ADRIATIC TRIP -- PART III Trip to Venezia Awoke on Tuesday, April 24, 2007, to a nice clean cabin… worked on the cleaning yesterday with The Captain… went out and had breakfast.. brioche and cappuccino.. I’ve developed a love for cappuccino and will have to learn to make decaf cappuccino when I get home Taxi to train in Trieste, Italy…. Ride is comfortable.. roads are just like north American roads, … in fact if you are short sighted enough to ignore the history of the region there is little to differentiate it from north America other than slightly different construction, and language in Slovenian or Italian.. It ‘s nice riding here on rubber wheels smiling at The Captain and having him smile at me … calling me a showoff because he wanted to interrupt my typing and it didn’t work… silly face from the Captain… too bad my camera is in my pocket… but he is cagey and careful and when he sees the camera come out he always looks very professional romantic and gorgeous… More later… We arrive in Venice… I don’t know what to say… the hotel is very modern and very Italian design and I try to define the mixture of designs.. the hallways look like the inside of an interstellar space station, the rooms are small, but beautifully decorated with faux suede marble overlay, a beige and white tone; and a totally marble bathroom… all very elegant in a minimalist fashion… but I was aware that hotels in Europe are not like the American definition of hotel design and accommodation.. and that is fine… The technology in this room is quite amazing.. no lights unless you insert your key into a control panel and leave it there… no air conditioning unless the window is closed… the minute you open it the air conditioning shuts off… the first day I thought we were going to roast as the room was 26degrees, and for some reason we couldn’t get the airconditioning to work… well we had the window open.. and the connection didn’t set in until evening. Day 2 in Venice We go to Venice…rented a VW Passat and quite impressed with it… very nice. Two minutes after arriving in the immediate Venice area I am aware that I am seeing something that exists nowhere else in the world and something that I may never see again… it brings back memories of my theatrical days and “The Servant of Two Masters” by Carlo Goldoni… I now see that I am not in North America… I am not anywhere I have ever been in my life and there is nothing to compare it to… nor do I want to .. I just want to soak up the history and the rustic beauty of it all…as well as the sheer immensity of the area. I am struck by the closeness of the buildings… no more than ten feet between buildings.. We arrive at San Marco Square and it is mind boggling… beyond anything one would imagine… and certainly beyond anything a photo could capture… Being able to actually see this place of beauty and history and literature humbles me… We sat down at the Caffe Florian to have two cappuccinos (I am developing an insatiable love for Cappuccino) and listen to the 5 piece orchestra… The outdoor café holds over 400 people and this is the day of celebration for Italian independence, as well as a special Venetian day of celebration… people are everywhere but the café is almost empty… odd… or so I thought… we ordered our cappuccinos and enjoyed the music and then the bill came.. 28euros!!!! For two coffee and some music… each cappuccino was 8,20eu And the 20 minutes of entertainment was 5,80eu per person… oh well.. this is Venice, and this is San Marco Square and this is something I could never have imagined doing a short three months ago.. I have been given the trip of a lifetime, that could it have been arranged in the first place would cost at least 10,000eu and I am receiving it all for free with someone to love at my side… I mean folks… how good is life!!! It is quite apparent here as elsewhere on my journeys that if you were growing up in one of these buildings you were growing up in a real community where you just looked out your window and chatted with your neighbour… where the American phrase, “Can Jimmy come out to play” doesn’t really matter because even if he couldn’t you could just go up to your room and talk to him.. window to window. I find it really difficult to explain or describe Venice… I look at the photos I took and none of them do it any justice whatsoever. It truly is one of those places in the world that you must experience more than just see. I don’t know how to tell The Captain what I am feeling.. how to describe our visit to San Marco Square near the seaside of Venice.. I am overwhelmed and left humbled by it all… I can only say to anyone reading this that you must find the time, the money, anything to just get to Venice once in your life… After Venice we drove to Lido.. the seaside resort area of Venice… and folks.. welcome to the Atlantic Coast of Florida…!!! Only the language is different… it is a beautiful resort area and I feel immediately at home… but I must admit I have never seen so many people …. And I observe without difficulty that the Europeans look so much healthier than North Americans…slim, energetic.. fashionable… and just plain healthy… not always looking happy to be alive but at least looking healthy… The visit to Lido ended late afternoon and we experienced the rush hour traffic on our trip back to the hotel…. Oh, yes, during it all we had good food… but waay too much of it… a side salad here is the size of a main dinner salad at home…when you order a pizza as we did you get your own personal 14” pizza… much nicer than any I’ve ever had in my life.. but huge…. And yet you eat it all… just like the calimera dish that turned out to be about 40 calimera rings rather than 5 or 10…. Meals for each of us are averaging about 18euros each… I like to think of the Euro as a dollar, even though it is at 1.60 on the Canadian dollar, but I am reminded that the ability to earn 1 euro over here is far more difficult than the ability to earn 1 dollar back home. _______________________________________________________ ____ EPILOGUE Unfortunately the relationship with the lovely greek captain didnt work out, but the trip shall always be a wonderful memory, as will he. Copyright 2014@JTMitchell, Toronto, Canada All rights reserved. May be SHARED ON FACEBOOK, but Do not copy or repost without written permission.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 18:09:33 +0000
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