Viva Venezia

Friday Sept 10 - Venice.

Sheryl is over the moon that she's here. For me Venice is a city of contrasts, and a very pleasant relief from the incessant traffic of the past weeks. The traffic is confined to the narrow footpaths and the waterways.

Piazza San Marco is flooded this morning, the tourists are all busy pulling off their socks and shoes, we navigate our way across the square, avoiding the drains that double as ducts and flood the square. I googled the flooding and found that the piazza is the lowest point in Venice, and that storm surges and swells can flood the piazza regularly, it also works in reverse, the rain drains quickly into the Calle Grande from there as well. Having witnessed the condition of the Calle Grande earlier, we kept our shoes on and walked on the dry spots.

Readers will note the smattering of Italian in my blog, there's more to come I fear.
The piazza normally has string quartets (even baby grands) and such sitting on little podiums, entertaining the cafe guests, and the enthusiastic observers, but not today. The chairs are packed up till the water goes.

We decided to have a wander around Venice, find somethings to do at night. The city isn't renowned for its nightlife, (although we were to learn later that was not always the case). The usual challenges faced us. Can we find an ATM that will cough up money on the cashcard, have we a plan for the next move, can we get internet?

These things hang over you all the time when you are always on the move. Bag counts are always happening, you watch for pickpockets and scammers, where are the passports? do a pocket check..... spectacles, testicles wallet and watch.

Gucci Gucci Goo.......

Venice has always been a city of trade, although the Venetian history has a fair bit of plundering in it, (Venetians doing the plundering). It's now a city that exists entirely off the trourist trade, most locals commute on to the islands to work because it's just too expensive to live there. Just around the corner from the Hotel (actually everything is just around the corner) a Gucci Shop, a Ferrari shop, complete with a plastic F1, and you guessed it, a Prada shop. I was too scared to look at the prices. All the names have outlets in Venice, Benetton, Vitton, DKNY etc etc, all jammed together.

The reality is that Venice now is just one big shopping town, with the attraction of the canals, the corroding buildings and 1800 years of art and history. Every building tells a story of repair. We sat for a picnic lunch, composed at the supermarket deli counter, (Fresh crusty rolls, razor thin proscuitto, mortadella, green salad, bel paese cheese (my new favourite), egg mayo, red wine, blue sky and 23 degrees), in a little piazza, just observing.

The building before us had two enormous bolts though it, with a huge steel plate holding the bolt ends in place. The one next to it has steel straps with bolts through the corners of the building. Water taxis roar around, even in the narrow canals, and yes, the Gondoliers sing as they sweep their long boats about, pushing off the walls and other boats with their feet.

The pigeons are really fat, they live off crumbs, and seed that the tourists feed them, even though it's forbidden.

We learnt quickly that the day tourists come in huge droves, from about 10 to 5 you can't move about. Evening became our new exploration time. We found an Irish Pub tucked away in some alley, (that I could't find again if you paid me), with an exuberant Bar tender who thought he was a tenor and bashed out a song or two over the top of the stereo. The visiting Poms managed to find it as well, plus there was a smattering of Yanks. We had a fun night playing verbal tricks on the Yanks and engaging in some heady conversations, as you do, after a few Kilkennys.

It's kind of wierd though, I have tried all sorts of places to eat here in Italy, but I have had better Italian food at home. The average (very average) dinner for two with drinks costs about 60E ($90 AUD). That's why we tried to make picnic lunches, a simple lunch in Venice will cost about 25E, especially if you sit at a table.

Saturday 11th:

Our next viewing must was St Mark's Basillica.

From a distance the outside of the building is undertstated, when you get up close you see that its outside is entirely made of marble, different sorts, presumably from all over the world. Inside the entry and the ceiling vaults /domes are covered in tiny mosaiced tiles (6mm square). The mosiacs depicts scenes from the old and new testaments, and the story of the "acquisition" of the remains of (the) St Mark from Byzantium in the 9th century. Considering the size of the Basillica and the size of the tiles, it seems like millions of man hours of work, and is a staggering achievement. The entire floor too is made from tiles of marble. There are ancient carved wooden bridge structures which (although now not used) span a sort of mezzanine level within the building. We spent over an hour inside slowly absorbing the scale and beauty of the building.

But, 2010 Venice was sort of summed up for me in one picture, taken as we left, The Bridge of Sighs and its flanking buildings, a landmark, work of art, and an attraction in it's own right, was covered in billboards.

Sunday Sept 12.
What no internet on the train?


We have elected Cortina in the Italian alps as the next place to visit.
Cortina is famous for the 1956 Winter Olympics, and a James bond movie.
Its attraction to us, is that you can get a train from there to Innsbruck in Austria.
Unfortunately, the Italians dont have a train that goes there from Venice at this time of the year, you get trains and a bus, but hey, beggars...choosers.
The train out of Venice to Padova was a struggle with the bags, but it was relatively quick. At Padova we changed tracks to the Calalzo train (7 minute window), heavy bags down the stairs, heavy bags up the stairs. Woah, the train, it's diesel powered and looks like the spoils of WW11.

The train driver changes gears, its a smooth transition, no clutch used and takes about 20 seconds to change up or down. The climbing bit into the alps seems it might be interesting.

The travel agent in Venice, also delivering dontgiveashit service level, told us we would have to change trains in Padova, then get a bus from Calalzo to Cortina. Imagine our surprise when we also had to change trains again in Bellumo.

Fortunately, the train terminated there, and we had no choice but to change.
The train tracks out to Bellumo are parallel to an aquaduct for some of the time, it shows no sign of its age, but it clearly provides irrigation for the many paddocks of corn and vegetables that line the train tracks for many kilometres. The tracks wind through the river valley as we climb ino the Dolomiti. Bridges and tunnels are the way forward, long spans over yawning river valleys and minutes of darkness.
The logistics were a pretty good outcome, we caught the only available train from Venice, made the change and got the last bus from Calalzo to Cortina.

Cortina (actually Cortina D\'ampezzo) is spectacular. It's in the range called the Dolomites, and they thrust into the sky above the hotel. Geologists will know that the Dolomites are hard limestone (yes, that crushed lime called dolomite you put on your garden), so the mountains that are now 3000 meters high were once buried under the ocean for hundreds of millenia. The mountains are a jagged, slashed and carved shape with a pink / white colour.

I did a bit of exploring on foot, got some supplies. The river (more of a creek in terms of water volume) cuts the town in half and is the most exquisite colour, that colour of really thick glass.

We find the hotel, and settle in. The tap water tastes better than anything I have ever had from a bottle and makes for a fantastic shower. The Ristorante down from the hotel (still in Italy) serves a sort of Austrian / Italian Fusion menu.

Monday 13th Sept.

Rain drizzles down in Cortina after such a spectacular day yesterday when we arrived. And .................... SNOW!!!
The early rain and low cloud this morning resulted in snow on the mountain tops (not in the town). It seems to soften their rugged surfaces, but highlight the layers of the strata.

What was pink and white rock yesterday is now dark grey and cream with white frosting. It looks a little like a Rolf Harris painting (showing my age here). We walked over the river again, and its much fuller, a substantial river moving rapidly, and the colour of light clay.

This is our standard orientation day, found the tourist info, supermarket, car rental place, and also found that, being Italy, everything shuts from 12:30 till 3:30 for siesta, and you cant get anything done! It's really cold here, about 11C at the moment and not likely to move up. Fortunately there is not much wind. Everything of most interest to us is a drive away, and at this moment of the season there are no bus tours to join.

We got some supplies (including 6 x Leffe Vielle Cuvee, the bottle with the Purple foil, and now my favourite Belgian drop) and will hole up in the hotel till tomorrow, and venture out in a rental car for some local mountain views and spectacular walks, maybe even a cable car trip or two. I cant wait!