Tag: Venice

Oh my God!! Until now Carnevale has been fun and entertaining and manageable but today it became totally nightmarish.

Tull and I went our different ways and I started the day going far away down past the Arsenale…down the Grand Canal…so I had a nice morning, there were people around but it was all nice and gentile. I then walked back along the Grand Canal and as I approached the Sam Marco it suddenly became total chaos with police out directing the hoards of pedestrians.

As amazingly as you could imagine I bumped into Tull and we walked together for a while and were able to manoeuvre ourselves around although there were pockets of standstill pedestrians. We sat for a while in San Marco Square at the seating of a restaurant, of course expecting to have to pay a fortune for a drink. But after a while when no-one approached us we decided we’d had our burst of people watching and didn’t need to pay for the drink as well, so we left. We walked around for ages and found a small place to stop and have lunch and a drink. That was a pleasant interlude.

We then parted company again and each of us entered the fray that was building up by the hour. I went back to San Marco where there is always something happening and sat and watched the judging of the best costume thing that happens every day. I got into it and had my voting card in action. It was a great exercise in being part of a real Carnival.

Then I left there and decided to start walking back to the apartment. That’s when it really got crazy. Standstill pedestrian traffic, you literally couldn’t move, quite scary at times with people getting cross (usually Venetians trying to get through). I spent just ages getting home because I couldn’t move and I couldn’t see where I was going. Today is Valentines Day and it’s big here…there is a ‘love in’ in San Marco’s this evening so the crowds were truly horrendous, although not very loving!!!

Anyway to cut a long story short I got back. I was sure I didn’t have any wine left so detoured to buy my supply, only to find I had nearly a whole bottle at home. As we leave Monday that has me with a surplus but I think the way things are shaping up I’ll need it!!
I have to say that sadly I think I’m just about over Carnevale. There is a massive happening in San Marco tomorrow that I guess we’ll have to brave but honestly I rather dread it. I think the sanity of Rome again will be a welcome relief!! The glamour of Carnevale has definitely faded as Venice becomes totally overrun by the hoards from all over Italy and all over Europe.

Hopefully I’ll survive to write of tomorrow although being crushed to death is a real possibility!!!

Firstly I realised last night that I had completely missed a day in my narrative. So yesterday we went to Murano but the day before I missed completely I think. This was when we went to 2 lovely islands, Torcello and Burano. Torcello has little on it but this one church that has mosaics second only to Ravenna. Amazing really. And then Burano is the quaintest, loveliest little township with brightly coloured houses along lovely canals. Quite a treat to wander around and at Carnevale it becomes a bit of a focus with lots of people (mainly French people on the day we were there) in all the getup wandering around. So that was a really nice day, it was sunny, vaguely warm ( or at least trying) and gorgeous.

So now I skip a day and come to today. First stop was the Academia Gallery. I won’t stop and talk to much about it, it was fabulous, magnificent,Venetian artists on display in all their grandeur. Took ages and ages to get around it all but around it we went absorbing the grandeur of it all. Tull and I then parted company. So as this is my story I will proceed. I went to Scuola Grande di San Rocco which is Tintoretto in overdrive, the place is totally covered in his frescoes and canvasses. There are also wood carvings extraordinaire and it all adds up to a massive insult on the senses. Then to Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari where there are even more Tintoretto’s, amazing choir stalls, fabulous mausoleums carved by Canova etc. Not to go on and on because it gets very boring. Suffice to say that this trip has been full of extraordinary art to the point that the senses actually do get overloaded.

So I left the churches and the masters and went to San Marco to join the Carnevale crowd. And crowd it is, increasing every day with the crescendo being this weekend. I sat in San Marco to watch one of the costume judgings and had myself a hot chocolate. The people being judged in splendiferous costumes were from Italy, UK, France, Russia, Switzerland…it is a very European happening. I enjoyed that little sojourn enormously. Then I walked home from San Marco, stopping for a Vino Brule along the way for old times sake.

By 5pm it’s getting really cold so its always good to get back for a bit of catch up time before the need to forage for dinner.

Busy, busy day today. The day always starts with a cappuccino and a ‘dolce’ of some sort. I’ve become totally dysfunctional without my coffee (often=2) in the morning. My first cappuccino in the morning and my first glass of wine in the afternoon are invariably highlights of my day and never, ever to be gone without (if anybody even suggests that is bad English I’ll be mortified).

Then we set out for Murano, the third Island that we decided not to see yesterday. This entails getting a Vaporretto to cross the Grand Canal, a walk across to the other side and then another Vaporretto to Murano (or yesterday Torcello and Burano). The vaporetto rides are great but at the moment, with Carnevale in full swing, it’s a wonder they don’t tip over (I’ve touched wood!!) they are so full of tourists. Mainly European tourists, the French seem to have entirely abandoned France and headed for Venice, the Germans and the English follow suit. Then there’s the odd few thousand of Chinese, Japanese and Korean. So the Italians on the vaporettos who are trying to go about their business are often very grumpy.

Anyway we got to Murano and it was lovely. It was nice and quiet off the main drag and a lot less tourists than were in Burano yesterday. We went to the glass museum which was interesting, then to a church whose name escapes me(something Donato) but with wonderful mosaic floors and a wonderful mosaic dome. Anyone reading this will know how I love a good mosaic. Then we walked from the side of the island where we got off the vap. to the other side to get back to the mainland. As if that wasn’t enough, we had planned to go to the Peggy Guggenheim Art Museum and we stuck to the plan even though I was having second thoughts about tackling such an important collection already feeling tired.

Having said that as soon as I got in amongst it any thoughts of being tired vanished; it is such a truly amazing collection of art. I was just gobsmacked by the representation of all the most amazing talent pulled together by this woman..Picasso, Dali, Ernst, Klee, Miro, Pollock, Mirando to name but a few. I was truly in awe.

Finished the excitement of this gallery with an Aperol Spritz and came home. 3 more days in Venice which is a city bursting at the seams and full of excitement which is a good thing and in some ways it brings a few trials.
Having my pre-dinner vino and before you know it it will be time to go out foraging for a meal again.
Lots of love to everyone who reads this, all of whom I miss greatly.

Yesterday was a day of exploring Venice and getting our bearings in this city of getting lost!! We started off by trying to make our way back to the Vaporetto stop near the apartment but of course failed and walked around in circles. We finally found another Vaporetto stop and hopped on to go to San Marco (as you do…and as do 50 million other tourists!!).

We went to San Marco Duomo with its golden mosaics and then spent time in the Doges Palace which was also very interesting. But the nicest part of the day is that the sun was shining very determinedly and the warmth was trying hard to push through the iciness. There are people parading everywhere in their Carnevale costumes, it is fantastic. Never a dull moment really. They are young and old, fat and thin and all decked out with masks and extraordinary costumes. Marvellous really. I think it reaches its pinnacle at the weekend.

This is such a nice apartment that it makes staying here a treat specially after the very basic place we stayed in Florence where my room smelt of mould. So we came back to the apartment earlyish, stopped at a Salumeria on the way back to pick up some cheese and Salami for lunch and had lunch back here. That was good and gave us some downtime.

Then later we went out again to find a place to eat. We sat down in the first restaurant, looked at the menu and realised that there weren’t dishes under 40 Euro. We nearly freaked and then had to explain that we weren’t staying. It was hard particularly as the waiter insisted on thinking we were saying we wanted the menu in English…humiliating!!! Tull had to put up with my bad mood until we found another place to eat that was acceptable. We had a nice meal of cuttlefish cooked in the ink. It is a signatory dish in Venice and absolutely delicious.

Then home to bed. I get woken in the morning by people in their boats outside my window, how lovely is that. Also a Skype call from Sally and Gordon this morning which was lovely.
Today we are going off to some islands to get a feel for them. We have to work out how to use the Vaporettos to get to them all and between them. More later then

Well all, a very long day. But first let me send a big cheerio to the crew of Calimna. Firstly Angus told me this morning how great it was to see Meredith this week and how everyone just loves to see her. Then lo and behold I get an email from Mares with amazing photos of the exercises she is doing on her surfboard. So I’m missing the Tongan crew and although my brother no longer loves me, I still love him and send him my most sincere and fulsome greetings. I send these greeting even though it isn’t his birthday but I’m just feeling the love.

So back to getting ourselves to Venice. First off this morning I took myself to the central office of the bus company to plead my case, having done absolutely NOTHING wrong, I was sure they would say “don’t worry about the 55Euro fine, of course you did the right thing”. Oh yeh..ever come up against Italian bureaucracy?? They shrugged, told me it was my choice if I paid it or not, they weren’t going to waive it because they couldn’t see the time and if I didn’t pay in 5 days it goes to 100 Euro. I paid, stormed out and told them I was never coming back to Florence…did I catch a glimmer of a smile on their smug faces?????

So then we got on the train and came to Venezia. We followed instructions and were where we were supposed to be at the appointed time having got on the right water taxi etc. And we waited and waited, no Enrico. I rang him twice, no answer!! I was so sure that we stood out as the obvious people we were….2 women standing there like shags on a rock. Then I saw a man who had been standing around, who I thought was getting on the water bus. I eventually went up to him and asked if he was Enrico. Well he was and the very sad truth is that he ignored us because he was looking for 2 young women (he confirmed this, I’m not making it up!!)…good start wouldn’t you think!!

Anyway the apartment is just lovely. It overlooks a canal and is beautifully renovated so we are nicely ensconced. I have the real bed this time so no complaints from me, Tull is on the couch. Then we went off for a walk to see how lost I could get us before tea. I didn’t do too badly and we made our way to the Rialto Bridge and then Piazza San Marco. Well it was gorgeous. It is Carnivale and people are walking round completely decked out in amazing costumes and masks. So lovely and it isn’t even in full swing yet. I took some photos and I feel a Facebook moment coming on!!!

We even found our way back and went to a restaurant just near our apartment that Enrico had recommended. It was great, we had our mandatory bottle of wine and are now back in this lovely apartment all warm and ready to hop into bed and listen to the lapping of the water in the canal next to us.