San Marco at Night
I had hopes of writing my final installment yesterday, but U.S.Air's Philly system was almost in complete meltdown last evening, thereby causing me to get home way too late for anything but dragging my ancient-feeling body to bed after being up for 24 hours.
On Monday, my last evening in Venice, after consulting my trusty Lonely Planet guide, I headed out walking to its recommended trattoria. Encountering a different, enticing looking restaurant along the way, I luckily had my best of the trip(and reasonably priced) dinner of grilled fish along with the charming company of a couple from Austin, Texas who were seated adjacent. Having never seen Piazza San Marco at night, I walked there after the dinner. I don't know, nor care, where pigeons go at night, but it was a pleasant surprise to see this world famous square not covered by thousands of the winged rodents. Orchestras were playing at several restaurants entertaining both their diners and the crowd of thousands that included tourists of all shapes, sizes, and colors from around the world. San Marco under its beautiful lighting on a clear evening is an experience not to be missed.
The crowd at San Marco was in sharp contrast to the characters that I encountered as I wandered the residential neighborhoods that morning. The population of Venice has shrunk by at least half in recent decades, but many unique individuals remain. As I munched my lunch pizza, I witnessed many elderly ladies walking with their beloved dogs. One elderly beauty especially caught every one's eye as she was as fashionably and elegantly dressed and made up as if she were attending the opera at La Fenice instead of walking her dog at noon. Then we were all treated to an opera performance as a man strolled through the square loudly and skillfully singing his favored songs to the delight of even the local residents. The final character of note was a man out walking his parakeet, firmly attached to his shoulder, and singing its own special tunes.
Venice is not a cheap place for visitors. My water taxi to the airport cost 100 euros. A minimal gondola ride will cost at least that much. Everything here moves by boat: trash pickup, building materials, police, fire, ambulance, even funerals. Call a plumber or other tradesman, and they arrive by boat.
Venice is not for those with mobility handicaps. One can't walk two minutes without encountering a bridge with steps to climb, most of which are just tall enough for gondolas to underpass, but the famous Rialto and Accademia bridges are much taller so that larger craft can navigate the Grande Canal. Even the bicycle legs that pedalled me across the Dolomite Mountains grew weary after several hours wandering the streets and climbing hundreds of steps. Speaking of bicycles, they're justifiably not allowed in this city. Many of the "streets" are so narrow as to barely accommodate pedestrians passing. As for climbing the steps of the bridges on two wheels, forgetaboutit.
For the record it appears I rode about 500 miles and climbed 55,000 feet during my ten days bicycling in the Dolomites. I loved the trip, but I'm glad to be home and looking forward to a few days of rest. I'm headed back to our favorite island October 2nd. Ciao!
