Finally, Venice!

Yeah. It's been two weeks. Time to finish this trip. I have other things to write about. I think I will just show the buffet o' stuff I saw. Most on the last day. All, very much worth it!

I spent Monday in Cannaregio & San Michele. Like Sunday, I went down the Riva degli Schiavoni to the Strada Nuova. It's where the locals go to shop. I was supposed to stop at the Ca' d/Oro, a museum, but on today's trip, I was taking the Vaporetti, and for reasons I will never understand, the one that I was on did not stop at Ca' d'Oro, but instead at San Stae, so I had to walk back. And from the streets, Ca' d'Oro doesnt' look like anything. It's from the Canal that is is striking. By the time I found it, I lost interest as the streets were getting full.

I wanted to spend time to two places today:

1. Campo Ghetto Nuovo, and
2. Rialto Bridge. Now technically, Rialto Bridge is in San Polo, and it has one of the largest markets in Venice.

Rialto Bridge [built 1588 to 1591] was the only bridge over the Grand Canal until the Accademia bridge was built in 1854. It spans 92 ft with a height of 25 ft. Rialto is a corruption of rivo alto, or upper bank. It's the area of the lagoon which was higher than elsewhere and less likely to flood. The main market has been on its present site since 1097. This area became a commercial hub. Relative to San Marco [the political heart], this was Wall Street. Throughout the Middle Ages, it controlled trade between western Europe and the East. This property came to an end in 1499 when news of Vasco da Gama's voyage around the Cape to India reached the Rialto, and the city merchants realised that the sea routes would spell the end of the Venetian overland monopoly to the East. Fifteen years later a fire reduced most of the area to ruins, except for the church of San Giacomo.

Mercato di Rialto ... wow! It has everything, fish, gold, fruits, vegetables, sausages, pasta, dried fruit, beans, cheese, tea, coffee, spices, etc.! And it was hot! And it was crowded! Of course, I did decide to go to Venice in July.

From the Rialto, I went to Il Ghetto. Ghetto is a Venetian word and all the sad ghettos in the world were named after this little island in Cannaregio. It was once the home of an iron foundry. Members of the Jewish community were permitted to live in Venice for not more than 15 years and to earn their livelihood through money-lending, second-hand trading and, later, as doctors and musicians. In 1516 they earned the right to live permanently in the city.

The iron foundry island was closed off from sunset till dawn by heavy gates across its access bridges. No members could leave, except for doctors visiting patients. Property rights were limited. The Ghetto became the goal of Jewish people escaping persecution. Overcrowding was a problem and the only way to go was up. Many of the buildings have as many as seven stories. After the Republic's fall in 1797, the Ghetto closed. Jewish Venetians gained citizenship in 1866.

The Campo del Ghetto Nuovo is the heart of the Ghetto, approached by three bridges.

In the Campo dei Mori, gets its name from the three 13th-century stone figures of Moors set in it buildings. They are thought to be the Mastelli brothers, Greek merchants from the south Greece.

Jesuit church of Santa Maria Assunta, commonly called the Gesuiti. The Jesuits were refused entry to Venice for 50 years during the 17th century. They commissioned this church in 1715.

I had a bellini in a cafe' outside of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. The Franciscan friary was founded in 1250. This Gothic church dates from the 14th and 15th centuries.

Wells and water - every Venetian campo has a well, dating from the time before fresh water was piped from the mainland by an aqueduct. Below each well-head there is a 16-foot deep, sand-filled cistern with an impermeable lining. The brick-lined well-shaft stands at its centre, connected by tiny drainage holes to the sand. As rainwater drains into the cistern from cracks in the paving, it is filtered by the sand and passes into the shaft ready to be drawn up.

Madonna dell'Orto is a Gothic church known as "Tintoretto's church". The great artist [1518-94] lived near by and is buried there. The church was originally dedicated to St. Christopher, the patron saint of travellers, in the hope that he would keep an eye on the gondoliers who ran the ferry service to the northern islands from a nearby jetty. He was demoted when a miraculous statue of the Madonna and Child was moved here from a neighbouring orto [vegetable garden].

I did end up getting stuck in a big rain storm, complete with sleet. I hid in one of the vaporetti stops. Other than that, I figured out how to get myself to the airport for 2.50 Euros; only 10% of what it cost to get to my hotel the first night! I am done! Time to move on to writing about new adventures. G'night!

Venice, the next day

The problem with having the freedom to write long entries is having the time to finish them!

Alright, it was Sunday morning and time to hit the streets again before the crowds. Today, I was going to focus on Castello [another ward]. I headed back to the Riva delgi Schiavoni. It's a broad quayside where you can eat or buy tacky souvenirs, dodge the fake-handbag-selling-dudes, and run across a few panhandlers. Mostly though, you get on or off the vaporetto and dodge tourists!

There was a statue that I had taken pictures of the day before that I learned was of Bartolomeo Colleoni [1400-76]. He was a successful mercenary that bequeathed the State a large legacy on the condition that a statue of him was erected in front of St. Mark's. The State wanted the money, but was unwilling to commemorate an outsider in the Piazza. They commissioned a statue and he very much looks like a war hero. And then just to show that they have a sense of humor, there are pear-shaped objects on Colleoni's coat of arms that refer to a play on his name, which sounds very similar to the word coglioni ... testicles!

On the Riva delgi Schiavoni, there is the Hotel Danieli. It is an exclusive hotel where rooms are furnished with antiques, paved in marble and have Fortuny fabrics draped on the walls. Dickens, Proust, George Sand, Balzac and Wagner were all once residents.

Speaking of distinguished places, I forgot to say that I had stopped at Harry's Bar on Saturday. It's one of the most famous in Venice, and I would add, expensive. It has no terrace, service with an attitude, and a dress code for men [cover your knees]. I had a Bellini, a mix of peach juice and sparkling prosecco [wine]. It was about 3 oz. and cost 15 Euros. Two days later I had one in a cafe' in a campo outside of a Basilica and it was 8 oz. and cost 2.50 Euros! Ernest Hemingway used to spend a lot of time here, Harry's, that is, not outside the Basilica.

I headed East to the Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, a wide 19th-century street which is the heart of Castello for the locals. It's full of shops market stalls, and there's a park! It was the first "green" I had seen really. There was a park, the Giardini Publlici. There was a long, tree-lined street that led to some gardens created by Napoleon. The trees were particularly useful as an afternoon storm rolled through, complete with hail. I stood underneath the canopy of the trees and stayed virtually dry.

I also found this leaning tower. There were two distinct bell towers in Venice in addition to the Campanile, and they were both leaning. This one [on the right] is the church of San Giorgio degli Greci, Greek Orthodox. Greeks lived in Venice from the 11th century.

The one on the left is San Pietro. The church dates from 1557 and was the first seat of Patriarch of Venice. It has housed a bishop since the eighth century and did so until 1807, when the official seat was moved to San Marco.

San Pietro was near the boatyards. It was a very scenic walk. As I walked through the streets and along the canals, I almost felt like I was an intruder. You can hear conversations from inside the houses; see people gazing out of their windows; and really get a feel for what it's like to live here. When walking through here, I took off my camera and hid it in my bag and tried not to stand out so much as a tourist. I also found the place where they maintain and build the gondolas.

At the end of the day, I went back to the Canale della Guidecca on the Zattere [the long fondamente that borders the canal, created in 1519 and named after rafts that were once moored there] but to a different restaurant. This time, other Americans were about. I continue to gain an appreciation for the term, "ugly American". Remember I said before that most restaurants have an American menu to avoid ugly confrontations? There were a number of tables sat at the same time, all Americans, but apparently not together. A table of five women were next to me, and as they settled in, ordered their drinks and reviewed the menu, I was happy to just listen in on their conversation and try to figure out where they were from, and why they were traveling together. As the main waiter came back to table to take their appetizer order, one of the women suddenly stood up and told the waiter he was being rude. He [and I] were startled, after all, I had been eves-dropping. Anyway, she was adamant that he was being rude because they were thirsty and had not yet received their drinks and the table next to them had theirs and she intended to leave. As she was shouting this, a junior-wait-staff member, female, arrived with the tray of drinks and looked scared out of her apron! I think the waiter handled himself and the irate woman beautifully. They didn't leave, but I don't think they really ever understood or appreciated that the waiter was a professional. He wasn't a kid putting himself through school. He had very few tables to attend, and as a customer, the table is yours for the night. You are free to enjoy conversation, the food, the scenery, and you won't be rushed out because the wait-staff needs to turn that tables once or twice that evening. He was a polite man that brought them lemon cello at the end of their meal as an apology. I observed the irate woman drinking hers ... and two of her dinner-mates'!

Venize!

Last weekend I flew to Venice. One of the nice perks about the Bristol airport is that it has cheap flights all over Europe. I chose Venice party because I wanted to be warm [bloody British weather] and partly because it seemed like it could be tackled in a weekend. I love Italy anyway. I love the food, the people, the rhythm of the country and I could learn the language, I'm sure!

Author's Note: When I started writing this entry, I started thinking I would keep it short, but then I decided that I was thinking too much in work mode ... how to write an effective executive summary ... and not in blog mode ... my space to say as much as I want! I expect multiple and long entries about my weekend in Venice.

Venice has been a city since 421 AD and was ruled by Doge [mayors] until 1797. Venice, an important centre of trade for centuries, has been around over 1500 years. After the last doge abdicated, the Council voted to Republic out of existence, and the French, then the Austrians moved in and ruled until 1866 when Venice was handed over to the newly formed united Italy.

Venice is split into six sestieri, or wards. Part of it has to do with the Grand Canal and part of it is just history of the city. The first two hours after arriving at the airport is literally just getting your bearings. I landed at Marco Polo airport. Took a taxi to the Piazzale Roma, a big [water] bus depot. From there, I took a vaporetti [large water bus] run by the ACTV [Azeinda del Consorizio Tranporti Veneziano]. It's a good thing that the ride was slow, or that my stop was further down the line because I figured out that my hotel was located in Dorsoduro [one of the wards], even though it didn't say that ANYWHERE in the address in my confirmation. I got off at the Accademia stop, walked into the first hotel I saw and asked for directions. I was only a block away. Ha! My travel was fairly uneventful, but it was then that I realised that Italy is one-hour ahead of the UK, so it wasn't 1030 where I might still have a chance for some food, but rather 1130 where restaurants were shutting down. I wasn't feeling adventurous enough to hit the Piazza's for the night life, so I crashed for the night.

I started on Saturday in San Marco, which contains Piazza San Marco [St. Mark's plaza], the Campanile [bell tower], the Basilica di San Marco, the Palazzo Ducale [Doge's Palace]. This is the hub of Venice and is by far the most crowded. It is where the Grand Canal, the Mercerie [shopping streets] and many of Venice's campi [squares] all come together. Venice gets 13-14 million visitors a year and more than 80% are there for less the eight hours spending less than 15 Euros. I did my part to bring a little more balance to the economy.

On this day, I got the Piazza early, only to find that I had missed a big concert the night before. There were still thousands of chairs set up. I'm not sure who the artist was [I didn't recognize it in Italian], but on nove luglio [9th of July], Elton John was there.

As soon as I arrived, bells in the Torre dell'Orogio started to ring. There are figures on top of the tower that hammer the bells. In this tower is a Renaissance clock. As soon as that was finished, the bells in the Campanile started to ring. It was amazing how loud they were. There has been a Campanile since the 9th century, but I learned that the original one collapsed into a heap of brick on 1902. It was rebuilt. I promptly took at elevator to the top to see if I could see the Alps. No mountains, but great views of the city and the crowds coming in! Yikes.

By the time I came down, the lines for the Basilica di San Marco were 300+ deep. I decided to save that tour for another visit, and instead I got in line to visit Palazzo Ducale [Doge's Palace]. The water facade on the outside dates back to the 14th century. It faces the Grand Canal. It is defined by a series of columns. Pink Verona marble was used for the main part of the castle. The main entrance, Porta della Carta, is right next to the basilica and leads into a courtyard opposite the Scala dei Giganti [Giant's Staircase], built in 1484-1501. Inside I saw the Scala d'Oro [Golden Staircase], the doge's apartments, and one room, the Sala dello Scudo, that's decorated with 16th century maps. On the map I saw Isola Lunga [Long Island] and Boston!

As you might imagine, there are lavish rooms, priceless paintings, and insights into Venice's long history. Themes for the city are repeated, with homage to the Goddess, Venus, the founding Saint Theodore, the patron saint, Mark, the Church, the trade that defined the city over and over, and of course, the Doge's and their struggles against the Turks, pirates, etc. I walked through the entire palace, including the prisons and dungeon, and only then realised that a photo I had take earlier ... with hundreds of other tourists ... of the Gondolas going into the city from the Grand Canal, was missing the most important focal point, Ponte dei Sospiri [the Bridge of Sighs], referring to the sighs of the condemned crossing the bridge to the prisons beyond. I went back and re-shot the picture.

I stopped for lunch along one of the canals. It might very well have been one of the most expensive lunches I've had, but it fell into one of my all time favorite meals and reminded why I love Italy so much. The food! I had no idea what I ordered, honestly. I insisted on ordering from the Italian menu. In Italy, because of the tourists, they set up menus not just so you can read what they have, but rather, they know the Americans are looking for pizza or spaghetti, for example. But it's not only reading pizza or spaghetti, but rather how they prepare it. They have learned it is easier to give the customer what they expect [pizza like Dominoes] rather than argue over how it's prepared. I always feel like I would be missing out on a local experience if I go with the American menu, so I always try to order from the local / Italian. I was not disappointed. I got veal with shavings of black truffles! It was to DIE for! Black Truffles, by the way, can go for as much as $2500 [no, this is not how much my lunch cost!]. It was to understand why they were shaved and why the food was so good! I had to top that off with some ice cream. The feature for that day was allegedly the favorite in Sicily. It was a sort of ice cream on a graham cracker crust, drizzles with nuts and chocolate and there was mint. I have no idea what it was. I nearly licked the plate!

After this, I tried to figure out how to take vaporetti across St. Mark's Basin to the island that has San Giorgio Maggiore [church]. It is supposed to be one of the world's most beautiful. I have lots of photos of the outside of it from various viewpoints, but I could not figure out how to get there. This was a little disturbing, especially since I had magically found my hotel the night before and now it was daylight and I was adjusting to the language and for the life of me, I have no idea where the no.2 vaporetti left one of the THREE San Marco stops that then crossed St. Mark's Basin. I even took a break and sat on the side of the canal and watched for vaporetti stopping on the other side, trying to trace back which they left from. I walked up and down the Riva degli Schiavoni [wide stretch along the waterfront] three times. This was, by the way, like being a salmon returning home to spawn! HUNDREDS of tourists. I finally decided it was not meant to be and went back to my hotel for nap. I was hot and sweaty and clearly, I wasn't supposed to be visiting churches today.

I ventured back out of my hotel around 700 and started to look for a place for dinner. I found a great restaurant with seating on a deck on the Canale della Guidecca. I didn't hear any other Americans around, only locals. Always a sign of a good restaurant. I sat on the deck and watched the variety of boats, barges, vaporetti, gondolas, ferries .. and apparently wedding parties on tall masted ships, ushering in and out of the city whilst I ate my dinner. It was great! It reminded me of being at the Hula Hut on Lake Travis in Austin, TX! First time I was there I told Mary Therese to pack my crap and mail it that I was staying. It was the perfect end to a really long day! I'll end my blog entry here as well.

Ciao!

Updates: Gurkhas, Allie's swim and new words

In post on 8 June, I talked about the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and how there was an additional group of footguards from either Sri Lanka or Malaysia actually took over standing post. It turns out both were wrong.

They were the Gurkhas from Nepal. Gurkhas have a long history with Great Britain, having served as troops of the East India Company beginning in 1817. Gurkha Regiments in the British Indian Army served in both World Wars. The brigrade was based in Hong Kong until the UK colony was handed over to China in 1997, when it moved to the UK.

Gurkha, also spelled as Gorkha, are people from Nepal , who take their name from the eighth century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath.[1].

Fast forward to the present and the Gurkha's fighting another battle, now with Britain, over pension funds. They have only recently won the right to join the Armed Forces' pension scheme and for the right to remain in the UK. As a result of the Brigade's transfer to the UK from Hong Kong, the pension schemes have not had the cost of living adjustment, and so a Gurkhas retiring now with the same number of years of service as a British soldier will collect 27% less pension.

So, I took the dogs for a walk tonight at the lake grounds and water front. The tide was in, so when we got down to the shore line, the usual 25 yards of mud that slowly sink into the sea were gone and the waves were lapping up against the grasslands on the shore. Allie and Misty were darting in and out of the grasses and some shallow waters, and of course I am thinking ... the mud. Allie catches sight of a pair of birds swimming right at the water's edge and she takes off after them ... through the grass, and then a little into the waves and she goes faster. The birds were struggling to start the process of flying away. I think they were startled that she was really coming. And she was loving it, so she tried harder. She got right up to the birds. She could have caught a tail feather and then, splash! No Allie! She fell into a hole. Next thing I see her head pop up and she is swimming back to shore in the waves! Guess she had a bit of a salt bath!

New Words / Phrases -

Touch wood - means to "knock wood" for good luck

Starter for 10 - it means to brainstorm, but where it comes from is a TV show called the University Challenge

Plannery group - is a group of people you are addressing all at once, such as a room full of people at tables; versus a small group, such as one table of people in a room full of tables

G'night!