From Damascus to Venice in 5 hours!
Trip Start
Mar 05, 2008
1
Trip End
Mar 10, ????
Venice,
Italy
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
We left Damascus at the horrible hour of 4:30am but we were aboard our water taxi in Venice by 10am so we were happy to have the whole day ahead of us.
Just to be by the sea again was wonderful! The day (and most of our week) was overcast and a bit chilly (5-10 degrees) but we certainly didn't go to Venice to be concerned about the weather.
Just to get a bit of historical perspective; Venice dates back to the year 421. It was a major port of concern, being part of the Eastern Byzantine Empire and trading with the West. As with all port cities the elements of danger, greed and shady Crusader deals were rampant
Firenze train station
. The city felt the desire for a top ranking Saint to be honoured as a patron so the story goes that in 829, two Venetians stole the remains of St. Mark from Alexandria by cunningly hiding him in a barrel of pickled pork, which of course would not be inspected by the Muslims. Ergo, the Basilica di San Marco!Venice has had its share of Saints and Sinners. Some of the more famous residents over the years have been San Marco himself (well, his bones anyway!), Richard Wagner, Robert Browning, John Ruskin, Lord Byron, Marco Polo, Tintoretto (and many other artists) Cassanova and in the more modern age Peggy Guggenheim (more to come on Peggy!)and Ernest Hemmingway.
Barb and I checked into our hotel and toddled off to lunch for our first 1/2 bottle of vino and some pasta. We had a snooze and got ready for our first sunset and walkabout.
Good heavens it is beautiful! There is no mistaking any town Italy! And I obviously cannot get enough of this atmosphere! But Venice stands alone in its singular beauty. We were in search of an interesting menu in no hurry (ala Venetian style) and we stumbled upon Harry's Bar. This is one of Hemmingways haunts and the bar that invented the Belini
In our suite at the Savoy!
! It was a bit too chilly for one of those but we decided an aperitif was in order. It is a wonderful haunt, very small and unassuming. The bartenders all wear tuxedo style as befitting the horrific prices! But one cannot squabble about the Euro on one's first day on holiday! I did miss the smoking inside....yes, even Italy has gone the way of good health....(is this why I live in Damascus???) Thank goodness Barb's husband is a smoker so she instinctively knew when I was getting edgy!We left Harry's after one drink, took our picture as all tourists do...and found a restaurant for dinner. Full bottle of vino for dinner ofcourse! When in Rome and all.
We decided that our room was a bit too small for our three night stay so we shopped around and as it is off season,,,we were able to find a better hotel at a reasonable price (no details will be provided but think 5 star!) This hotel is the Bauer and it suited our vision of the weekend much better so we packed up and moved on.
The next few days were a leisurely whirlwind of art, architecture, intensive walking, cappucinos, pasta and wine. (We chose a different grape each try...and we were up to a full bottle at lunch...yummy!)
On our second day we were offered a complimentary private tour of a Morano glass factory which we gladly selected
So happy with the suite!
. The guide books will tell you not to accept these free tours but we couldn't resist. After we watched the Masters at work we were taken up to the showroom for a private viewing of the wares. Who knew you could pay so much for glass??? Barb and I got quite snobby as our tour progressed. Both of us have some crystal which is quite pooh-poohed by the glass makers as a poor second cousin to Morano glass. (The prices actually back this up!) But we chose not to purchase at this time. Never say never...but we agreed that if we were to purchase some nice wine or cognac glasses we would be a nervous wreck if we offered a glass to anyone...never mind break one ourselves...who needs the stress!We did meet a wonderful personality in a tourist shop who charmed us into buying more than we intended. He was so entertaining and as it was low season, he had some time to spend with us. The thing about Italian men (in my limited experience) is that they do not have to be handsome or of a certain age...they just have a shine. A slick way of really looking at you...and appreciating you or of finding some inner beauty that isn't age specific or just communicating on a level that I am not familiar with... (perhaps its a Med thing because I just watched Zorba the Greek the other day....) Anyway, there is just something about the men in Italy...they don't avert their eyes when they look at you...and if they look at you..they do so with some appreciation??? Is this weird?
So, laden with our small purchases from Murano we returned to San Marco for more walking
The statue artist is pleased with my tip!
. We visited the Accademia and the Guggenheim in the afternoon.
The Accademia has a wonderful array of Byzantine art that would probably be more outstanding if we didn't live in Damascus. Barb and I are both fans of the handheld art exhibit units you can rent and we were very excited to see this famous museum. We sauntered and listened to the experts. We saw some wonderful paintings but they were just so damned old...very religious and staid. Yes, ofcourse we saw lots of Tintorentto and many other famous Venetians of the 1400's etc but nothing really filled our boots. We left the Accademia with full intentions of enjoying the Peggy Guggenheim exhibit.
I have heard so much about this excentric lady and her passion for art. We were thrilled to see her exhibit...until we got in. Good heavens....what a bizzare collection! It was all cubist and surreal art. Barb and I got the greatest kick out of Jackson Pollock. He is touted to be the greatest modern artist since Picasso! OMG...we saw absolutely no redeeming value here! We got so giggly! Both of us have children...so we have assisted our kids in their artistic endeavours over the years
Happy to be in Florence!
. We have built mobiles and threw paint on the canvas....sorry all your art lovers out there...this stuff was whack!The best exhibit was the Wishing Tree planted by Yoko Ono to honour Peggy Guggenheim adjacent to her resting place in the garden. Hmmm. If laughter is good medicine...Barb and I got a whole dose of it after this visit!
One can only do so much in a long weekend so we decided it was time to move on to Firenze (Florence) to see the wonderful art there. We took the EuroStar to Firenze (3 hours) and our concierge booked us into the Savoy. (Oh yeah!) We were upgraded to a suite which was wonderful and we headed out to see the Ufuzzi! We were very excited as we both had been to see the Louvre and more, and I had seen the Vatican art....bring it on!
Well, lots more Byzantine stuff with a plethora of religious art....again we sauntered the Accamedia with the handhelds...looking very artistically cerebral.... I think I know my style now....and it isn't 12th century anything...but we did enjoy seeing "The Birth of Venus" and "Medusa" (which is a shield??? makes good sense now!)
We tried to see David (of which there are many....) but we missed our opportunity due to time restraints...(We did see David outside the Ufuzzi...??? and we were in Firenze!)
Our next mission was a gift for the menfolk
Me...on a bridge!
! We went to all the designer shops but the 100 Euro tie wasn't inspiring us...nor was the 300 Euro plus plus leather shops! We dedided on Cognac from the duty free. No offence to the men...but we decided they had done their fair share of duty free shopping in their day as well! Michael and Bruce...we love you but you guys seem to have most of the things you want and those that you don't have....we can't afford to casually pick up on a whim in Italy!
Our next stop was Jimmy Choo's (sorry guys!)so we had to go back to our suite at the Savoy to change our shoes....we know how this stuff works ala Rodeo Drive! But there must have been a malegodfigure watching over us because we were just too tired to walk...let alone try to get into a famous shoe store with the poor cousins on our stinky feet! (And our shoes were expensive by my standards)
So we retreated to our Suite at the Savoy! (holy shit batman!) and indulged in a nice pre-dinner bottle of wine from Room Service before dinner....(also at the Savoy because we just couldn't walk anymore!)
We had a wonderful time and even the Eurostar back was relaxing
Me..outside Ciprianis
! Train travel is wonderful in Europe...wish Canada would take it up again!We arrived in Venice and stored out bags with enough time to go to the Co-op! Yup....you heard me....Barb and I were delighted to shop for our way home. We bought Italian bread, crackers and PORK!!! Heavy on the pork!
We were exhausted and took to bus to the airport with plenty of time to shop duty-free. This is when my credit card seized! Good heavens....but I wasn't done! I called Bruce to have him make the call to them...what is the probs man! They told him all was well...but it wasn't meant to be....my card got declined in Milan as well! I am an exhorbitant shopper but this was ridiculous....I didn't overdo it that much! Perhaps it was the Savoy that threw them off kilter! haha Anyway, it turned out to be a miscommunication between Euro Visa and Canada Visa....just as well!
I returned at 5am, indebted to Barb who had to pay my overweight bag fee (damned pork!) yet happy to be home!
Bruce left an hour after me for his week in London and he sucessfully met Sandy on the following Thursday in Cairo for his Rugby tourney
Me at Yoko Ono's Wishing Tree
! Everyone was home safe the following weekend!This is how you really know how vast Canada is! Everyone of us has done the distances over a given week but it just sounds so much cooler when you do the distance in this neck of the woods!
Barb called me 2 days after our trip to compliment me on being a good travelling companion....good heavens...I thank her! What a treat to meet someone who wants to walk, talk, cappuccino, art, architecture, pasta and wine with me! As most of you know I was good for go on this trip by myself...but what a sheer delight to find someone who was up for the same experience as me! Kismet!
I never asked her permission for her photo to be on this blog but I hope she doesn't mind!
I would never have guessed at meeting and travelling with a kindred spirit at this stage of life! But we are are travellers of sorts....
So. Barb! I dedicate this rambling to you. Call it "this blogs for you!" Anyone whacky enough to go on vacation with me....is worthy of a kudo! And I have many friends and family who would say the same....
To Barb! Where are we going next?
Comments
JEALOUS
WOW Helen!
Looks like you guys had a great trip, I am super jealous of you woman!!!!