Venice - Day 3 & 4

What a gorgeous day today. The sun was so bright and there was barely a cloud in the sky. I did some more walking and this time the whole island of Giudecca. Personally I never even noticed it the last two visits, I guess I was just anamored with Venice's main island I was blind to the other beautiful places to visit. Well it caught my this time and I'm so glad I went. It's just across from the back side of the main island and it's beautiful. The public boats has several stops there so it was easy to get to and I walked and walked and walked just seeing the residential neighborhoods, of which there are many. But the island is very narrow so you reach one side to the other in a matter of 3 or 4 minutes so it's easy to go around. It's long though so it takes a while to get from tip to base.  Her is a little history I found on line about it:

"Giudecca was historically an area of large palaces with gardens, the island became an industrial area in the early twentieth century with shipyards and factories in addition to a film studio. Much of the industry went into decline after World War II, but it is now once more regarded as an exclusive residential area. It is known for its long dock and its churches, including Il Redentore."

I had a snack at local cafe and enjoyed walking into the many 5 star hotels that have sprung up there. They developers of these hotels did a really nice job of making sure they blended beautifully into the surroundings and although the hotels are gorgeous they are extremely tasteful and elegant. And the great thing about 5 star hotels is they always have the nicest bathrooms in the lobby and they rarely require a key so I made several stops along my journey.

A unique thing about this island that I loved is they have a bridge that has an elevator on each side so an elderly or handicapped person enters one side (mind you this bridge is only about 30 feet across) and goes up to the top then crosses over to the other side and takes an elevator down and across a ramp that goes to the main walk way. How fabulous, right. And you'll see the elevator in the picture of the bridge which is easily identified by the tables with people play chess. It's like one of those parks in NYC where people come each day and set up tables, if they're not already set up, and play chess all day.

Also interesting is the subway stops (I love that they refer to the boats as subways) have this display holding little books of poetry for your ride down and around the canals. Most of the books were gone already but the few remaining looked interesting. Just a great idea. In NYC we have subway poetry on posters and I noticed that some of the boats did too yesterday and I guess this display and the books are just an off shoot of that. I think it's such a great idea, ride to work and be inspired by a great poet!

Also on that island was a shop with the sign for Milan Club and then some football (soccer) memorabilia and art in it. The shop was closed but a man and his wife were walking past as I was and I heard him tell her that it was a famous place so needless to say I stopped to take a picture. The wife, not so interested!

I took some pictures at the start of my walking today of a residential area and I loved that they had all their clothes out drying and just had to take a picture. There is something so real about seeing peoples laundry and I have to say it smelled really could as you passed by. Don't we all love the smell of clean clothes blowing in the wind. I appreciate it now but when I was younger and my grandmother insisted on drying my unmentionables on the clothes line that was completely visible by all passers by and all those who were getting their gas tanks refilled next door.

I headed to the main island for about 4 or 5 hours and amazingly I still haven't seen everything. But I took more pictures to share so enjoy. And the one of the lion with water coming out of his mouth is of me refilling my water bottle at one of the many water fountains on the islands but interestingly you don't see many in the main tourist areas but there are a lot in the residential areas. Oh, tourists be ware!!

And lastly, my unique picture of all those books in a boat. Well that is a book shop and it's fabulous. It has a back garden area where the owner made steps from old books and you climb the steps and look over the wall to see a beautiful view of a canal. And then if you go into the adjoining room you see hundreds and hundreds of books all over including in an old boat.

I got home around 9:30pm because I was pooped and sent out some resumes and put in some inquires to people looking for house sitters so it was a very productive and enjoyable day. I am here one more night as the rate for this hotel is so incredible it only made sense to enjoy Venice now since it's unlikely I'll ever get such a convenient hotel for such a ridiculously low price. Like I said before, thank goodness for Hotels.com!!!

Day 4

My last full day in Venice was great. It was such a beautiful sunny day so I took some time in the morning to walk along the beach and do a little more swimming. There were so many people out on the beach which was nice and I have to say the Italians really don't care much about how others might see them in a bathing suit. There were so many women who were very overweight and also some elderly walking around in bikini's.  And I mean tiny ones. There was also a man in a thong. Yes, a thong!!! I understand the speedo is bing in Europe but a thong one!!!

Anyway, had a great lunch on the beach yummy mozzarella with tomatoes. My, my the veggies taste so good here. I imagine that my cousin's husbands tomatoes from the garden he has in my mom's back yard taste similarly as they are grown with lots of Italian love by Virginio.

Klee - Magic Garden

Brancusi - Maiastra

Kandinsky - Landscape with Red Spot, No. 2

Giacometti - Model for a Square

Chagall - Rain

After the beach time for a nice shower and then off to the main Island. I wanted to go to the Guggenheim Museum again. It's one of my favorite places and I use the Jackson Pollack room that over looks the Grande Canal as one of my happy places when I try to relax. I can just imagine how fun it was for Ms. Guggenheim to entertain there and live surrounded with such amazing art. It's so well worth a visit if anyone is in Venice. It's great to see the Italian masters as well but sometimes you need a little modern art to break up all the liturgical. So I've included some pictures of my favorite pieces there including one I don't remember seeing before called Maïastra by Constentin Brancusi. According to what they had on the plaque next to the sculpture the word maïastra means "master" or "chief" in Brancusi's native Romanian, but the title refers specifically to a magically beneficent, dazzlingly plumed bird in Romanian folklore. Brancusi's mystical inclinations and his deeply rooted interest in peasant superstition make the motif an apt one. The golden plumage of the Maiastra is expressed in the reflective surface of the bronze; the bird's restorative song seems to issue from within the monumental puffed chest, through the arched neck, out of the open beak. The heraldic, geometric aspect of the figure contrasts with details such as the inconsistent size of the eyes, the distortion of the beak aperture, and the cocking of the head slightly to one side. The elevation of the bird on a saw-tooth base lends it the illusion of perching. The subtle tapering of form, the relationship of curved to hard-edge surfaces, and the changes of axis tune the sculpture so finely that the slightest alteration from version to version reflects a crucial decision in Brancusi's development of the theme. I just thought it was very interesting so I shared it. I also have included works by Klee, Kandinsky, Chagall, Pollack and a wooden model of a large sculpture Giacometti was going to do that would a low the viewer to sit on the different pieces. It apparently is thought that he meant it to be a representation of the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, the tree, the serpent, etc. And a wonderful sculpture of a man on a horse which sits nicely outside on the veranda overlooking the Grande Canal.  I love the sculpture because the man embodies pure joy. I have him shown from the front and the back because he deserves to be seen and enjoyed. The title of the piece is "The Angel of the City" by Marino Marini and according to the description by the museum Marini drew on the tradition of Etruscan and Northern European sculpture in developing his themes of the female nude, the portrait bust, and the equestrian figure. By interpreting classical themes in light of modern concerns and with modern techniques, he sought to contribute a mythic image that would be applicable in a contemporary context. Now make no mistake, it's a man not a women. The angle of the shots I took doesn't show it but there is no mistake this is a man! To view all the pieces in the collection go to http://www.guggenheim-venice.it/inglese/collections/a_c.php

Well of course there was more walking and more walking and more walking. I did cheat a little today and took some of the boats from one location to another. I love having this unlimited pass, it let's you go just about anywhere although I do think it takes me less time to walk since the boats go slowly not to create much wake and damage the city foundation and also it makes lots of stops.

I went to mass at St. Francesco de Poala church near the garden area of the island. Very nice mass and I tried to follow along but my Italian just doesn't cut it.

And another dinner at one of those great cafes where they have inexpensive sandwiches. I really do love prosciutto and it just seems to taste better here. And a long boat ride back to Lido (although I didn't mind as I got more time to take in the beauty of Venice.)

Pollack - The Moon Woman

Venice - Day 2

Another wonderful day and although the morning was over cast a little chilly the late afternoon and evening were lovely and the sun even peeked through a little.  I took a 3 hour walk all the way to the tip of Lido Island. It's a beautiful place with incredible views of Venice's main island. I got some great pictures as I walked and walked. It's very much a residential town as well as a great tourist place so you find pretty much everything any other normal neighborhood has like schools and a hospital and so on but I was surprised to find a horseback riding corral with jumping stations and also a Dashon which is a Buddhist retreat. My water aerobics instructor in New York is a Buddhist and before I left she gave me a chanting/prayer book and said take this wherever you go because there is a community of Buddhists in just about every country and most cities and if you ever need help just show them the book and they'll help you. Well she's right they are pretty much everywhere since they're on this small island as well. It never ceases to amaze me at what you will find when you just take a walk. I also found this lovely mini-town that was pretty much empty when I got there except for some random children playing and a few tourists like me because it was siesta and everyone was home eating. I saw these wonderful details on a lot of houses that are just metal hooks that stick out from the outside walls and hold the shutters when they are open. I include a picture of an interesting one from this town that had the details of a face on them.

And speaking of home eating I forgot on yesterdays entry about walking through the main island the night before and trying to decide what to eat and I smelled this incredible fried fish. I walked in its direction thinking this will be great for dinner it smells just like my aunts and as I turned the corner expecting to find a restaurant I found two open windows and a man in his kitchen cooking up a storm. I figured he wouldn't appreciate a guest or maybe his mother or wife wouldn't so I didn't bother him but I certainly was tempted.

I walked the beach again which was interesting considering the turbulent water and it was funny to see that the life guards had set up all the chairs in one section and where ready to work in their bright read gear but I can't imagine who was coming to relax on such a windy and chilly morning.  I took a picture of some of the cabanas at the expensive hotel as it's interesting to see what's inside them but sad to see them so empty.

I also saw the remnants of the Venice Film Festival which took place about a week ago. Now that would have been fun to see. The men were hard at work taking down the bleachers and the red carpet, etc.

Down the street from the movie theater is the hotel where we stayed last time we were in Venice. I really liked that place but I didn't remember it being such a bright yellow.

I stopped along the way to have a snack at a little cafe which was very nice and had a clean bathroom which is always helpful. A quick snacks of two tiny, tiny sandwiches was all I need to fortify me for the rest of my trek. 

After my long walk I took the boat over to the main island for more walking. Because of the rain the night before the canals had risen by at least 5 feet so there was a tiny bit of flooding, I'm so glad we didn't get any more rain or a lot of the paths would have been impossible to walk along and there are so many tourists here this week. They actually make this walk ways when it floods out of metal risers and wood planks on top of them. I took pictures of the ones in St. Mark's Square as they were sitting reading in case they're needed. That was the only place I saw a lot of huge puddles and could see how it could get flooded easily had the rain continued even another hour or so. What was really interesting was seeing the water bubbling up from between the bricks. I included a picture if you can even tell that's what is going on. St. Mark's was packed to the brim last night. It's so great to see everyone out and about traveling and just enjoying themselves.

It got lots more shots of building details and lions (the big one is from outside the Naval military building.) I really do love these lions. I also stopped into an ornate church, the Church of Santa Maria Del Carmello which was all dark wood inside with incredible gold detailing and so many oil paintings. I don't remember seeing it before. When I got in they were doing the rosary so I stayed and then mass followed so I stayed for that as well. It was a lovely mass and the priest is an older gentlemen that barely could walk but he still held up all the rituals of kissing the alter and walk around. I felt so bad for him but you could see that these rituals meant a lot to him and with the help of the alter boy he slowly made his way around. The parishioners, mostly older, must come each day at this time and they're very friendly walking around to greet everyone when we offer the sign of peace. So fully warmed up and rested I headed out for more and more walking.

I had found the Jewish Ghetto which was exciting because I had wanted to go again. Last time I was here we weren't able to eat there as things were closed but tonight I went to their Kosher Italian restaurant and sat outside by the canal and had a lovely dinner. It's inexpensive and delicious. I had their version of a potato pancake and some small tapas like dishes. I include a picture because it was wonderful with their fresh homemade bread. Great choice if you are Kosher and a great choice if you just like good food. It's called Gam Gam and the had a lovely message on their menu about how they are trying to revitalize the Jewish neighborhood in Venice and how at one time centuries ago, because of the water trade, this was a massive center for Jewish life.  It's a great place to visit and the bakery was closed when I got there but worth a visit I'm sure.

So after dinner more walking and then a nice boat trip home. I met this couple from Dresden and talked about how much I loved Germany and she mentioned a school there so I'll send off a resume. Dresden sounds cold but worth investigating. She said it's near the Czech Republic and Poland.

Venice - Day 2 - More Pictures