Your retro virtual Italy vacation continues as Thor and I take the train from the rugged coast of Cinque Terre to the canals of Venice.
NOTE: Since European travel is still a no-go with the pandemic continuing, I’m continuing my blog series offering a virtual vacation and time-travel to my first big trip with Thor in 2008. Italy! After starting with highlight photos posted here on Saturday, Jan. 30, I’ve added new installments every week (with a few blogging detours in real time). Join us in Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, Venice, and Milan. Buon viaggio!
We loved our hikes along the gorgeous Cinque Terre coastal cliffs and quaint historic villages clinging to the rock faces…
…but it was time to catch the train to Venice. Along the way, we again passed the mountains of Carrara, where the famous marble has been quarried for many hundreds of years. Michelangelo rode a horse into these mountains to choose chunks of the luminous marble for his sculptures.
From our pensione on the Lido (a long, narrow barrier island of the Venetian Lagoon on the Adriatic Sea), we took vaporettos (water taxis/buses) across to Venice city, passing the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. The church and monastery were finished in 1610.
As you can see, rising sea levels and subsiding foundations are putting some doorways partly underwater. The vaporettos ply the canals, stopping periodically as buses do.
The “main drag” instead of a roadway, is The Grand Canal. Snaking through the middle of Venice, it’s been a major trading route for centuries and is now busy with tourism.
Water, water everywhere — even oozing up through the paving of the Piazza San Marco with the rising tide. The locals are prepared for the flooding and bring out walkways for high tide.
The first day, we decided to wander and simply get lost in the winding labyrinths of narrow canals and cobbled lanes.
After this trip, I discovered the fascinating Venice-set mystery novels by Donna Leon, her “Commissario Brunetti” series. Check them out for the wonderful local color, some philosophy and history, and a rather sardonic view of “justice.” The one I read recently, Earthly Remains, involves corruption/incompetence in the legal system and commercial dumping of toxic waste in the harbors. Thor and I didn’t do any swimming here, but we did enjoy a gondola ride.
The buildings in this city built on tidal mudbanks are slowly being reclaimed by the sea, again with many doorways now partly underwater.
Thor followed his nose to a cafe for a delicious pasta lunch. His shoulders were nearly scraping the walls of this alleyway.
Venice has a unique style, down to the small details like these apartment door buzzers.
Traffic jam!
Next week: Basilica di San Marco.
*****
You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Café is Pause, a First Place winner of the Chanticleer Somerset Award and a Pulpwood Queens International Book Club selection. “A must-read novel about friendship, love, and killer hot flashes.” (Mindy Klasky). Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com
Yes, the Commissario Brunetti series is fantastic! I also discovered them shortly after our Italian honeymoon that included a couple of days in Venice. And interestingly I just finished Earthly Remains a few weeks ago.
Hi, Gary, and thanks for your comment. Glad you’re also enjoying the series! Earthly Remains was rather bleak but fascinating.