Tina Time

Dear friends, have you missed me? This brief respite from my storytelling has left me feeling guilty for having abandoned my blog and anxious to get back and not allow this to become a permanent derailment.

I must plead sickness as my excuse, I was actually body dragging, head throbbing, mind numbing ill and unable to yield coherent thoughts for perhaps 3-4 days. This, of course, does not account for the rest of the absence, other than the awkwardness and hesitation of jumping back in.

But no way to do it other than to just do it.

So, where were we…..St. Mark’s Square…….The cathedral there was simply awe-inspiring and utterly indescribable. The marble was so colorful and so beautiful I took pictures of multiple quadrants trying to capture the patterns and colors.

The statues atop the magnificent doorways were carvings in marble of saints and angels, some gilded gold. And domes everywhere, and spires. Murals of scenes of the bible and coronation of popes under endless archways. Magnificent! Angels were perched on top of tall columns, watching down on us. And arches within arches within arches resting on columns of varied colored marbles forming imposing and important doorways.

The square has, as its perimeters, great rectangular building, intricate with innate carvings and forming a symmetry that leaves you wondering why it seems so perfect….the divine proportion at work again, is my guess (will talk about this at some point in the future). And, as in the midst of all Italian squares and piazza’s, stood the obelisk. It never occurred to me to wonder or ask about the significance of the obelisk, but thinking back, they are everywhere. I will need to look into this.

As we tried to soak in the sights and the sounds and the smells of the moist day a thick mist began to descend. We approached one of the remaining brave vendors and ordered our first cappuccino in Italy. It warmed us up as the temperature dropped and the rain increased. We ducked under the awnings of the hotel, warming our hands on the steaming cappuccinos, listening to the orchestra, gazing across the bay at some unknown but beautiful cathedrals and buildings and waited for the weather to clear. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply trying to suck the imprint of this moment, this day, as deep into my being so as to not lose utter joy I was experiencing.

This was the actual day of our anniversary, and we were excited about the serenaded gondola ride we had scheduled for 7:30. I had been imaging the evening for months, the dark but lighted canal, the handsome gondolier singing mellifluously behind us as we snuggled in the front of the gondola. I couldn’t wait!

There had been some confusion in the scheduling of the gondola ride with the travel agency, so we decided to head to the address on our reservations a little early to make sure everything was in order. Of course it was, so here we were early. Staning on the deck in front of the pier we met a young couple who also had a gondola ride scheduled for 7:30.

Their names were Skyler and Kendra, a lovely young couple on their honeymoon. They were from California and very attractive. They described their trek across Europe, the honeymoon a gift Skylar’s grandmother.(I kind of had to roll my eyes at their names: Skyler and Kendra, rich kids from California, it just seemed so obvious).

We had some time to kill, so the four of us walked down the cobblestone alley way until we found a small corner bar and ordered beers and just window shopped, sharing stories and laughs and never really running out of things to say or look at and comment on. They weren’t much older than our oldest kids, but that night we were just two American couples in Venice.

We walked back to the pier for our gondola rides and laughed and laughed as we realized that there were about 24 couples waiting to ride in 8 gondolas and one serenader with a karaoke machine. Not exactly the intimate ride I had imagined, I thought, as we got in line to get in our gondola.

The truth though, is, it was a lovely ride through the canals of Venice at night. We met several other nice couples on the ride, another couple on their honeymoon and an older couple returning to a city they had enjoyed together long ago. The night was clear, the stars shone bright, the singer providing the soundtrack to our ride through the inner workings of the city seen by starlight. In between songs, another of the gondoliers would point out historic sites or provide some history and they seemed to have the ride timed to sing and speak at just the appropriate moments. All in all it was a magical ride.

We returned from the gondola ride, tired and hungry but full of the Venizia sky. (It’s not called Venice in Italy, but Venizia) We were in an unfamiliar part of the city, but we had our small map and the way home seemed obvious. We started to walk home to our hotel, debating about whether to stop and eat or head back and eat near the hotel. The more we talked and the more small empty restaraunts we passed the more we realized we wanted to get back to the familiarity of the little part of town we called home. Of course along the way, we still window shopped and enjoyed all the beautiful things for sale. Masks are a trademark of Venice and mask and puppet shops are plentiful, each one more masterful and creative than the next. Many had picture of famous actors wearing or holding the masks or hats and costumes sold by these exquisite shops. And the blown glass….everywhere.

(One of my disappointments early in the trip was that we did not make it to the glass blowing factory located on small island right outside Venice. We intended to make the trip out there, but just didn’t have the get up and go the next morning. You just have to make choices sometimes. We really didn’t want the kind of vacation where we were going and doing every minute of everyday. Once I came to grips with the fact that we were simply not going to be able to get to everything we would have liked to do or see, I determined to enjoy each minute and savor snuggling with my husband uninterrupted and unhindered by responsibility in a beautiful hotel room as much as seeing an ancient ruin or art masterpiece. It made all the difference and offered memories of not only things we did and saw, but feelings and experiences shared powerful enough to hold sway over us still today.)

But back to the story….We were walking home, and walking, and walking. Soon we started seeing some of the same shops and realized we were walking in circles. We stopped and got directions and headed (we hoped) for home. On the way we passed some street musicians playing glasses. Yes, you know the crystal glasses of different shapes and filled with different amounts of water to render different pure pitched sounds. There were two men, one had a tray of traditional wine and champagne and a few other odd assorted shapes, the other a rack with long crystal tubes. They played that crystal like an orchestra and the multi dimensional sounds they produced did not seem to be able to come from some glasses. We actually took some video, though dark and grainy, you can hear their music. Digital cameras are amazing things these days.

We put a few euros in their hat and trudged on in what we hoped was the right direction. By now we were had walked what felt like hundreds of miles, still carrying the clothes we had been wearing that morning, as well as all the trinkets purchased throughout the day, and still not exactly sure how to get back. The walking part of Venice is all stone walkways or cobblestone and somewhat hard on our legs and feet after all day. It is also not flat, but a series of steps and bridges over canals, so walking there is hard work. I was exhausted and fading fast, finally Keith steered us to the water taxi station and we rode the perimeter of the city to be dropped just a few blocks from our hotel.

Though we were tired, we were even hungrier, so we dropped off our bags in our room, quickly changed our clothes and headed back out to a restaurant close by. We walked around the corner and down a few blocks and finally stopped in a tiny little place that displayed many of their delicious looking pastas, grilled vegetables and dishes in the window.

As we sat down at our table, we realized the only other table was a 10 top and we recognized some of them as fellow guests from our small hotel. They were loud and boisterous and we were tired so we sat and enjoyed listening to their banter for awhile as we waited for the only waitress to bring our drinks. The other table was almost finished when we arrived, so soon they stood up and said their goodbyes, smiling at us in recognition. An older lady near the back of the table stopped in front of us and leaned over to offer her advice, “do yuhself a favuh” she said in a clearly NY accent, “have the bean soup, it’s to die fowah”. We thanked her and laughed and shared pleasantries.

When the waitress came, she explained that they did not have a menu, but simply made their favorite dishes each night and you were to order from what was available. I figured if the soup was so good it compelled this lady to stop and tell a perfect stranger about it, it was worth a try, so that’s what I ordered. Keith had the lasagna. We drank our wine and chatted about our day, listening to the American Oldies musack and taking in the quaint local décor.

Then the food came. We had many many unbelievably delicious meals on our trip through Italy, but that meal stands out in my mind. We were just amazed at intricacies and depth of that simple meal. The soup was a bean soup made with a brown bean of some sort, in a navy bean type soup, but darker and richer and with vegetables. It was served in an oval soup tureen and she picked up the olive oil bottle on the table and poured a generous serving over the top of the soup after she set it down.

The lasagna was not made with a red marinara, but with a brown meat gravy-like sauce as well as a rich white cream sauce. And the bread…..All were to die fowah…

We chatted with the owners after our fantastic meal, a husband and wife that owned and ran the little restaurant, he the chef and she the waitress/hostess with a little help in the back from a dishwasher/busboy. We took their card and promised to recommend them to all friends visiting Venice. Our hotel was a little out of the way and in a small business and residential district, so we really got a little feel for daily street life and enjoyed the less touristy, if less glamorous part of the city. In some ways like any cities older downtown district with contemporary products sold form old fashioned storefronts and tiny cafes with 2-3 tables outside their doors on every corner

After dinner, we started to walk back to the hotel, hating to see the day end, so we decided to get a coffee from a street vendor. We ordered two coffees and were served two shot glasses of dark thick mud. I had never had espresso and we did not realize that “coffee” in Italy is not a tall styra-foam glass of milky weak coffee juice. It is a concentrated shot of barely dissolved coffee beans. But not bad when you add some sugar though it definitely takes 2 or 3 to get used to it. “what is this, a shot of coffee?” I said. Though strong, it simply did not satisfy, as it was only two gulps and gone. “We better have another” so we downed the second shot and chatted pleasantly with the young street vendor and the friend who was keeping him company. They were friendly and we joked and laughed with them for a few moments before heading home to the put the caffeine to good use…..

Venice,

We walked along the canal but were starving, so we decided to stop for a bite to eat. There were so many restaurants along the canal, every one with a small display on the sidewalk, right outside the door. Some were menus or wine racks. a table with dishes or an attractive display, in front of one, there was a small shark, arranged as if he were ready to talk to you, on ice. I had to take a picture, it was so interesting. The city smells a little fish, but we were happy to be sitting at a small cafe right next to the canal, in between the gondola booths.

Because it had rained on and off practically all day, most of the gondolas were tied up at thier stands and the canal was fairly empty of traffic. The gondola drivers were standing around smoking, having conversations in Italian, wearing the traditional striped long sleeved, wide necked tight shirt. Many wore the caps too. It was so much fun just to sit, drinking Italian beer and an odd assortment of meat and grilled vegatables. The rain had finally stopped, but the sky was still cloudy and the air was slightly cold, but we were warmed by our beer and our lunch and we were off to St. Mark's square.

Venice is a fairly small city, and we walked and walked, following our small tourists map and trying to make sense of the Italian names and maze of canals and streets and piazza's. We knew we were close to our destination, but I wasn't sure how we managed not to find the biggest area in city. Finally, we turned the corner and there it was, a huge sprawling square, bordered on one side by the large cathedral and small shops, hotels and restaurants. And the pigeons, like you have never seen, on the ground in large shimmering waves of black and gray, tourists happily feeding them crumbs and bread and the birds scampering after every morsel. Some people thought it was fun to let the pigeons roost on thier shoulders and arms, but for me, not so much.

There were young men playing guitar or accordian with a case for change in front of them, setting up and gathering up as the rain came and went. A full orchestra accompanied by a grand piano played under the eaves of an elegant hotel, with the rain dripping off the awnings and the lady musicians trying ot keep thier shawls and jackets on while playing thier instruments.

3/22/06

I have always seen and thought of myself as a writer, even though there have been great stretches of time when I was not writing at all, times when I enjoyed the crafting of letters or business communication but just never had the discipline to consistently churn out work for the exercise of finding a voice, developing the depth and breadth of ideas necessary to prove yourself worthwhile. This blog is serving as that tool for me, so I am so delighted to be able to forget about the pressures of what to write about and just relax into the storytelling and descriptions, the delights of writing.

So, Venice! We woke up Tuesday, (our 25th wedding anniversary) with still no luggage. but first, before the rest of that story, I must just take a moment to tell you about our room. Much to my chagrin, I did not take pictures of the ceiling, as it is difficult to describe. The entire ceiling was sectioned using heavy gilded molding materials. A star made of this gold molding encased the French teardrop chandelier and a combination of triangles and squares fit together in a tight pattern, forming a border at the perimeter of the room. Some sections were painted white, some gold, some blue. The walls of room were a soft country blue and the wooden desk, bed bench, night stands and armoire were all delicately hand painted with swirls, flowers and small intricately colored birds. Except for the bathroom, which was updated, the room made you feel as if you had stepped into a time long ago. But I digress....

After breakfast: cold cuts, croissants and assorted breakfast breads, cereal, fresh fruit, yogurt and my favorite new food, Nutella (its like peanut butter, but made from hazelnut and with chocolate. i am not a peanut butter lover but now I eat Nutella almost every day.....it kind of makes me feel like Italy....just a little). Breakfast was pretty much the same at all three hotels we stayed at in the course of our stay, no eggs, no pancakes, but a meat and cheese tray and a huge variety of breads. High fiber cereals and yogurts a staple.

Anyway, after breakfast, still in the same summer clothes that we had been wearing since Sunday and had to put back on after our shower we had had enough. We headed out from the hotel, to find it pouring rain. Right outside the door was a young Middle Eastern man selling umbrellas for 5 Euros each, so we bought 2 and headed straight for the kiosks right across the canal. Keith bought a heavy velour sweater with Venicia embroidered on the front. I, at least, had a lightweight sweatshirt with me and Capri length pants. He was wearing shorts and a Hawaiian shirt, so this was the first time he had been warm (during daylight) since we got there.

We didn't really know where to go, but we knew the general direction of "town" (we were staying near the outskirts of Venice) so we started walking. It was, once again like being in another time or like being on a movie set. Each building is more beautiful than the next, with statues, mostly of saints, carved into buildings, along with other shapes and symbols, arches. The walkways were cobblestone and each shop had a tiny display window, but in most cases, proved to be a long narrow store. Sidewalk cafes were found on every corner of an intricate array of stone lined alleys. But of course they were empty in the rain, except for a few brave souls huddled up against the building smoking.

Venice is known for a few things, blown glass and paper or stationery products. You have no idea of the many types of glass and how many different ways to use it. The same with the paper, beautiful paper, envelopes, note pads and pens. Once again, much to my chagrin, we did not buy any of the beautiful papers we saw. I kept thinking I would get it later. My advice, when you travel, if you see something you really like, buy it right then and there. You almost never go back and the stack of junk you buy that you later regret pales in comparison to the pain of not having what you now recognize could have made the perfect memory.

We ducked into the first clothing store we saw that was not dealing exclusively in lingerie, gloves, shoes or sweaters. The shop we did step into was very small but a lot of clothes space, either hanging and on shelves. The man behind the counter wore a well fitted grey wool suit over a black T shirt;. He was a small, neat man, with close cropped silver hair, a little balding on top and a classic handsome Italian face, straight of one of many memorable movies. He had elegant movements and wonderful accented English. We knew we would be reimbursed for whatever we bought from either our travel insurance or from the airline, so we shopped! I tried on several pairs of jeans (one of my goals was to come home with a pair of authentic Italian jeans) and finally decided on the pair that fit best, a sweater and scarf (all the women wore scarves and I had to have one!) Kieth bought a pair of jeans and a sweater. We were just about to settle up, but I continued to be drawn back to a purple leather coat. It was 40 Euros. I really didn't need another leather jacket, but it was cold and I knew the sweater would not be enough, but a purple leather jacket. You should see it! Its fabulous!

Once the shopping was done, we were warm and fed and ready to see the sites. Once again we walked and gawked, occasionally buying small items from a small shop or median merchants. Keith was wearing sandals, so we thought about buying him a pair of shoes. We walked into the first men’s shoe store we saw, I asked, American size 14? hahahahahahahahahah (the Italian are not sized 14).

We walked and walked until all of a sudden, there we were at the Grand Canal. It was like standing in a postcard. My next step in blogging is to try to add some pictures to this story, my words cannot convey what it was like to stand there and see a sight I had seen so many times on television, in magazines and books, and I was there. It took my breath away. The crowd was festive and international and people politely took their turn to have their picture taken on the bridge, then yielded so the next family or couple could have their turn.

Finally, we moved on down the stairs to the row of canal side restaurants and stopped for a bite to eat. But we had to hurry; we still needed to get to St. Mark's Square. Once again, we weren't exactly sure where it was, but we kept walking and finally we there.

But, dear reader, the time is late, my eyelids heavy... I thought I would be able to complete a day of Italy each day, but here I am, ready for bed and still much about the first day in Venice to tell. I don't really want to rush through what could be a fun writing/reading experience. If you are reading along, please help me, too much? too little? right pace? love to hear from you!
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