Wednesday 22nd September

 

22/09/04 Day 81

I am itching to speak generally and emotionally of this fascinating city and the people we've met - but just I must deal with chronological facts. I think Heather has gone a bit crazy, as her entries were rather terse, and she's now prancing around the room like a Victorian show-girl!

We got up a little earlier than intended due to the appearance of two Columbians in our bedroom. (Yes - I had the most painful mozzy bite night so far, worse, somehow, than Vienna - I think my body has just given up - oh how I long for England). This turned out to be beneficial. A breakfast was a laughing affair, and we were graced by Chris - "I'm so arrogant I won't even accept that other people have views, let alone that they are different from mine, let alone that they might just be right" - the hippy. He proceeded to preach about how to behave in foreign countries, and was chagrinedly (?) rude to Heather, who's Italian could not be more better than his. It was at this point that my condescending amusement turned to hatred.

So we set forth. Eventually, on day 2 of our "let's walk on every street in Venice" plan. Today it was Sanita (side and Castello. But this time we had liquid glimpses of a Venetian

daily. So we were noting with feigned interest Gothic arches and baroque facades. It was a long walk. The highlight for me was for eastern end (part of which was only develop in the places) and where there were not only no tourist (literally) but no locals either - it was 3pm, you see. There was however, plenty of washing hung very cutely in between buildings.

Heather decreed that we must find an internet place, and 10 metres further on there appeared an internet place where we spent a mere half of the money that one in town would have cost us. (On Safari)

By this time it was getting painful (although Heather still had reserves for souvenir shops) and the ice tea was as welcomed as ever. Over the course of the evening, Anna washed my sandals, cooked us dinner, and MORE us wine!

Venice, Venice, Venice... what can I say?

A city which, more than any other, deserves the bands and the expense, yet a city, more than most others, which is torn easily ruined by them. It's saving grace, though, is that, unlike any other city you canturn!

I some or, if not the most bit, completely deserted & a phenomenon unique throughout the places we've been. With out this, Venice would be worse than Prague - all year round. The Lonely Planet states that you will have to pinch yourself to ensure you're not dreaming when you stand in San Marco Square. Well, we got there after only three hours in the city and although I hadn't known anything about it before arriving it was already so 'built up' and so packed with tourists that it had no impact on me at all. In fact, it isn't even especially extraordinarily special, not like the palace in Vienna, St Peters in Rome and Siena.

And the bridge of sighs? - essentially the countless stereotyped views down canals. This was one of the few we didn't sigh for.

But an even bigger disappointment (& this was something I had been expecting) was the style of shops in San Marco - didn't I not small, quaint local shops, not even small expensive souvenir shops, but large classy, astronomically expensive designer shops of the Vienna, Milan & Paris genre and not as I had hoped, the Siena, San G or Cinque Terre, that such a decent city deserves.

But hold the phone, we are missing the bigger picture - these glittering shop fronts direct capital a roaring tourist haggle to a tiny percentage of the day. There is none of this 'sunnier' from the pretty centre the less tourists - philosophy.

you can turn off the busiest street in Venice into a tiny side alley which is completely deserted and walk down it to an equally deserted canal bridge with a view that makes you sigh twice - yet within view, back up the alleyway is the constant flow of thousands of people stuck forever on the tourist trail, a mere 5 metres away!

We have spent a long time wandering the quiet district of town and have found so many perfect views and beautiful house fonts that I could never choose a favourite. This is the part of Venice I love, and it easily beat Budapest for second place, but the petted quaintness combined with the novelty of the canals, on top of the fascinating technical detail of such a city (water ambulances, how they clean the streets - restaurant supplies by boat, damming canals to do road works, lampposts in the water, not traffic congestion - no you have to have a permit - ... probably to go anywhere without a boat and having to walk twice as far anyway journey... - ...) makes it a valid contender for Vienna's place. But just as these thoughts begin to circulate we return to the tourist areas and I realise that there - parts of Venice feel dead, despite the deceiving bustle of tourists and the tourist industry. If you can look through beyond that (which I think I have became rather good at) you see a ghost city - devoid of locals, where every building stands empty and unused, deserted for a place(old?) (island)

in an inhabitable district. In ... was abandoned and the city resorted on the present day island. But the new Venice has suffered another plague - only this time they didn't restart anew, they just allowed the plague to contaminate and kill the heart of the city, contained it there, and continue their lives around it.

How can a city, no matter how special, contend with Vienna, when it does not have a central, healthy, and representative heart from which the rest of the city can take it's lead? The heart of Venice has been corrupted and all but destroyed - we can only imagine what it should be like, and that's not good enough to give it first place.

If we are talking of first-places, though, they make room for "Rooms for Friends" at the top of the accommodation list...!!

It is like being at home only with your Gran looking after you instead. Everything is forced on to you, whether you want it or not, and you are in serious trouble if you try to wait up. Our dinner seemed like a good idea at the time: potato sauce with sausages - quick & easy - but the look on Peta's face when we told him we weren't going to cook the sauce separately...! The best explanation I could manage was "Inglese!" So the next night Anna was there, ready to prevent any culinary crimes. The pasta was weighed (apparently 200 grams per person, although 150 seemed

very adequate) and when I tried to do a taste check I was told in no uncertain terms that it takes 8 minutes to cook, no less!

Although it was only a few days ago I can only remember a few things about this day: Anna wanted to know if I wanted hot or cold milk in my coffee and so grabbed my wrist around and walked me into the kitchen to throw me the option, rather like my Granny does, when we realised not to moving into a room she asked me if it was OK for her to change were and when I said yes, she thanked me with a listen.

The cavarelle region reminded me of a French village (I have no idea where) and so although it was very quiet it was also very cute.