Well, we’ve
almost been around the world and we’ve seen some really amazing sights, the
skyline of Hong Kong, spectacular Singapore and the over-the-top Dubai, but,
seriously, nothing compares to Venice.
It is truly a unique city and, after this visit, ranks way up at the top
of my favorites places.
We are
fortunate to be on a small ship and, as a result, able to sail into Venice
through the Grand Canal. Not wanting to
make the same mistake as I did with the Suez Canal and screwing up the times
again, I made sure to double check that we would begin our sail into the city
at 11 a.m. We actually had a cycling
class at 10 a.m. that day and hurried back to the room, showered and joined the
rest of our fellow passengers on the open upper decks to capture the
breathtaking views of this wonderful city.
Our destination lecturer, Debbie, gave a commentary on the ship’s P.A.
system which was very helpful to us in identifying all the buildings, churches,
etc. along the way.
We didn’t
have an excursion booked until the evening but decided to leave the ship and
see a little of Venice on our own via the ship’s water shuttle available to
us. It turned out we would be taking
this same route three times and landing at the same Cornobi Pier (four bridges
from St. Mark’s) over the two days. Some
of our fellow passengers and our waiter actually walked from the Marittima
Station berth to St. Mark’s but we’re not that adventurous and I didn’t want to
be reading a map while walking and I’m sure you all know about Michael’s (lack
of a) sense of direction.
We were fine
and happy to take the shuttle and, like I said, ended up at Cornobi Pier where
we walked over the four bridges to St. Mark’s Square, enjoyed the sights during
the day, took lots of pictures, stopped, of course, at The Bridge of Sighs
(which has nothing to do with love but which connected the Doge’s Palace with
the prison). The bridge gets its name
from sighs that could be heard from the prisoners who were being led from their
judgment at the Doge’s Palace while they were taken to the prison.
We had a
tour the next day so didn’t go into the Doge’s Palace or St. Mark’s Basilica
but rather looked around at all the very high-end shops around the square and
even entered one which showcased incredibly gorgeous men’s shirts and
ties. We were forewarned that the shops
around the square were incredibly price-y.
We didn’t quite know exactly how price-y.
In the
window, were tuxedo sets of bowties and cummerbunds that were absolutely
beautiful! We found out these Steffano
Ricci pieces were trimmed with Swarovski crystals. While we, or should I say “I,” was salivating
(Michael is far more restrained than I am) over these exquisite items, another
man in the shop asked the clerk the price of a tie. When the clerk replied, “480€” and the man
asked again, “for the tie?” and got the same reply, I knew we were in
trouble. We scrambled about looking for
a price tag and then (I think) audibly gulped as the clerk confirmed that the set
was 900€! The bowtie alone was 500€! (You have to realize that our maître d,
Oscar, who loves to dress and has a unique collection of ties, has been
absolutely fantastic to us. It was my
intention to actually purchase one of these magnificent bowties for him as a
parting gift.) Yes, our credit card,
even after 79 days on a world cruise, could handle the purchase, however,
Michael, in good conscience, could not make the purchase. I had to agree. It was just too too over-the-top. We politely thanked the clerk for his time
but Michael explained that, although he was certainly able to make the
purchase, just couldn’t do it. After two
days, Michael’s happy with his decision.
(He did, however, check out eBay and, yes, these are available at
slightly below the retail price.)
We crossed
the four bridges back to Cornobi Pier and made our way back to the ship, via
the water shuttle once again, but not before shopping for our magnet and a few
other trinkets. What we’ve noticed in
just about every port the same knick-knacks are sold at every souvenir shop
relating to the particular port. The
prices are pretty much the same but there’s always something that we see over
and over and over. Well, Venice is no different. What seems to be the latest thing is the
groin section of Michaelangelo’s “David” imprinted on men’s boxer shorts and
aprons. I’m sure you get the
picture. Every kiosk and souvenir shop
had tons of these. We, however, did not
buy either item.
Also
extremely popular are masks. The Carnival
of Venice dates back to the 14th century when people paraded the
streets and no differentiation could be made between the commoners and
nobility. The traditional costume was a
cloak and a mask with a very long nose, and the men often sported high-heeled
shoes festooned with giant bows. Our
guide also told us that during the black plague, doctors wore masks with very
long noses which were intended to distance the doctor from his patient. Obviously, they didn’t realize, at the time,
that the disease was highly contagious.
We arrived
back at the ship around 4:00, long enough for Michael to take a quick nap, have
something for dinner, and meet our friends, John and Bambi, with whom we had
arranged to share a gondola on our evening excursion. (We’d had a very unpleasant experience with a
couple in our 6-person vehicle in Dubai and didn’t want to take the chance of
getting stuck with another awful couple.)
We boarded
another water shuttle and again arrived at Cornobi Pier with our tour guide,
Julia, who took us over the four bridges to St. Mark’s Square, where Michael
enjoyed an espresso and the rest of us a glass of prosecco (Italy’s answer to
champagne and quite good). While we walked through the square, a quartet
was playing in front of the oldest café (and very expensive) in Venice and seated in front were a group of
Muslim ladies covered from neck to toe.
As we walked by, with many of our fellow passengers taking pictures of
the quartet behind the ladies, the ladies started to raise their garments over
their faces so they would not be
photographed.
We were
excited about our gondola ride which, of course, brings to mind romance and the
ultimate Italian experience. The
professional gondoliers of Venice are members of an exclusive guild. A rigorous exam must be taken, which includes
Venetian history, foreign language skills and practical oaring maneuvers. In
August of 2010, Giorgia Boscolo became Venice’s first female gondolier. I believe there are now two female
gondoliers.
We walked
along winding streets until we came to the Gondola station where John, Bambi,
Michael and I were seated by the gondolier.
We have no idea why, but our gondola was the only one with the back seat
completely upholstered in bright red fabric.
Our gondolier eventually told us that it was imperative that we kiss
while going under each bridge and, with all those opportunities for some lovin’
(Venice being made up of 100 islands connected by 400 bridges), Michael said
his complexion was clearing up! Although
as tourist-y as you can get, the gondola ride was lovely; we enjoyed the
company of John and Bambi who are a delightful couple from Arizona, and we’re
very happy not to have missed this unique opportunity.
John and
Bambi were planning to walk back to the ship so Michael and I walked back
through St. Mark’s Square, enjoying the square in the evening. Men, who looked like they were from Africa,
were selling genuine fake bags while others were selling plastic spinning
thingies that looked like fireflies in the evening sky while they glided down
to the pavement. I love shiny things
like these but didn’t want to spend 5€ on something that probably will stop
working before we left Italy.
We crossed
the four bridges, once again, to arrive at Cornobi Pier where fellow passengers
were laden with shopping bags filled with Murano glass for their children. Upon embarking on the ship, I realized the
dining room had offered “Italian Night” and I enjoyed a wonderful plate of
eggplant parmigiana in the buffet before getting my evening tea and retiring to
our room, preparing for the next day in Venice and our “Best of Venice”
tour.
Our “Best of
Venice” tour would take us to the Doge Palace, St. Mark’s Basilica and a glass
factory, but not before taking the water shuttle back to Cornobi Pier and
crossing four bridges. Our tour guide,
Chinzia, was very knowledgeable, and easy to listen to through earplugs, while
we walked along the waterfront to the square.
The Doge’s
Palace, is the city’s most famous symbol of its culture and this 14th
century palace was the seat of power and the palace of justice. The Doge was either elected or selected (I
can’t remember) and held the seat of power of Venice unlike the other areas of
Italy that were ruled by families. One
of the most interesting things about the Palace was a face carved out of stone,
approximately 2’ x 2’, with an open mouth where people could report crimes or
other indiscretions to the council. In
Italian was inscribed “secret denouncements.”
I found this interesting because someone couldn’t just slip a piece of
paper into the mouth anonymously. It had
to be signed and witnessed by two additional persons. I mentioned to Chinzia that I liked the fact
that people couldn’t snitch, malign or libel someone anonymously as it’s done
today on the internet – nowadays people can say whatever they want – whether
it’s true or false -- about anyone and hide behind monikers and cute-sy names,
without any accountability.
Lots of
amazing things in the Palace including a humongous room without any pillars or
other structures to hold up the ceiling and realizing this was built in the 14th
century.
Nearby, we
visited St. Mark’s Cathedral for only a few minutes and without the opportunity
to take photos. It’s adorned with a
golden façade of mosaics, marble and bronze statues and five domes. There are no paintings or frescoes inside, we
were told, only mosaics. But, as I said,
we were ushered through so quickly because of the queues that we just didn’t
have the chance to absorb everything we were seeing.
Venice’s
famous bell tower, the Campanile, stood in the square for nearly 1,000 years
when in 1902, it collapsed. The new
325-foot tower follows the same floor plan and opened in 1912.
We opted to
forego the glass factory because neither of us was interested. Instead, it was lunch time and we decided to
enjoy some wonderful Italian food before saying good-bye to Venice. The night before, we came across a restaurant
with lots of people looking very happy while eating dinner and found the same
restaurant quite easily – Trattoria Pizzeria da Roberto on Campo S.
Provolo. I ordered a Caprese salad,
prosciutto and a small pizza and a bottle of Nozzole Chianti. The bread was out of this world and
especially the GrissinBon breadsticks (Michael took the wrapping). The mozzarella cheese was freshly made and
the pizza was a thin crust – just the way we like it. The extra virgin olive oil, Frantoio di Santa
Téa, was unbelievable. While we ate,
across the way at the Bacaro Risorto bar, an American song, “Mr. Sandman,” was
playing! Lemoncello and a cookie were
given to us as a treat at the end of our meal.
While we
enjoyed this beautiful lunch in Venice, we people watched and noticed many men
with “manbuns.” I’m not crazy about the
style and think South Pacific men look best but some of the Italian men looked
pretty good. We loved looking at the
clothing people wore – some still in puffer jackets – and marveled at the high
heels some women wore while negotiating the cobbled streets. Lots of Venetians and tourists milling around
and walking on this lovely Tuesday. There
are no bicycles in Venice because it would be far too dangerous with all the
walkers and deliveries are still made by hand-drawn carts. We saw several residents walking their dogs
but saw no cats in the streets. I even
noticed three men together who were wearing the same shoes with yellow
shoelaces. Our fellow passengers, Bob
and Marian, came by while we were eating as did our tour which had dwindled
down to only four passengers. I guess
most of us wanted to see Venice on our own.
I used the
restroom and was amazed to see a toilet that could’ve been designed for a
child. There was, of course, no toilet
seat cover, as is very common in Italy, but the facilities were extremely
clean.
We arrived
at 11:30 a.m. and finished our lunch at 1 p.m.
Navigating our way over the four bridges back to Cornobi Pier, lots of
souvenir kiosks lined the waterfront.
When we were sailing in the day before, we could see two women, one
dressed in pink, the other in purple, from the deck of our ship because they
were very tall (obviously standing on something) with enormous dresses. Well, on our way back to the water shuttle,
two women (they may have been the same from the day before) were on the
waterfront waving at us and inviting us to take their photo. Well, of course, you know that they would
expect some payment for this opportunity so we smiled, Michael took their photo
without them knowing it, and continued walking. As in many other ports we visited, Pringles
(of all things) is a very popular item.
At the end
of our two days, I asked Michael for his impressions and he replied, “beautiful
weather!” Oy! Let’s see what his observations are going to
be below.
Michael’s Observations: Venice is definitely a
place I would love to visit again.
Debbie, our cruise lady, explained that it is very easy to get lost in
the city even when you have a map. The
reason, of course, is that there are so many alley ways and bridges that it
would be difficult to find your way back without first having left a trail of
breadcrumbs. The interesting thing about
Venice is that it is built on petrified wood pilings. These things are now rock so that the entire
city is built over this ancient engineered platform. Of course, this immediately reminded me of
the movie, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, in which the plot was to
destroy Venice by blowing up the subterranean wood pilings. In my opinion, Venice is a must-see vacation
spot. It has a wonderful old world charm
and history and you could spend a lot of time there just walking the streets
and enjoying great meals …. and, of course, the weather was beautiful.
No comments:
Post a Comment