| ody"> | | | | scaffolding). |
| When John Lazzatti and I reached Venice at the end | | | | Venice is a drowning city, but its glories live in your |
| of our Star Princess cruise, the ship sailed majestically | | | | memory forever: the library in the San Marco Piazza, |
| up the lagoon past San Marco Square, and was the | | | | the marble statuary, the palazzos, the campos, |
| biggest structure in Venice while it was there. It | | | | Carnevale items in stores with scary costumes and |
| docked south of the city, and we went back and | | | | masks, magical sunsets, the shimmering city where |
| forth to San Marco on a shuttle vaporetto. We spent | | | | life is more unique than in any other city in the world. |
| the first night in Venice aboard the ship. | | | | People started sipping espressos at the Caffè |
| For our fist afternoon in Venice while still being | | | | Florian in 1720. |
| housed aboard ship, we quickly found our hotel and | | | | We went to the Lido by vaporetto and strolled along |
| headed for Harry's Bar. We had two martinis each | | | | the beach in front of the hotel where von |
| served in very small glasses. We tried one straight up | | | | Aschenbach pined over the Polish boy of fourteen in |
| and one on the rocks. There's a small bar and a | | | | Thomas Mann's "Death in Venice." |
| sprinkling of tables in a not very large room. I bought | | | | A bookstore Libreria "Acqua Alta" with used books |
| a copy of Arrigo Cipriani's book called "Harry's Bar, | | | | spread out over two large rooms advertises itself as |
| The Life and Times of the Legendary Venice | | | | the most beautiful bookstore in the world. In addition |
| Landmark." The book was nineteen Euros and the | | | | to all the shelves, in one room is a full size gondola |
| four drinks were sixty-nine Euros, total $132.00. A | | | | loaded with books and in the other room another |
| later visit with one drink each cost us 56 Euros or | | | | large boat replete with books. |
| $84. | | | | One day I visited the Vivaldi museum, crossed the |
| For five nights we stayed at the Best Western | | | | Accademia Bridge and went to the Peggy |
| Albergo San Marco for 583 Euros (about $874 each). | | | | Guggenheim Museum. It is housed on the Grand Canal |
| We had separate rooms. The hotel was a few steps | | | | in an unfinished palazzo which is a work of art in |
| away from San Marco Square. In contrast to the | | | | itself. In the beautiful sculpture garden Peggy |
| breakfast in Rome, the breakfast provided was very | | | | Guggenheim is buried alongside fourteen of her |
| basic-no hot food and a very limited amount of other | | | | beloved dogs; their stone gives their names and |
| offerings which were undistinguished. | | | | dates. The museum boasts several Jackson Pollock |
| We ate lunches and dinners in small places which | | | | canvases so I bought a tie there with a Pollock motif |
| were very reasonable. Often the restaurants called | | | | on it. |
| themselves pizzerias, but had a full menu of Italian | | | | An interesting art gallery near her museum is the Bac |
| food. House white wine was uniformly good, the | | | | Art Studio where you may be greeted by the |
| breads were delicious, and at lunch we often had | | | | owner's Jack Russell who insists that you toss a ball |
| tasty pizzas. We never sought out or needed | | | | for him to fetch. You'll get worn out before he does. |
| expensive restaurants and were always satisfied by | | | | I stupidly asked the owner if the dog spoke English, |
| the places we found just roaming around the streets. | | | | and the owner replied that he understood English but |
| Most of the help were non-Italians with a number of | | | | didn't speak it. "I don't think dogs in America speak |
| Bangladeshi in some places. | | | | English either," he quipped. |
| We wandered alone in various sections of the city, | | | | In Venice we discovered the Inishark Irish pub where |
| starting around ten and then rejoined each other for | | | | we met British and Irish tourists. It gave us |
| lunch at two. Often we'd get lost, but that was the | | | | something to do in the evening since we didn't want |
| fun of it, getting lost in the maze and labyrinth that is | | | | to attend operas at La Fenice or string quartets at |
| Venice, and making all sorts of serendipitous | | | | various venues. |
| discoveries: a new church, a beautiful campo, a fish | | | | Many years before I had arrived and left Venice by |
| market near the Rialto Bridge, or a coffee shop with | | | | train which is a fairly easy maneuver since vaporetti |
| tempting pastry. John L. discovered the Coin | | | | stop at the railroad station. This time we had arrived |
| department store near the Rialto and found some | | | | in the city by ship, and we were to leave by plane. |
| good buys. | | | | We wondered how were going to manage this with |
| We were in Venice from November 8, 2007 to | | | | our heavy bags. On the morning of our departure we |
| November 14, 2007, and we had, at times, very cold | | | | ordered a water taxi. A bellman pulled our two big |
| weather, bone-chilling and penetrating dampness at | | | | bags behind him and led us across San Marco Square |
| night, but the city made you forget the cold with its | | | | to a water taxi pier right outside of the Hotel Baglioni. |
| beauty and uniqueness. Late October and early | | | | A water taxi docked and our bags were loaded |
| November are good times to go because you avoid | | | | aboard. We sat in a comfortable cabin that could |
| the huge high season hordes. One piece of advice to | | | | easily hold twenty persons. The boat was a |
| the city fathers: stop selling pigeon food in the Piazza | | | | mahogany-like speedboat resembling an old Chris |
| San Marco and cut down on those thousands of | | | | Craft. We zipped up one canal, then another and |
| pigeons. They fly into people, leave droppings, shed | | | | came out on a big waterway behind Venice. It took |
| feathers, and are a nuisance. | | | | us a half hour with the throttle wide open to reach a |
| Venice is a magical city of dreams, unreal and | | | | dock outside the airline terminal. The trip was 100 |
| ethereal. We'll remember scenes at night along the | | | | Euros and we tipped the boatman an additional |
| canals, the Bridge of Sighs, the Bacino, gondolas, the | | | | twenty, for a total of $180. |
| Rialto Bridge, reflections of the sinking houses on the | | | | At the boat landing a sign said that you could wait |
| canals, the Grand Canal, colonnades, baroque | | | | for the shuttle bus or take a seven minute walk to |
| churches with great art, quiet secret gardens, | | | | the terminal entrance under a covered walkway. We |
| cloisters, the stone wells that are everywhere, the | | | | walked pulling our wheeled bags behind us. We had |
| lion symbols, and the Doge's Palace. We toured the | | | | seen Rome, enjoyed a cruise on the Star Princess, |
| Doge's Palace and actually crossed the Bridge of | | | | and feasted on the visual delights of Venice. Now it |
| Sighs and saw the prison cells. Two glorious churches | | | | was time to head home by way of JFK. Ciao, |
| among a hundred are Santi Giovanni e Paolo and La | | | | Venezia. |
| Basilica della Salute (the dome presently covered in | | | | |