Venezia Once Again

Greetings – If you have given yourself over to absolute pleasure you might not be pleased about the slow but still “present” nature of the 40^th anniversary trip. Bologna and the day trip to Ferrara provided several days of wonderful existence. There would only be two nights left…Venice and Amsterdam. Both cities boast canals and love of living.

Our weakness is Venice. It could easily be argued that several other Italian venues could outdo the city of the Doge but…..

First impressions do linger and our initial Venetian experience involved the Ala hotel.

It can be found a few feet from the Grand Canal at the Giglio stop for Vaporetto #1 (famous for being an extended tour of the entire Grand Canal). The Gritti Palace is the big name in the campo (square) and has been the sight of several Bombay gin martinis. The ambience is enhanced with small touches in a medium sized piazza.

San Marco is within easy walking distance but one must survive the gauntlet. For us this is not too bad since we are talking the equivalent of Rodeo Drive, Palm Beach or Monaco in terms of vendors. Gawk and move on please.

An interesting curiosity on the way to San Marco is Chiesa di San Moise (Church of Moses). Wait a minute…Moses was Jewish…Ah the Venetians, in fact, have several churches dedicated to Old Testament personages. (Also honors Moise Venier who paid for it to be rebuilt in the 9^th century – thank you Wikipedia). Very interesting.

San Moise is mostly known for its baroque façade. In some ways it is similar to the mother ship in Close Encounters in that anything might be found on its surface. Part of the issue is that city fame-achievers could not celebrate their image in civic statues so they funded the construction of “art” in or on churches.

Yes, that is R2D2 imbedded…er, sorry…

Venice also offers the Biennale, an international art festival with nations and independent artists exhibiting state of the art. It has been influential to our looking forward to viewing some of the Art Basel in Miami when our timeline finally allows for December.

Many stores remind the visitor of the city wide display of exhibits including the haute couture gauntlet:

One (or two) always manages to make time for San Marco. Since it was a favorite jigsaw puzzle as a youth, Chris always feels that something like clicking his heels three times is responsible for being there.

The pigeons were kind enough to step back for the picture.

There are too many “pieces” to San Marco. If your opportunity is once in a life time, the Basilica di San Marco and the Doge’s Palace, which includes the Bridge of Sighs, are a must. If you are fortunate to return then other segments might be examined more closely, such as the Campanile (bell tower). This edifices collapsed in the past century but has resurrected since.

Another beautiful visual is provided by

the Torre del Orologio (Clock Tower). Previous visits had afforded a shrouded view as reconstructive work took many years.

The only mission had been supplied by CC: “Could you get me a rosary when you go to Italy, a brown or black one.” Okay, here it was the end of the three week sojourn and the request was still unfulfilled. Venice, however, is special. Some of Mom’s ashes are there. The Von D’Luccis have rallied there.

A perusal through the gauntlet of stores was unsatisfying. Besides, should Dad have a rosary purchased with postcards? St Mark’s Basilica loomed… as did a line of several hundred tourists waiting to enter. So how about some critical thinking and some problem solving? The opportunity to buy religiosities would be after a tour or a session in the church wandering the aisles. So why not check out where the exit is and poke one’s proboscis in there? Then maybe just a subtle shift of the shoulders, shuffle of the feet and one is at the counter inquiring about rosaries. A detailed discussion followed concerning who it was for, why the beads had to be large and brown or black. Simplicity was the theme as five euro provided for a memorable package with a card stating site of purchase in Italian. Va bene!

So a return to the Ala was in order so that we could lounge in familiar surroundings:

Yes, a little blurred, ergo, familiar.

Spritzes? Of course.

Another nearby haunt was Campo Stefano. It resulted in an al fresco indulgence of fine food and ambiance.

Ah, romantic to say the least. So now one last stroll through night time San Marco.

The several orchestras were in their milieu competing with each other. Each time we have reveled here it has been in Mom’s memory whose visit was posthumous.

Perhaps life will be fortunate and a return will be possible. Que sera sera.

The morning brought the water taxi and we were the only passengers on the Grand Canal for quite a while. Eventually the vessel was full after a circuitous, pleasant ride to the airport. Arrivederci Venezia. Next…Amsterdam.