Venice – The sinking city that refuses to drown!
May 1, 2012
The ride from Levanto to Venice was my first time traveling in a train cabin, opposed to the typical open airplane style of endless rows. These close quarters are comfortable and give a more social feeling to public transport. When someone, whom you can only communicate with body language, greets you with a genuine smile – instantly you feel at ease, a new acquaintance that is trying to enjoy life by reassuring you that you are welcome in there country. In that moment a smile made our realities a happy place. Sometimes that’s how simple it can be I guess.
The glass window, like an ancient 3D tv provides us views along the track from Levanto to Milan. This journey with my Dad and Reid continuously reminds me that maintaining your dreams is so important in life. I have fantasized about this moment without creating too much detail other than my companions and now we are HERE! I wish I could stop time in so many moments, but I realize that when we are staring out over the ocean, hiking along the Cinque Terre trail with no time pressures, no want for anything else, the meaning of time ceased to possess any importance and there it was, the eternal moment, the gift of life to experience.
Then the balance of reality kicks in when the rain started to pour with greater enthusiasm and we quickened our search for shelter allowing our basic animal instincts to drive our actions. Living to satisfy human needs, intellectual desires and spiritual quests requires continual adaptation to every situation. There is no manual for life and even if there was who would I want to dictate the way I live?
May 2, 2012
One day to explore Venezia, “The Floating City.” This Metropolitan city composed of 118 islands, with 60,000 inhabitants in the main area and 1.6 million in the surroundings. There is constant work to prevent the sinking of the city and right now their local government is experimenting with the MOSE project (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico), using hollow floatable pontoons, to help with the predicted future elevation of tides.
The Italian breakfast includes croissants, dry cereal, yogurt, thin processed meats and coffee. Not exactly health oriented or gluten free accommodating but more than sufficient to last us until lunch. We walked down to the front desk to receive some local advice as to how to best watch the “show” in Venezia. A suave middle aged Italian man recommended escaping the tourist trap for the day time hours and making our way by ferry to Burano and Torcello islands.
Walking from the hotel to the port was a maze filled with shops, bridges (409 in the city), slippery arteries, moving gondolas, water taxis, and thousands of energetic tourists. We finally made our way to some open air in the Piazza San Marco where the Basillica di San Marco shot ornately into the sky. The queues for the stone structures were growing rapidly and I was happy that we were planning our day to enjoy a different outdoor museum.
The ferry ride lasted about 1 hour and allowed us to gain a better understanding of the islands that the city was constructed upon. It’s amazing how humans can adapt to almost any living condition. As we pulled closer to Burano, an archipelago of four islands, we were instantly entertained by the Whoville color scheme chosen to decorate the town’s humble abodes. Walking along the streets it seemed that Dr. Seuss was creating my character in one of his famous stories. The color system was actually dictated by an idea originating from the “Golden Age” of its development when occupants had to send a request to the government who would inform them of the colors allowed for that lot. Fuel stop was at Gatto Nero, which had a very welcoming atmosphere and according to our guide at the hotel the “best fish in the Adriatic”.
Next stop was Torcello, the peaceful retreat that was the first island community of Venice. When the Roman empire fell the Venetian people had to flee from certain death during the barbarian invasions. After a quick tour of the church, we enjoyed a walk around the paths that had been worn down through the grass. The heat from the sun allowed us to enjoy just “being”, while sitting on the bench waiting for the ferry home watching the world pass by.
Venice is a must see but the surrounding islands are the real gems that deserve credit for exemplifying the natural beauty of this historic area. Its amazing how much easier it is to ignore annoying thoughts when you have two guys with you that will bring you back to earth faster that you got lost in your day dream.
After a delicious meal at the family operated Doge Morosini with Tom and Reid we made our way back to the Piazza San Marco to enjoy the Venetian nightlife. We posted up at a restaurant that offered free entertainment to the whole square in the form of a mini symphony consisting of a piano, violin, accordion, clarinet and cello playing classics like Frank Sinatra’s New York New York. The crowd that gathered around was entranced by the harmonic vibrations calming the mind and soothing the soul. The most amazing talent for me is the genius who wrote the music out on paper manifested from their imagination. What an amazing gift, to share your dream with the world.
May 3, 2012
Time to enjoy the train from Venice to Sienna. I had an amazing conversation with a woman named Susan where we connected on a very deep level for 2 hours. The conversation never hit a lull and we were under the spell of each others words constantly exchanging positive vibes. She lives in a small village near Naples where she runs a bed and breakfast for half of the year and provides all of their own food from 3 acres of land. The other half of the year she lives in Rochester up state New York and has broken away from her old life in Sales that she hated. I continue to find such interesting people any time I am willing to open up my world in ways as simple as “How’s your day going?”
