Miscellaneous Venetian musings

It’s Saturday afternoon and I’m noticing the different rhythms on the Gran Canal. During the week there are many barges picking up garbage, and loading and unloading building materials and boxes. The labels on the boxes remind me of UPS labels. And they are all the same. On Saturday there only seem to be pleasure boats: many gondole, rowboats, a singing crew that sounded like a choir. (We wondered how they found so many crew members with good voices. Oh, I forgot. I’m in Venice, where everyone sings!), water taxis, water buses (called vaporetti and traghettos), motorboats and speed boats. Everyone goes at a pretty slow pace except the ambulance and police boats. It is surprising to see such sudden speed when everything is just humming along. This whole scene is a view that never tires me.

I love to sit on my tiny balcony or in the window seat and wave to the people passing by on gondole. I’ve even been the subject of some photos as they go by. I waved to a gondolier today and he mouthed “Ciao” to me. Quite cute.

Ristorante Da Raffaele

Two nights ago we were all awakened by a wide boat trying to go down the narrow canal alongside our apartment (which feeds into the Gran Canal) and scraping as it went.

Da Raffaele Grilled Fish Presentation

Friday night we had the most wonderful meal at Ristorante Da Raffaele thanks to our Venetian friend (and local university professor) Shaul. The restaurant owner, Renato, came to our table throughout the meal to see how we were doing. Gabriana told him it was the best gnocchi in her life! All the other people at the tables enjoyed her enthusiasm! Lucky for me, our temporary houseguest Hannah joined me in the mixed seafood platter (lots of yummy shellfish). It was all so amazingly fresh and grilled to perfection. They even brought little glasses of our favorite wine (Moscato di Asti) with the delectable desserts! The atmosphere, the food, the people… it was all so wonderful.

Me, Renato and Gabriana (L to R)

After dinner we saw that there was an open store called La Ricerca nearby that looked interesting. This is an understatement. It was one of the rare true Venetian stores where the owner, Allesandro, is an artist and the other things he carries are made by friends of his. The shop featured handmade leather items, including wonderful masks, book covers, stationery, book marks, and many things covered with swirled paper and bits of maps.

Allessandro and his wonderful graphic map of Venice

We noticed a poster of Venice and he came over and explained each tiny part. He was a wonderful story teller. He said the poster was his idea, but he commissioned an artist to do the drawings. We got one and are trying to figure out on which wall we can study it most closely at home. If you live near us you are welcome to come and see this fascinating poster (pictured behind Allessandro in the photo at the right).

Allessandro was closing his shop so he walked us home. We had gotten lost on the way there so it was very welcome. He regaled us with stories all the way home. And he invited us to his workshop where he works on leather.

Cabanas at Lido Beach, Venice

We saw Elisa, my landlady from two years ago, and went to the island of Lido. It has a beautiful stretch of beach. This picture shows how it is different from California beaches. People rent these little cabanas for the summer season. The same people rent year after year and it is very sociable when everyone is there. We were there the day after the season closed. We walked way down the beach, away from all the crowd, and swam by ourselves in the water, which was warm and very refreshing!

We went on the tour of the island of San Servolo, led by Elisa’s niece, Giovanna. I had  been to her wedding two years ago, so it was nice to see her again. The island was beautiful. I can see why it was recommended.

Gardens at San Servolo

The tour was of the main building, which houses an international university now, but had been a convent and then a mental hospital that seemed more like a torture chamber. The artifacts and the images were very disturbing and we all had trouble sleeping that night.

There is so much more to tell, but I’m sure you are getting tired. I will write more later.

PS: Please also follow Gabriana’s blog, Nosy Parker, to read more about our Venetian adventures: www.nosyparkerblog.blogspot.com. All the photos in this post were taken by my daughter, Gabriana. And please, as always, we LOVE your comments and suggestions and encouragement. It truly feels like you are along on the trip with us and makes us want to share more!