties.

January 5, 2012

Not All Vacation Rental Agencies Are Created Equal – an Interview with NY Habitat

I have a lot of respect for NY Habitat. I’ve used them personally in New York, years ago, to book an amazing apartment that cost a fraction of a hotel and gave our family at least 3 times the space. More than that, I respect them because in many ways they are on the same side of an imaginary line that separates Cross-Pollinate from other sites that, in my opinion, are following a dangerous trend in the vacation rental market.

I’ve lost count over the years of how many accommodation agencies have sprouted up like weeds online — many of them promoting the same properties (sometimes unbeknownst to the owners) in an identically impersonal way and with cookie-cutter designs (large slideshow image of a beautiful apartment and a big, fat text box that says something direct like “where do you want to go?”). The business model may differ from site to site, but almost all of them that are getting serious press and financial backing, and thus are the ones competing for your eyeballs, have traded in any notion of quality control for scalability. Having witnessed everything that can go wrong in international travel over the last 10 years, the thought of what happens to that 1 or 2% of tourists who fall through the cracks — ie. gets scammed, books a place that doesn’t exist, or has their accommodation canceled by the owner at the last minute — makes me cringe. Large sites find this percentage acceptable, and perhaps when you do millions of revenue, it’s a small price to pay. But when you’re the guy on vacation, with 1 week to spare a year, things look a helluva lot different.

It didn’t used to be like this though. When we started Cross-Pollinate in 2000, it was all much simpler. It was rare that people sought out apartments and spare rooms in the first place, so we had to go and inspect them and make sure they existed before we could promote them. Sites like ours, and NY Habitat, which was founded in 1998, were certainly pioneers in getting these alternative accommodations online so they could be reserved easily. Unfortunately, this model of ours, which works quite well, albeit on a small, manageable scale, has grown into an industry of inexperienced players, flushed with cash and credibility issues.

Talking to Marie-Reine, the founder of NY Habitat, helped reinforce my conviction that the “mom-and-pop / Main Street” version of the travel world is worth preserving.

1. What’s your personal background and how did New York Habitat get started?

Originally from a small town in Western France, I actually started my career working in an antique business company. For business purposes, I traveled to New York for a few months in 1981. That was the first time I discovered NYC, and I immediately fell in love with the city! I had to go back to France shortly after but returned to the city later on to settle eventually. Since I was living in the Big Apple, I started having a lot of people asking to stay at my apartment to visit the city: first family, then friends, then friends of friends… I had so many people asking me to host them I even told everyone to stop giving out my contacts! That’s when I realized how much of the big dream New York represented for so many people. Everyone wants to come here! So I decided to turn the loft I was working in into a vacation rental for anyone coming to New York City. It all went fast from then on: I obtained my license, expanded the team, Francois Roux joined up and implemented the website (http://www.nyhabitat.com), and we were on our way to becoming the successful company New York Habitat is today.

2. What’s the New York Habitat model and what do you think distinguishes you from other websites? In other words, why should someone book through you and not stay in a hotel? Why should someone book through you and not another website?

The strength of New York Habitat lies in three factors: cosmopolitanism, expertise and protection. Indeed, you could picture NYH as a bridge between owner and tenant, between two people and between two cultures. We have agents fluent in many languages, including French, Spanish, Italian and German, and we have branches not only in New York but also in Paris, London and in the South of France. Also, we rely on our staff of most professional Real Estate Agents, who make a point of assisting and educating our clientele in their search for an accommodation or housing. Finally, we understand that in a world where it is becoming easier and easier to rent an apartment or a vacation rental, people need a safety net to protect themselves from many of the threats we have seen in the papers lately. This is why we provide guarantees before, during and after the stay of clients through state licenses worldwide and compliance to the latest current laws surrounding housing. We want our clientele to feel safe and fully enjoy their stay in a New York Habitat accommodation.

3. You’ve been in the business long enough to have seen a lot of changes in the online travel industry. What changes do you predict in the next 2-5 years?

Well, first of all, I think that e-booking is definitely going to go mainstream and, with so many things to make it easy for us to rent an apartment, I am certain that within a few years we will be able to rent an apartment just like we book a hotel room. Also, we will attend the development of peer-to-peer in the market, with all of these new websites that allow people to rent apartments directly to each other. This will deeply reshape the housing market and the role of brokers in the future. In order to follow these changes smoothly, we need to think about new concepts and grow towards a more complete expertise and better communication. We need to create tomorrow’s broker.

4. New York Habitat has a stunning amount of fans/followers – you’re like a rock star! What do you think the key to your success is? What is it that you think people identify with about your company?

99% perspiration, 1% inspiration! It’s been a lot of work accumulated throughout the years to become what New York Habitat is today. Our work is very tiring because what we create is something sustainable and strongly built, and I think people can see that: through a constant level of excellence in our service. Our internationality combined with a personalized expertise helped us build our reputation over the years. And all the work behind the scene, like a case-by-case approach and a thorough inspection of each one of our apartments, gives a unique sense of safety to our clientele.

Over the last 2 years, we have started to engage in the social media community and it has been very exciting. Our Facebook fans (30,000 as of today) show us what they are interested via their Likes and comments, and our Twitter followers (12,000 so far) encourage us to find new ideas, new deals. All of them share their experiences with us, which allows us to improve our service and strive for excellence. It is definitely a win-win situation when you take the time to listen!

Our goal is to share and expand our knowledge via articles, to-do lists and videos.

We recently started sharing content on Tumblr (very visual website with lots of pictures and tips), on Flickr, on Foursquare (if you are not sure what to do in New York, Paris, London or even the South of France, check us out!) and on Google+.

We enjoy sharing our knowledge and receiving feedback from our customers and Fans.

5. Do you have a horror story that comes to mind either from the perspective of a guest or owner or agent, or all three?

We did have a few bad stories like you never expect them to happen, but there is one that struck me especially. We had found housing for this woman in a roommate share in a Paris apartment and about a year ago, a huge fire started for an unknown reason and burned down the whole place! There was absolutely nothing left but ashes! But luckily no one got hurt. Of course, since the rental was completely destroyed we relocated her, as well as the landlady that was also living there and had lost her apartment…. Insurance kicked in and helped them out but trust me we got really scared for the people living in the accommodation!

6. Can you tell a story about how NYH has been able to come through for someone and really save the day?

It sounds incredible but we find emergency housing for people almost every week! You have no idea how many people get scammed by Craigslist all the time! We even wrote an article about them on our New York Habitat blog (http://www.nyhabitat.com/blog/2011/02/04/how-to-spot-an-apartment-rental-scam/) People think it is easy and simple to rent an apartment so they just go ahead and reply to an advertisement but they don’t realize how dangerous that can be until it is too late! Hopefully, most of the time we are able to find them another apartment to live in and people are always extremely grateful to us when that happens. It makes me personally proud because that is another proof of the level of service we fight to reach!

7. What are your plans for the future – either for New York Habitat or otherwise?

Work smarter, more efficiently and keep raising our service to the next level. Now more than ever the housing market has grown increasingly competitive with the appearance of a whole series of unfair competitors. Peer-to-peer websites that allow people to rent apartments directly to each other represent a real threat to the traditional real estate model. If this peer-to-peer trend isn’t challenged legally, the whole market of real estate housing will be completely reshaped. A recent law issued by the State of New York and prohibiting rentals for less than 30-days in class-A buildings already modified our entire business structure. We adapted ourselves and do our best to stay afloat while respecting the law but this has to apply to every player in the real estate market. You will find more legal information on this blog dedicated to New York housing laws: http://protect-vacation-rentals.com/. We don’t know what tomorrow will be made of but yet here at New York Habitat, we’re hoping for the best… and long live vacation rentals!

To discover more about New York Habitat, visit our website and find the social media icons like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc.

by Steven Brenner

December 8, 2011

Made in Italy – handmade gifts by Florentine Artisans

I once read that the technology involved in making something as common as a nr. 2 pencil is so complex that if one person were left to construct one on their own, they would fail.

This is an interesting symbol of our modern world – we are completely dependent on technologies and the goods and services they produce, but without the collaboration between these different technologies, we as individuals would have to revert to an almost primitive state (imagine all the saffron and turmeric stains!). In some ways, this is a sign of progress – mass produced goods at cheap prices allow us to have more stuff. The downside is that without any regard to how the stuff we buy is produced, our vote on which techniques will last is made inadvertently by the low price we’re happier to pay.

Recently in Florence, on the Made in Florence: Oltrarno Artisans tour organized by Context Travel, I learned not only about traditional crafts and the incredible amount of skill and artistry that makes them possible, but I was also horrified to learn about the dismal future these artisans, and their techniques, are destined for.

“The Florentine tradition of producing artisan goods has been in existence for centuries and remains one of the cornerstones of Florence’s visual and social history, as much as it did in the times of the guilds. Florentine leatherworkers, silversmiths, shoe manufacturers and hat makers have produced handmade goods for countless generations of kings and queens, princes and noblewomen, and continue to this day, mostly in the area known as the Oltrarno (on the other side of the Arno).”

My three-hour walk explored these private workshops and provided a behind-the-scenes look at the current state of artisan production. Unfortunately, there are few to no apprenticeships to learn these traditions. The laws have changed so drastically in modern times that many laboratories where these artisans work will no longer be authorized once these “masters” die, and the rents, which are controlled to a certain degree for artigiani storici, will ultimately be raised and the only businesses that will be able to afford them are the high-end boutiques and hotels.

I was amazed by what I saw and learned — the amount of training, skill, artistry, and practice that goes in to making these creations. I’m not a shopper. I rarely buy anything, but I couldn’t resist. Seeing how these things were made, and hearing the stories of the people behind them, made a huge impression on me. I wanted to buy something not just to have the thing, but to be able to pass on that story to the person I gave it to. I felt like I became part of the process – I felt connected to the hands that produced these things, and could tell my kids or my wife, when I gave them a simple metal box or a bracelet about the person who made it.

When I saw that the Italy Blogging Roundtable was inviting other bloggers to post something on the subject of gifts, I knew this was what I’d write about. If you want to buy something that is truly Made in Italy, and supports the real people making them, the generations of Florentines who honed these skills, and hopefully the generations to come that will keep them alive, here’s a handful of shops to check out:

1) Ditta Carlo Cecchi di Giuliano Ricchi – Piazza Santo Spirito, 12. Giuliano makes bracelets, boxes, picture frames, and other gifts in brass and silver. Over the years he’s sold to Neiman Marcus, Dior, and other worldwide brands. He even has a picture of Bill Clinton buying one of his business card cases. Now, with imports from China, sales have slumped. For around 50 euro you can buy a number of beautiful things, and whether you buy something or not, he’s happy to have you there, show you around, and tell you stories.

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2) I’Ippogrifo Stampa d’Arte by Gianni Raffaelli – Via S. Spirito, 5R – www.stampeippogriffo.com - Gianni and his wife make original etchings, engraved entirely by hand on copperplate.

The etchings are all made in mirror images. The detail and accuracy is mind-boggling.

They are then inked, and run through a manual press, one at a time.

They are then colored in watercolor by hand and signed by the artist in limited editions. It’s impossible to capture how alive these images are.

There are many things I’ve never seen in real life that I’ve seen countless images of — both real and digitally enhanced. It’s easy to take a beautiful scene for granted because they are so accessible to us. But when I look at these prints, and think about the period they were used, before photographs and easily accessible images, I can imagine what it would have been like to hear about Florence and to see it for the first time, like this:

These are the same Acquaforte techniques that were conceived and developed in old artisan workshops of Florence more than 500 years ago.

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3) Francesco da Firenze – Via Santo Spirito, 62R. Francesco and his son make shoes by hand.

If you’ve ever owned a pair of handmade, leather shoes, you should be able to relate to the love I feel for these.

I bought this pair for myself. They have inspired a good deal of envy in others that I feel is well-warranted.

For other posts around the theme of Gifts, visit the other Italy Roundtable Blogs: ArtTrav, At Home in Tuscany, Brigolante, Italofile, and WhyGo Italy.

by Steven Brenner

December 5, 2011

Car Free Europe

Living outside of Rome and getting used to the pedestrian lifestyle has made it almost unbearable for me to tolerate Rome’s traffic now. The first few days of December saw blocks on traffic to bring the dangerous levels of pollution down — a common practice here that is frustrating if you have to get things done, but amazing to see how peaceful the city becomes. I asked architect/designer/friend Tom Rankin of Studio Rome to give me some perspective, and to compare Europe’s major capitals in terms of how these pre-automobile cities have dealt with the problem of traffic:

That’s a great question and, having done a fair bit of traveling this summer and fall, I find myself pretty well-positioned to respond. European cities evolved around the needs of people but for a period in the 20th century they opened their gates to automobiles with mixed results. When there were just a few cars zipping around Paris, London and Rome, usually driven by suave and sophisticated Europeans or colorful expats, it was intoxicating. The thrill ended when cities became saturated and, far from providing freedom, cars became toxic traffic traps.

Fiat 500

By now most European cities have gotten over their love affair with the automobile. Perhaps some Parisians savor fond memories of cruising the Champs Elysee in the ’50s and ’60s, but they have managed to give back most urban space to people, bicycles and an efficient public transit system. I loved strolling through Paris this summer without having to climb over cars at every corner, and exploring the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona by bike without seeing a single car. In Amsterdam cars were so outnumbered by bikes that they were real anomalies. It’s really just a question of recognizing what cars are good at (occasional trips out of town, carrying little kids, the elderly or infirm, or heavy stuff) and what they are lousy at (getting around or parking in cities made for people).

Photo by Sierra Michels Slettvet

Rome is slower to recognize these changes and many Romans still seem to illude themselves that their cars somehow impart them with freedom, status or sex appeal. But I’m sure it’s just a question of time before car-addicted Romans realize they are just pathetic, like aging businessmen cavorting with teenage starlets – no coincidence that Italy was ruled for years by one of those.

Photo by Michiel Jelijs

I often hear that Rome can never achieve the level of public transit of other European cities because of its archaeological strata. I don’t buy this. Solutions are available, many of which have already been put into practice in other major cities with positive results. Traffic-calming, bike-sharing, BRT, light-rail, expanded car-free zones, the list goes on. A lot of the projects we do at Studio Rome revolve around transit issues, pulling the city back from the ledge of automotive self-destruction. It’s an exciting time to be working in Rome.

Traffic at Oxford Street by Worawit Suphamungmee

London’s congestion charge, Paris and Barcelona’s bike-sharing, Zurich’s concerted efforts to make driving more frustrating than walking – all of these could work fine in Rome but require a shift in priorities which the city has not yet had the political will to make. Rome has a limited traffic zone but access is treated as a privilege, not as a burden to be taxed. Paris and Barcelona and many other cities launched bike-sharing in parallel with a shift of roads over to bike and pedestrian space. The Zurich initiatives (described in an excellent article in the New York Times; I haven’t witnessed them myself) include a law giving pedestrians complete right of way on many city streets.

Instead, in Rome we still see traffic police trying to “facilitate” traffic while turning a blind-eye to blatant violations like parking on sidewalks and crosswalks. Case-in-point: they’ve started placing cops at the crosswalk in front of the Colosseum but instead of helping pedestrians they hold them back at the crosswalk while waving through cars for minutes on end.

As for bike-sharing in Rome, there hasn’t yet been a concerted effort to turn it into anything more than a public image ploy; the bike-sharing stations have been empty for months now and discussions about how to jumpstart the project drag on. Car-sharing seems to be faring slightly better but is still a drop in the bucket compared to what other cities, in the US as well as Europe, have achieved. Making bike-sharing work is relatively simple, especially since it’s been tested successfully in so many cities: contract with private managers who make money from advertising revenue on bikes and bike-stations, don’t charge for the first 30 minutes, and make the system ubiquitous enough to take off. Of course it helps to provide safer, more pleasant routes for cyclists but I’m optimistic that it’s just a question of time before they will outnumber cars even in Rome.

For more info on Tom and his initiatives, visit his blogs, Studio Rome and Sustainable Rome, in particular, his post on “Car Free Sunday”.

November 23, 2011

Share Your Travel Tips and Stories

We’re accepting contributions for our blog – hoping to get different perspectives on what to expect and how to navigate your travels more successfully. We’re also interested in any amusing stories that capture the magic of travel – you know, the weirdness that ensues when you accept unlikely invitations from people you don’t share a language with. If you’d like to see your experiences and travel expertise published here on our blog, please submit them to steve [at] cross-pollinate.com