Venice is of course the legendary city on the water that we’ve all seen in countless movies. This one was a pretty short train ride and we arrived mid-morning. The train into the city goes over a long bridge, and in most of the city there’s no cars, so there’s a big parking lot on the island next to the train station. The station lets out into the Grand Canal. Coming into the plaza, we all just stood there for a while taking it all in, trying to grok that this was indeed a real place.
We were staying out on Lido island, which separates the lagoon from the Adriatic Sea and is known for its beaches. To get there one takes a water bus or water taxi. Jeannie, being a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker with a fondness of public transportation in all it’s forms, had this all worked out and had us get 48-hour water bus passes. Lido is only five minutes away from the main part of the city, but the bus took a circuitous route thru the Grand Canal and three-quarters of the way around on the north side before it crossed the lagoon, so the trip was more like forty-five minutes. Very scenic tour of the city.
The boat landing at Lido was like an extension of the main part of Venice, with canals penetrating the island. However, here there were also cars. It was a five-minute cab ride to our hotel on the beach side of the island. It was lovely small hotel, the best one yet, right at the edge of the beach. Our room wasn’t ready yet, so we walked down along the beach until we found an “American style” outdoor beach bar for lunch. I had the “big American” burger, which had prosciutto and an egg on it, a distinctly non-American twist.
The music here was American rock. The Red Hot Chili Peppers seem particularly popular in Italy; we heard them several places. Interestingly, when we were in South America last year, pretty much all the music was some kind of salsa, with a clave instead of a backbeat, even the remixes of rock music were salsified. The main exception was some songs had a reggae beat. In Europe there were some dance remixes but alot of it was straight up rock and pop like we have at home. It wasn’t until we got to Venice and saw pseudo-classical/folk/gypsy ensembles playing at the tourist cafes that we heard anything distinctly European. More on that soon.
After lunch we checked into the hotel, and our room was on the fourth (top) floor, with a view of the Adriatic Sea, all blue and beautiful. It was a ten-minute walk back to the water bus station, and then fifteen minute boat ride halfway around the island to St. Mark’s plaza, the epicenter of downtown Venice.
The scene there was fantastic, with a glorious palace right past the boat landing, then an equally impressive and ornate cathedral, a great big bell tower, and big fancy renaissance architecture on all sides. The square itself was full of kiosks and restaurants and live music. Going under an archway in the back of the plaza led to a maze of narrow twisting streets with frequent footbridges over the canals. The streets were lined with shops, restaurants, hotels and churches. The whole thing had a dreamlike quality, and it was something to try and imagine how this place came into being, and now hundreds of years after it’s peak of power and influence remains a world famous tourist destination.
Just as Florence was famous for its leather shops, so Venice has lot of glassworks. I saw lots of glasses, vases, bowls, ashtrays, etc., plus alot of handblown sculptures ranging from kitschy knickknacks to works of art as large and expensive as you want to go. There were dragons and devils, and cuttlefish and octopi and all kinds of things. Some of the animal figures reminded of origami in that the artist was following a known pattern, with variations in the finishing to give each model its own expressiveness. I bought a nice glass dish, azure like the Adriatic, perfect for putting guitar picks in. And I set my mind to find a nice, handblown octopus sculpture.
We did the classic gondola ride, which give you another, unique perspective on the city and its architecture. We wandered as far as the Rialto, a big fancy bridge over the Grand Canal, lined with shops. We found a place along the canal for dinner, another long lingering affair with appetizers, pasta and wine. By this time the kids were telling us every evening that this was the best family vacation ever. I really can’t disagree.
At the end of the night we made our way back to St. Mark’s square. The tide was now high, and when a police boat sped by it’s wake splashed up onto the plaza. The water bus ride was breezy and refreshing and on the walk back the hotel we passed some really nice villas. Ended the night up at the hotel listening the the sound of the ocean and the distant strains of American pop music.
I now have a new quest, a bit more in depth than finding the right glass octopus sculpture. In a few years when I retire, I want to spend a few months as an artist-in-residence at some cool and picturesque place in Europe, and spend the weekends traveling and sightseeing as much as I can.
Next morning it was another beach day. Lizzy and I were the most enthused about this. I like swimming in the ocean, and she mainly wanted to work on her tan. Jeannie was happy to sit on the beach but didn’t go in the water. Michelle came out to the beach but then decided she’d rather go back to the hotel and rest inside in the cool. Anyway, it was super nice for swimming. The water was clear and blue and warm, and the waves were gentle. No big breakers like you get in Long Island. The second time I went out for a swim Lizzy came out with me. At one point I was just enjoying how amazing everything was and I said to her “I feel completely relaxed. I mean I just can’t get any more relaxed than this.” And so we hung out in the water and the sunshine. Came back in and laid on the beach, and went back out for yet another swim.
In the afternoon we went to Murano Island, where the glass blowing shops are, as well as a famous glass museum. We first took the water taxi to St. Marks, then crossed by foot over the Grand Canal to the north side of the island, to catch another water bus to Murano. Along the way we grabbed a quick lunch of panini from a food stand. Murano was alot like the main island with more canals and shops and restaurants. The museum was was cool, and had alot of historical Venetian glass as well as some modern stuff. Afterwards we checked out the glass shops, but I did not find what I as looking for. Then it was was drinks and appetizers at a place on the waterfront.
We took the water bus back to the main island for more wandering around looking at the shops. I finally found the perfect souvenir, a glass octopus maybe 8″ across, with a good heft, and a really cool pattern of white and blue inside the glass. I named him Otto, which means eight.
After dinner at yet another quaint and charming place we lingered in St. Mark’s plaza listening to various musical groups playing in different quarters of the square. The ensembles seemed to be a variation on a basic setup. Piano and standup bass, no drums. The frontline was some combination of one or two violins, an accordion, a clarinet and sometimes a saxophone. Some of the groups leaned more classical and traditional, some were more euro-pseudo-jazz renditions of pop songs. Mostly it was about setting the right mood. All were very good. My favorite thing that I heard was an interpretation of Billie Jean by Michael Jackson.
The last day I woke up early and watched the sun rise over the Adriatic from my hotel room. The beach was empty and I was tempted to dash out for one last swim before it was time to go. As it was, we left Lido pretty early, for a marathon relay of eight different vehicles for the journey home. It started with a cab from the hotel the the water bus dock, then the water bus into downtown Venice. This time it went the other way around the island so in the end we circumnavigated it all and then some. From Venice we took the bullet train back to Rome, and then the express train to the airport. In the airport there was a little tram the went from the main concourse out the the gate. Then of course the plane itself. We were back in New York City sometime after nightfall. Then it was the shuttle bus back the the car parking service, and finally the drive home. Whew. What a great trip.
It took us a few days to catch up on things like laundry, mowing the lawn, and getting back into our routine. It was in the mid-seventies here the day after we returned, and it felt downright cold. The weekend was hot again, and I spent most of it doing yardwork, edging the driveway, walkway and patio, and trimming the hedges. All caught up now. Even got on my bike once or twice, and took the mustang out for a ride.