One of the hardest things to do when you find a perfect or stunning or graciously amenable place is translating that unmediated experience for friends, associates and loved ones. I wrote about this earlier in Athens when I spoke with the art professor with his pen-and-ink memoirs for friends. You can take photos, buy books, buy cheesy souvenirs or you can kind of try to capture the essence of the magic of the place. Disney is good at commodifying their ‘magic’ in images, icons, music and even a type-face; Michele’s musical associate Gary Girouard (with whom she recently played a concert) has a beautiful and introspective piano tune about his impressions of Florence from a magnificent vista across the Arno River with the city laid out beyond. Having heard the song then having seen the vista on this trip, I think he nailed it, in his own way. I suppose one must look to one’s gifts in the arts or storytelling or whatever to convey -it-
SO it comes to us. I’m sure I’ll write something creative about elements of our trip (and Venice in particular) and perhaps Michele will be inspire to write some music, but we also wanted to bring home a bit of Venizia.. don’t worry we didn’t collect cobblestones, samples of canal water or pigeon droppings. Collecting memories for friends and family and loved one became a quest for us in Venice. Maybe a person just has to go there to ‘get it’ I certainly did; I was intellectually curious about how such a city would function and I was certainly interested in the history of the Venetian Republic in Renaissance Europe but nothing prepared me for how I’d FEEL on being here.
We spent most of this day strolling the streets, piazzas and alleyways, floating gently in a gondola and seeking out some of the artistic treasures of the city. We were pleased, as always, not just with what we purchased, ate and viewed BUT mostly with what we found...
A Day
A day in Venice, it seems to me
Is brilliant canvas itself-filled
With the images, colors, emotions, wind and weather
Of that day- this canvas is ever so illusive
Like fine crinkly tissue paper or a butterfly wing
And you only really get to view it well on the day its made- After that is goes into the Gallery of your Mind and Heart, Never to be seen quite the same way again-
Consolation: you can always create another masterpiece of a day Again and Again and Again
Wherever you are-as long as you live.
Perhaps the more important than Venice itself is the wonder it evokes in the souls of its visitors and its inhabitants.~S
We woke this morning and enjoyed another delicious breakfast in our hotel lobby. After doing our morning internet business, we found ourselves on the streets of Venice in search of particular items of swag. I knew what I wanted to buy and the approximate area in which to go to buy it. So out we went with a purpose and a purchasing vengeance. We were so lucky to find exactly what we wanted right in the place we expected to find it and all was super great. Precious swag cannot be carted all over Venice, so we head back to the hotel to drop it off and ensure that we can fit it into our swag luggage bag. One item in particular is too big, too long, and too fragile to fit in our bag. This is a big problem, so we ask the concierge where the nearest UPS or FedEx is. He directs us, we pack up a bunch of swag with the intent of shipping it home and make our way back to San Marco square to find the FedEx office. We arrive and the FedEx lady kindly notifies us that the 25kg box will cost $200 euro to ship to the US. UGH!!! That is not good. Michele is sad :( Stanley has a better idea - locate a hard sided piece of luggage that we can cart our swag home in. As we wander the streets of Venice in the Rialto area (commercial and shopping district) we find a very cool luggage store. In here we find a very cool designer brand hard sided black rollie that is a great price and will work perfectly for our oversized swag. Michele is happy :) We pack our swag into the rollie and head back to the hotel. Mission accomplished - way to go Stanley!!!
Back out into Venice, we search for more swag - this time smaller items we know we can get home. Phew! Items found and our shopping experience for the day is complete with ALL items needed purchased, packaged and ready for transport. Very cool.
During our days here in Venice, I have been eyeing the gondola’s. They are expensive and obviously very touristy, but every time we pass one, my desire to ride one increases. Finally, I tell Stanley that I would like to ride the gondola, so we go in search of one that offers a decent price. The problem with the gondolas here is that the price depends on which driver you get. Sometimes the quote is $60 for 40 min, or $100 for 30 min, or $150 for 45 min. It just depends on where you are in the city, what time of day you’re asking, and what driver you happen upon. It’s virtually impossible to deal shop because if you pass up driver A in search of a better driver B, driver A may not be the same price if you decide to come back to him. Crazy! Oh well, it’s our last night in Venice, the mood is great, the weather is delightful, the company is the best and we decide to just go with Mr. Gondola A regardless of all the factors listed above. Let me just say that the gondola ride is totally worth every Euro Cent spent - we both absolutely loved it. You get a very quiet, romantic and completely amazing view of Venice this way, one that I highly recommend.
After our gondola ride, we stood on the bridge watching other gondola riders go by and we hear beautiful guitar music and singing coming from the end of the canal so we watched for a while and one of the gondolas had a guitar player and another guy singing to the people in the gondola. Stanley took video with his camera - very cool!!!
We located a lovely little restaurant off the beaten path over by our hotel and enjoyed a delightful dinner for our last night in Venice. The best accordion player we heard on our whole trip played for a while during our meal. Accordion players here will walk the streets at night and play a few songs near each outdoor restaurant and then walk through the restaurants for tips afterwards. Some are better than others but most are very good. This guys played more songs than the usual 3-4 and we really enjoyed his music.
Back to our hotel we packed our luggage and carry-on bags with puzzle like brilliance, ensuring safe passage for our precious glass and gifts. It’s been such a wonderful time here and though we’re excited to come home, we’ll miss this place more than we can express.
Tomorrow - wake early and make our way to the airport so we can get checked in and hopefully secure a bulk head or exit row seat for our long flight back to the states. Only a few more hours to go before we’re home - Brandon I cant wait to see you!!! ~M
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