11/12 Nov, Week 12, 262 Photos

I think I’ve been talking about going to Venice for more than a month now, but hadn’t been able to organize myself enough to go until today. There seemed to be nothing going on Friday, so I timed the returning of my neighbor’s ice tray that we used to make the pesto to coincide with dinnertime. They didn’t have to ask me 3 times to join them for dinner to get me to stay. We had an improvised mix of baked chicken, corn with pickled eggplant, and large nuggets of parmesan cheese with warm bread. In some ways I’m reminded of talking to Lew as we delved into the 3 social menaces corrupting our society: the automobile, television, and drugs. I could see Dante’s point as drugs being a cause for concern, but the others were less obvious.

He claims the television is a culprit because it broadcasts untruths, biased propaganda, and tells people to live in a particularly profligate manner under the guise of disseminating factual information and impartial news.

Meanwhile, here I am fighting a losing battle with an oversized fly. He’s too fast for me to kill but his unrelenting buzzing is conjuring uncomfortably evocative images of Beezelbub and the Lord of the Flies. I’ve locked him in the bathroom twice, and he’s escaped both times. I think I’m going to have to blockade the door before I can sleep.

Back to Dante’s menaces to society: the Automobile has liberated our youth to leave the shelter and safety of their towns and parents, exposing them to dangers they are unprepared to deal with. It further propagates the self-indulgent debaucherous messages of the TV, but also provides a means for people to live in such a way. -Pretty heavy for a conversation over baked chicken and spiced corn.

After dinner I went down to Vanity Café to talk to Igor and the waitresses. Igor is the door man. He’s a nice guy, and a captive audience when I’m looking for someone to talk to. The girls are more evasive after their initial salutation. I debated trying to engage them in a brainstorm in hopes to come up with a good birthday gift for Jessica, but social courage was not on my side tonight. I went inside for a poorly made drink, once I began to get cold. This time I tried their whisky sour, though it was almost acidic enough to give instantaneous heartburn.

Right, I was going to write a bit about Venice tonight, but the train ride to get was a classical “Italian experience” and should not be forgotten. I arrived at Milano Centrale ½ hour before the eurostar train to Venice at 8:30. Only, when I went to the machine to buy the ticket, there were no seats left. This was discovered this after trying 3 or 4 machines before finding one that was actually working. I’ve been riding the trains for nearly 3 months and this was the first time I was denied a ticket. But real quintessence is yet to be told. I bought a ticket for the next slower train at 9:05. While waiting I bumped into one of the other students from my class in the language school. This is the third or fourth time I’ve randomly met someone in Milan. I guess the city is smaller than it might seem. Anyway, it turned out that he was taking the same train, but getting off in Brescia after about 1 hour ride. We waited together for them to post which platform our train would depart from. With about 10 minutes to before departure the posted the binario, and we walked over to the platform to find melee of people already trying to jam their way onto the train. We worked our way though the mass and eventually got on to find standing room only. It’s a 3 hour ride to Venice, and we were going to be packed like sardines if you’ll excuse my cliché! The train left a few minutes late as the conductor waited for more people to cram their way onboard. I began to push my way though the cars, hoping to find more breathing room somewhere else. I walked the whole train to the very front. Here were 2 cops, and the conductor. The conductor began checking tickets and people began to shuffle around. (I think at least half the people using Italian public transportation at any given moment do so without a ticket.) It probably makes sense, as I’ve spent about 100 euros on bus tickets over the past 3 months but have only been checked once. I think the maximum fine is 50 euros, so I’d be up at least 50 euros if I had never bought a single bus ticket. It’s a similar situation with the train. Once people started shuffling away from the conductor, some floor space opened up, and I took a seat on the floor for the remainder of the trip. After the first stop the door in this car stopped working, and I got a chuckle watching people trying to get off and then panicking that they might be trapped on the train and miss there stop before running to another car to try a different door.

We crossed a long bridge, and finally arrived in Venice station shortly after noon. The hoards of people poured off the train, and into the streets. I grabbed a map, and hopped on a traghetto down the grand canal towards the piazza san marco. The view from the boat is nice, but I think a lot of the buildings could use a new coat of paint and some other standard maintenance. I guess the marine water must really erode the architecture.

There was a considerable crowd of people in the Piazza, and I decided that Id better book a hotel, or it might be a problem. The tourist office gave me a number for last minute reservation, and I had the hotel settled in no time and was back on the streets. First I went looking for food. I found a place selling an interesting pizza wrapped like one of those low carb things that they try to hawk off as being healthier than bread. But the pizza-wrap was pretty good, and I supplimented it with an apple as I walked the busy and narrow streets around the piazza. I headed towards the water all the way to the shipyards, but decided to work my way back via a different route. I came upon the leaning tower of Venice which is part of a church where they were having a wedding. I guess that getting married in this city could be any girls dream. I began to notice an interesting phenomena: There are a lot more females in venice than men. I noticed lots of small groups of american girls, both young and old. Im not exactly sure of the alure, but I guess it might have something to do with the water. (I also need to find the apostrophe on this keyboard!)

I climbed the tower back in the piazza san marco for a panoramic view of the city. I was surprised to fine a phone booth at the top. Im not quite sure who would be making phone calls from up there. I didnt see anyone use it... The view was impressive, but it is not entirely obvious how many canals there are from above because the building block the view of the ground. I guess flying over the city would be more interesting. Actually, I would like to go in a hot air balloon, but that is not yet an option. Maybe next time....

I worked my way around the city, relying heavily on my compass for direction, but still having to backtrack several times. It seems like the area around the piazza is a winding stripmall of painted masks and various glass paraphinalia with a focus on horses, dolphins, and gondolas. I guess the gondolas are OK, but I dont understand why they dont make something more italian. I must have asked 20 stores if they had a small glass soccer ball. But there were none to be found. I actually wonder how much of the glass is not made in china anyway.

I continued to meander my way westward and then north until I saw the main bridge over the grand canal. By now it was dark, and I spent some time trying to get a good photo of the lights of the bridge reflecting off the water, but I could not find the ideal location. I was beginning to get tired and began to look for dinner. But this area is also packed with tourists, and I thought it better to venture off into a quieter area. I saw a decent menu posted outside of a cafe in a large square somewhere west of the bridge, but when I went inside I was presented a rather different menu with prices about 2x those outside. I asked for the orriginal menu, and was given it, though I had second thoughts about remaining. However, the food was pretty good, and still came to 24 euros by the time you buy water, and pay the cover charge.

Walking home, I thought the lights on the water at night looked a lot like Epcot, but I guess it's really the other way around.

I’m sorry to have to leave you hanging, but I’m going to Pisa tomorrow to work with one of our partners for a week, and have to get to bed as I’m still tired from my adventures last weekend. I will say that out of 262 photos of Venice, I got at least 2 good shots, though I’m not calling National Geographic yet...

However, I am looking forward to this next trip to Pisa. This both my anticipation exploring a new part of Italy, and because I think these guys that I’m going to visit have done some interesting mechanical engineering. I should be able to learn at least a few things from them, and I hope they can also find value in my contributions.

Semper fi.