|
|
|
|
|
about us |
|
|
see the beast |
|
|
our photo album |
|
|
explore tucson |
|
|
links |
|
|
email us |
|
|
sign our guest book |
|
|
home |
|
www.davidandcarol.com |
|
Our Magnificent Journey |
|
Chapter 9 |
|
Europe 2007 |
|
London, Tuscany, Paris |
 |
|
|
We slept well and awoke to a cloudy, chilly, brisk morning. |
|
|
At 8:30 the concierge brought breakfast to our room - coffee, juice, croissants, Nutella and yogurt. |
|
|
 |
 |
|
Carol and I found an Internet café so I could catch up on email, then we met up with M&M. We spent the next few hours strolling along the canals and narrow alleyways of old Venice. |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| We wound our way to the old Jewish ghetto, where we spent a while thinking about the Jews who perished in the two Venetian deportations during World War II. We bought mazuzahs at a Murano glass shop. Muriel enlightened me that the word "ghetto" is derived from the Italian word "gheto," which means "foundry." This section of Venice held an old foundry and only had two bridges, so that the Jews could easily be locked in. The word "ghetto" thereafter referred to similar areas in other parts of Europe where Jews were "contained." |
 |
 |
 |
We sat for lunch at an Israeli café called Gam Gam, along a canal at the edge of the ghetto. Carol and I had delicious multi-dish antipasto and couscous with fresh fish. M&M enjoyed chicken schwarma. |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
Next we spent a couple of hours slowly strolling along the canals toward Piazza San Marco, window-shopping along the way, mingling among thousands of like-mined tourists. When we arrived at the Piazza, we were amazed at the thousands of tourists and an even greater number of pigeons. |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
After snapping some photos at San Marco, we jumped on the #1 vaporetto water bus and jumped off at The Lido. Sat at a café and sipped espresso and enjoyed an apple cake and some great people-watching. |
|
|
 |
 |
Walked east to the Adriatic Sea (had to tolerate Marc's Rocky impression - "Yo, Adriatic,") took photos and sat at the massive Hotel des Bains to rest. |
|
|
 |
 |
| Walked back to the vaporetto stop at dusk and caught the #1 water bus back to the Accademia Bridge. The waterways are crowded with boats of all sizes, traveling at all speeds, going in all different directions. |
|
|
At 7:30 we walked to the Giudecca area and picked Ristorante Gianni for dinner along the water. Or fresh seafood antipasta, vino rosso di la casa, anchovy/mozzarella/tomato pizza, gelato with grappa, and tiramisu were delicious, and we visited with several South Afrikaners who were on their way to Paris (as are we) for the World Cup rugby semi-finals. |
|
|
 |
At 9:30 we strolled back to our hotel at the Ponte Accademia, bid buono notte to M&M, crawled upstairs and fell into bed after a day full of exploration and adventure in this important one-of-a-kind city. We all hope will be able to experience the charms and wonders of Venice in the future, since it is slowly sinking into the Lagoon and the Adriatic, which the rising waters of global warming are sure to exacerbate. To lose this city would certainly be a tragic loss for all the peoples of this planet. |
| Previous Day |
copyright 1998 / david
and carol lehrman / all rights reserved |
email david@davidandcarol.com |