When we initially
set out on this nine month sabbatical we were anticipating spending a good deal
of time traveling to other parts of Italy and even other parts of Europe. It seemed logical to take advantage of the
proximity and the free time to visit places we’ve never seen. However, now that we’ve set up our lives here
in Arezzo what we really want is to stay put.
The whole point of coming here for a longer period of time was to deepen
our experience of living in a foreign country.
Now that we have meaningful relationships here we want to enjoy them for
as long as we can.
However,
there are a few places we really wanted to see, and on the top of our list was
Venice. We’d never been and after hearing from everyone how beautiful it is we
had to go. Thanks to a direct train from
Arezzo it was easy to plan our trip. We
packed our bags, hopped on the train, and four hours later we were in
Venice. When we walked out of the station
we were blown away - the view is stunning! We felt like we’d entered another
world!
This is the first sight you see when you walk out of the train station. |
While riding
the vaporetto
(Venice’s equivalent of a bus – it runs on the water) to our hotel we were
nudging each other and pointing out some of the amazing buildings along the
Grand Canal. As many of you know we are
not inclined to take lots of pictures, but we made an exception this weekend -
our camera got more exercise than ever before. We kept being amazed at all the
bridges, the little canals, the boats, and the buildings. Every 20 steps or so one of us was stopping to
take pictures.
We spent the
better part of one afternoon sitting in a large campo (piazza in Venetian
dialect). There was a caffe nearby with
several family groups sitting outside finishing lunch. All of their kids were playing in the campo, climbing on the well (it was
covered!) or just running around, while the parents talked. It was delightful to be in a “real” part of
the city and not in the “centro turistico.”
One evening
we went to a concert featuring the music of Vivaldi, a native of Venice. The performance that evening was exceptional,
and the concert hall (a deconsecrated church) was beautiful. After the show we felt like real Italians
going out for dinner at 11pm!
The next day
was cloudy and rainy as predicted, but being true Seattleites that didn’t deter
us from getting on the vaporetto and
going off to Murano.
Venice is
really a collection of islands, and the island of Murano is famous for its
glassmaking. After our trip to the
island and back, we realized that the best part was the vaporetto ride, which was a complete circumnavigation of
Venice. It was very interesting to see the
city from the water.
It was
fascinating to learn that Venice was born under dire circumstances. During the 5th-8th
centuries the people who lived on the mainland fled to the marshes to escape
the invading Huns and Goths. Because
they had no other choice, they were forced to build their homes there. Necessity being the mother of invention, they
figured out how to erect structures above the level of the water by driving
wooden pylons 100 feet into the silty ground.
Over centuries the beautiful city we know today was developed.
Because the
risk of flooding is en ever constant threat, the Venetians keep measures at
hand to stop water from pouring into doorways and to help people walk the
streets without getting their feet wet.
We saw metal gates about shin high on most doorways. At first they looked like some kind of
baby-gate, but we realized that in Venice the likelihood was that the gates
were for keeping water out rather than for keeping children contained. Though unsupervised children and unaware
adults certainly run the risk of getting an unwanted dunking if they are not
careful.
It took us a
good while to figure out that these stacks of steel and wood were impromptu
boardwalks, ready to set up at the first sign of high water.
We were
equally fascinated to find that- of course! - everything coming into and out of
Venice has to be carried by boat and by hand.
Transporting carts full of produce, mail, recycling, and refuse over the
pedestrian-only bridges (they all have steps) is very labor intensive.
Off-loading |
The mail truck |
Some sell their goods directly from the boat! |
No wonder
things are more expensive here! Restaurant
prices are about double what they are in Arezzo. For example, caffe and a pastry in Arezzo cost
€2.
In Venice they cost €4.50 (if you stand at the bar), or €7 (if you sit at a table). Or
maybe the reason for the high cost of the food is the gold they sprinkle on
their bruschetta.
Henry's golden lunch |
Seriously.
This dates back to the 1400s when it was believed that gold was good for one’s
health. Also the nobles couldn’t miss an
opportunity to flaunt their wealth.
Despite the
tourists and the costs, Venice was absolutely everything we had heard it would
be – an extraordinarily beautiful city with a remarkable history.