Venice - 31st May

Venice - 31st May

 

We are awoken by a lightshow supported by the sound of thunder and rain - some retribution for the unseasonal weather of the past few days? - the rain clears - we prepare for a day of 'not doing' Venice.




We wonder what is at the heart of the animated discussion between a Chinese fellow and a group of north Africans - we observe them turn away as the police barge drifts up the canal - we notice them return to their discussion - ah - a Chinese man organizing illegal immigrants to flog the Italian leather bag knockoffs that he has brought into Venice from his homeland.

 

We Stroll through Academia on our way to St. Marco - pause for an Italian breakfast - be surprised when it is found to consist of toast and jam, coffee and orange juice with a croissant thrown in.

 

Sit and admire the stylish Italian men and women - they all walk with their shoulders back and their feet gliding smoothly - they walk with pride - the women all simply but fashionably dressed and all carrying large shoulder bags of Italian leather - the men often carrying shoulder bags are dressed in snazzy shirts and/or stylish jackets - the contrast with the tourists is stark - I can recommend breakfast in a Venetian square playing 'pick the Italian' - an easy but enjoyable past time.

 

 

 

We wander onwards through the narrow shop lined alleys towards St Marks - Venetian masks , Murano glass and Italian leather bags seem to be on everyside - there is price creep as we approach the square -

 

 

 

Creep that suddenly transitions to the ridiculous in the square itself.

 

Ah the square at 9:00am - the tourists have been disgorged from the Cruise Ships, loaded on Vaporetto and dispatched here - they queue and they queue and they queue again -they look like camera carrying cattle heading for the slaughterhouse - not a smile among them -I think this is what "Doing Venice" actually means - Bernie takes photograph after photograph of the bovine lookalikes - we sit a little longer and watch the self propelled tourists arrive in the square - they become stressed and anxious when they see the queues - we feel like walking up to them and telling them that cruise ship hordes will soon move on to their next "Must do" leaving manageable queues in their wake.

 





 

We wander through calle after calle past stylish shops that clothe the stylish Italians - we bump shoulders with tourists who just like us stop on a whim at one shop window or another - we know this is not on exclusive tourist strip when the shop window displays vacuum cleaners! - as we move away from the square prices are quite reasonable.

 

Back towards Antica Locandar Montin - stop in a square - we select some jewelery for Bernie - the shop owner, yet another stylish Italian lady, talks about the fake Murano glass that abounds in the city and about the pressure being imposed on Italy by the illegal migration caused by the conflicts across the Adriatic.

 

We wander on pausing at canals to smile at the traffic jambs as the gondolas manouver to make way for a freight barge with kegs of beer and other produce precariously spread across its deck - the Venician equivalent of Freight Direct - this feels to me like we are observing a parade at Disney Land - to Bernie it feels like the a Mexican waterpark - in any event we both get the sense that we are watching some form of circus.

 

We felt like we have become ' holier than thou ' so we joined the tourists in a guided walking tour of Venice - in reality a walking tour of the environs of San Marco - to be fair to the lady she tried hard but I suspect she might have been better taking us to a café, serving us a cappuccino and making presentation from Wikipedia - the walking tour ends in a gondola ride - if you are going to take a gondola ride then try something well back from the grand canal - what did my father tell me? - ah - yes - I remember - you get what you pay for! - the cynic that is within me, some say so close to the surface that it is can be seen through my skin, has modified my father's adage to become 'the chances of getting what you want are proportional to what you pay' - it is amazing how just when you need an example to prove your point one is presented to you - we return to the Antica Locanda Molin to dine in their garden restaurant - we experience an amazing meal - the adage proves itself when our modern day slothful credit card is required to do much more than just wave at the electronic waiter.

 

Sleep.