| Reflections on the Day of: Saturday, June 9, 2007
This would be the last day I would spend with Jill and Andrea in Italy, before they moved off to the second half of their European adventure. I awoke in the morning to this rather depressing thought and never did quite succeed in driving it out of the back of my mind. These past two weeks had been extremely fun, and now that we were upon our final day together in Europe, I was surprised to find how attached I'd become. Traveling does bond people, bringing close friends even closer together.
A CHURCH ON THE WATERFRONT
I met up with Andrea, Jill, and Jacqueline at around 8:30 in the morning, and we set off on foot for St. Mark's Square to climb the bell tower. It was the one feat we had not been able to accomplish the previous day, because it had closed earlier than we expected. The rest of the day, however, was to be devoted to... anything we wanted. The plan was to discard the plan and get lost, enjoying Venice beyond its typical tourist attractions.
LOOKING DOWN THE GRAND CANAL
There wasn't much open in the early morning hours. A few cafes and stores were slowly starting to awake, but overall, the city was still very much in slumber on this early Saturday morning. We enjoyed the serenity as we walked about, admiring the buildings and soaking in the warm June sun.
YET ANOTHER GLIMPSE INTO THE BACK ALLEYS AND THEIR SMALLER CANALS
AN ARTS SUPPLY STORE THAT WOULD PROBABLY MAKE ONE OF MY FRIENDS FLIP OUT WITH EXCITEMENT
At some point, we came upon a sheltered plaza with an outdoor seafood market being set up. With fish, shrimp, crabs, shellfish, and lobster on display everywhere, it was tough to resist buying some fresh seafood and taking it home immediately to cook. So what if no one had an actual grill--the freshness was simply tantalizing! We all browsed around eagerly, except for Jill, who wrinkled her nose and reaffirmed her antipathy towards seafood.
A FISH MARKET SOMEWHERE NEAR THE RIALTO BRIDGE
It might have been half an hour before we wound our way over to St. Mark's Square. This time, in the morning light, the square itself was well lit, and I made sure to get a good photo looking in that direction. Hardly 9:00, things were still relatively quiet, even in this always-popular square. We decided to go up the campanille right away, so we wouldn't have to fight the crowds that were sure to arrive later.
ST. MARK'S SQUARE IN THE MORNING
Much to our chagrin, the only method up the tower was by elevator. Jill and Andrea groaned, their chance at climbing yet another endless set of stairs foiled. We had certainly come a long way from St. Peter's, where the thought of hundreds of steps hemmed in by thick, claustrophobia-inducing walls was enough to tire us out mentally. As Jill noted, "I kind of like climbing these things now." With no other choice, we paid our six euro and ascended via the elevator. Stepping out, we were greeted with the beautiful morning-drenched rooftops of the city, clad in terra cotta clay tiles or smooth marble stone.
STARING DOWN UPON THE CITY FROM THE TOP OF THE BELL TOWER
LOOKING AT NEARBY CHURCHES
THE DOMED BASILICA OF SANTA MARIA DELLA SALUTE CAN BE SEEN IN THE BACKGROUND
ST. MARK'S SQUARE BELOW
In the distance, toward the south edge of the island, we could see several cruise ships parked along the larger docks. Although I had witnessed them passing by yesterday, their overwhelming size still took me by surprise. In a city where the buildings and streets were all structured according to the pedestrian scale, behemoths like cruise ships stood out like elephants inside a barn. They absolutely dominated their surroundings, making the buildings look like tiny models. Against everything else, the cruise ships looked so out of place it was laughable. And even as I pointed them out to the ladies, I couldn't help but chuckle. Again.
A CRUISE SHIP DWARFS THE SCALE OF THE CITY
A CLOSER LOOK OF SANTA MARIA DELLA SALUTE
In case she had forgotten, I made sure to point out, to Jill, that the dome of Santa Maria della Salute was under refurbishment. She groaned at yet another monument under repairs. It really did seem like everyone had conspired to operate under the exact same timetable.
LOOKING UPON THE DOMES OF ST. MARK'S BASILICA
LOOKING BACK TOWARD ST. MARK'S BASILICA AT GROUND LEVEL
We spent about half an hour atop the tower, enjoying the views and the cool breezes that alleviated the already-warm morning air. Once I had finished taking my perimeter panoramas of the city, we descended and regrouped.
WALKING TOWARD PONTE DELL'ACADEMIA
With nothing else really planned to do, Jacqueline suggested going to the Peggy Guggenheim Exhibit, a museum of modern art that was, by far, Jacqueline's biggest reason for coming to Venice. Jill, Andrea, and I had nothing better to do, and since Jill and I didn't mind contemporary art, we agreed to accompany Jacqueline over to the museum, located near the Academia Bridge, on the other side of the Grand Canal. So off we strolled, to see what surprises our next destination brought.
--
For more photos of Venice, check out my Facebook photo albums:
VENICE
|
