Come un sogno...like a dream: Part One

Come un Sogno…
Like a Dream

Or more like a fairy tale. As I was ferried by private motor launch across the Venetian Lagoon I began to recognize islands I had read about over the years. I was enjoying the autumn sun and the wind tossing my curls when out of nowhere I was in a small canal with multicolored houses rising on either side. Balconies and windows festooned with flower boxes seemed to welcome me. We turned a corner and there I was traveling slowly down the Grand Canal to my stop, San Marcuola (later to be known simply as “home”) where I was greeted by Henrique who escorted me to the Casino Apartment.
On our short walk he explained how to get to the vaparetto (water bus) and gave me directions to the apartment as we walked (straight ahead, first left, second right). Henrique showed me the apartment and its features and even told me how to take out the trash. He wished me a pleasant stay.
It was now 3:30pm; only an hour and 15 minutes since I landed and Untours on site representative Denny met me at Marco Polo Airport and I felt like I was being greeted by an old friend. I was exhausted because I had left Seattle yesterday (10/21/08) and had not slept since 5:30am that morning. I tried to sleep on the plane but like the TV commercial for the child going to Disneyland; I was too excited to sleep. I had been awake for over 24 hours.
So I took some pictures of my back garden while the light was still good and some interior shots before I distributed my things around the apartment, unpacked a little and changed into comfy lounge clothes and collapsed on the bed until about 7:30pm. I was sure I would sleep through until morning but Venetian life continues and people live very close together. In the early evening I could hear people coming home from work, visiting with their friends, children playing and dogs barking. So I got up and helped myself to some of the provisions that had been provided so that I didn’t immediately have to search out an “allementari” (grocery store). I even spent a little time reviewing my welcome packet that Denny had given me on the boat. There were lots of suggestions for things to do, my vaparetto passes for the next two weeks, directions to tomorrow morning’s orientation, etc. Henrique had shown me the way on the map and how to walk but I figured I would probably take the vaparetto. Our Untours sponsored event was “Duetti di Amore” (Love Duets) at Musica a Palazzo on Friday evening. Good, I’ll have a guide before my Tuesday evening performance of La Traviata.
It was now 9:30pm and I set the alarm and went to bed. The neighborhood became completely quiet about 9pm. We should be so lucky in Seattle.

10/23/08

Day two of my “Venetian Affair” for it can be called nothing else. I was enamored of Venice before I left home and now I’m head over heels in love with this beautiful city.
Last evening I knew that the jet lag would get me and so I set my alarm for 6:30am so I wouldn’t sleep through my first full day. I did my usual up and down throughout the night including a 3am snack attack and read a chapter in Donna Leon’s “Death at La Fenice” then back to bed. The alarm woke me at 6:30am but I turned it off telling myself that I would just lie there a few more minutes. Best laid plans; the next time I opened my eyes it was 8:16am and I had to rush to shower and breakfast before my planned departure at 9:30am for my Untours Orientation at Piazzali Roma. Henrique had said it was close enough to walk and would take about 15 minutes and for some reason during the night I made the decision to try it. Well, he’s taller and much younger than I am and has longer legs so I allowed 30 minutes. I checked my maps to make sure I knew where I was going. I neglected to note that this walk included crossing several bridges including a very high, very long one over the Grand Canal. I strolled the Rio Terra San Leonardo, the main shopping street just steps from my door. Shops were open and the vendors had set up their wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables and the locals were doing their morning shopping. My knee did not like the up and down over the bridges and my feet took a beating on the cobblestone streets but I kept going. Exactly 25 minutes later I reached the meeting point and saw Denny waving to me as she crossed the street. Two other “Untourists” Freddy and her husband Paul were already waiting for us and we were soon joined by Jim and Jean.
We were off on our walking tour. No we were not going to sit at the bar and have orientation. We were walking. I should have taken that vaparetto and save my walking for now. P. Roma is where the causeway from the mainland connects with Venice proper and you can get a bus for daytrips and it has a small parking lot. The train also uses the causeway to get to the train station that I had passed on my way here. Before we left the area Denny made sure we validated our vaparetto passes as there is a fine if you are caught on the boat without a valid pass. Then our real walk began through charming calle (small streets) and into quiet Campos (like a plaza or small square) where Venetians were going about their daily life. I even saw a woman lower a basket from her window to have a man load it with the groceries and wine he had just purchased. I was the only one with a camera so not much picture taking as it was hard to take pictures and keep up the pace. Denny pointed out interesting architectural elements, described some of the local characters and did pause for a moment when I spied a vacant bancomat (ATM) so I could get some cash. After about a 40 minute walk and over many bridges we were at Campo Santa Margherita where we stopped for a few minutes at a wine fill up so that Paul could fill his water bottle. Yes, wine fill-up. You can fill a two litre bottle for about two euros. That would be a great deal if I drank. Then on to a bar (what we would call a café) where we sat in the sun and enjoyed the Venetian’s favorite drink called a “spritz”. I tried the non-alcoholic version called Gingerino. It was even served with an olive and slice of orange, just like a “real” drink.
Denny went over the huge amount of information contained in our welcome packet including the fact that our vaparetto passes should get us discounts on the Chorus Pass (church admissions) and Museum Pass.
We were still there when the church bells chimed noon and Denny took a head count to see who was coming to Musica a Palazzo the next night. Of course we all were. I then tagged along with Freddy and Paul as we went to a recommended restaurant for lunch. Pane et Vino is in Campo Ste Raphael, the setting for the book “Miss Garnet’s Angel” which I had read before leaving. I had a cheese plate and a mixed salad and “aqua frizzante” (sparkling water) for 25 euros. Ouch. I’ll be eating in. For those of you who know me personally, you know I don’t eat out much, preferring to save my money for trips like this. But it was a pleasant afternoon, sitting outside in a quiet campo getting to know new friends, so well worth the price. I took my leave realizing that I was far from both my apartment and the Grand Canal but I managed to make my way slowly, on a totally different route, without consulting a map to P. Roma and the vaparetto where the inspector checked my pass. Three stops later I managed to hobble off the boat and followed the directions from the day before to my home away from home. I couldn’t help remember the picture often shown at Rick Steves’ slide shows on Italy of his daughter (age about 3) soaking her feet in the bidet. That was something I would probably try. It was 4pm and I had been walking, except for several hours, since 9:30am. I changed to lounge clothes and promptly fell asleep. Luckily when I awoke at 6pm there was food in the kitchen and I still didn’t have to go out. The tiny fridge had eggs, butter, milk, juice, cheese, bread, jam, lunch meat and even a welcome bottle of wine. There was coffee, tea, pasta, sugar and spices in the cupboard and a bowl of fresh fruit on the counter. Over the next few days I would make four meals from that food. Tomorrow morning I would get groceries; not much as the fridge is tiny but I did have an unexpected treat…a microwave.

10/24/08
Today was a real adventure. I awoke early for my new hours at 6:30am, much better than the 8:16am of yesterday. I fixed a leisurely breakfast and mastered the stove top espresso maker. Thanks to Henrique’s demonstration on Wednesday it was easy. Once you learn to listen for the hissing to stop the coffee is done. There was even a special pot for heating milk in the cupboard. But after scalding the milk several mornings I just used the microwave like I do at home.
This morning’s plan was to go for groceries. I tidied up and got ready and was out the door by 8:30. I headed left then a quick right to Rio Terra San Leonardo the main shopping street looking for the “allementari” that I knew would be there. I found butchers, bakers, fish mongers and lots of stalls with lovely fresh fruits and vegetables but this wasn’t what I was looking for. I back tracked in the opposite direction, several bridges and canal sides later I decided to just pop into a tobacco shop and buy some post cards and stamps. I asked for “francoboli” and she assumed I was European because most of the Americans I run into don’t bother to learn the Italian for “stamp”. I did tell her, no, for the USA and she seemed surprised. I then said “Dove allementari, Senora?” and she gave me directions…in Italian…which I repeated in English to make sure I got it right. Right at the fountain and across the bridge (yes, another one) and there would be Billa (think Safeway, only smaller). It wasn’t quite that simple. I was looking for a fountain with geysers of water shooting into the air and what I found was a water pipe coming out of a wall. I turned right and figured I was going in the right direction because there were people coming towards me with yellow bags with red letters that said “Billa”.
I did my shopping, once again thinking how far and how many bridges I would need to carry this stuff over and envying the locals with their lovely wheeled shopping carts that reminded me of a wheeled backpack only taller and you didn’t have the option of putting it on your back. I wanted one badly. I checked out and I had a lot of food and my total was 23.26E…much better than my 25 Euro lunch but the company was not nearly so delightful. I didn’t get any yellow bags because I always carry a shopping bag with me that folds small and fits in my purse or day bag. Well, I was in a real Venetian neighborhood with no idea of how I got there. I knew I was somewhere north of my apartment. I asked “Dove vaparetto” and neither the checker nor the nice man in line behind me could tell me in any way I could understand (they only spoke Italian) how to get there. I did get to use my favorite phrase “mi dispiache, non parlo Italiano”. That came in handy throughout my two week stay.
So I set off in a direction I thought should lead me home eventually. Down tiny calles, along fondamentas and across more bridges. It was a beautiful day buy it was now about 10am and I had been walking since 8:30 and my feet and knees did not like it. Suddenly I knew where I was. The sign on the wall said “Campo de Ghetto” and I knew that was close to my street but which way out. I went out one of the very narrow calles and saw in front of me tables with blue checkered table cloths next to a canal where I was seriously thinking of stopping for a cappuccino but as I came out onto the fondamenta there was the tobacco shop where I had started and just beyond was something I would grow to love over the next two weeks; a vaparetto stop. I didn’t care where it was going. I got on. As luck would have it, it was going to P. Roma and I knew how to get home from there.
Except it didn’t happen that way. When I got to P. Roma and changed to the number 1 I got an outside seat in the front. It was a gloriously beautiful day and I decided it was perfect for a cruise on the Grand Canal. So I cruised and took my first real pictures of what was rapidly becoming my favorite city in the world. I rode as far as San Marco and changed to another number 1 going in the opposite direction until I got to my home stop of San Marcuola. It was a lovely adventure and after all of that I was home by noon and had time to rest before the evening’s entertainment.
And in case anyone was wondering…I did several days later find the allementari which is just on the corner near the Casino apartment. It had been closed that morning and the shutters were down and as is typical in Italy…there was nothing to indicate the kind of business it was. I did pop in there for milk later in my visit.
Friday Evening

After a ride on the Grand Canal at night, which is a pleasure in itself, I met Denny and the others at the S. Giglio vaparetto stop for our Untours Sponsored Event at Musica a Palazzo “Duetti D’Amore”…Love Duets. We were transported back several centuries as we ascended the stone staircase in Palazzo Barbarigo-Minotto. The lavish antiques and candle light made me glad I had brought something a little dressy to wear although it really didn’t matter what we wore. Folding chairs were set up for approximately 50 people in a room just a little larger than my living room, although my ceiling isn’t that high and it doesn’t have a fresco. The music was performed in several of the rooms having us change rooms at a brief intermission. At times it was so lovely it brought tears to my eyes. All too soon it was over.
One of the other couples and I strolled over to Piazza San Marco and listened to the orchestra for a while before getting a vaparetto and heading home. I had become such an expert on my home stop that I was able to help an English couple who had just arrived find part of the way to their hotel as their directions sent them up the street past my apartment. They were grateful for the help as they were very confused on how to get to that point.
To be continued…