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Published: April 4th 2010
I realized that Thursday was my last actual full day in Venice and I was determined to make the most of it. The weather that day was clear with the sunshine streaming down overhead. The wind that had plagued the city early in the week had abated which was fine by me. I had first thought to maybe visit a few more museums but I decided against it simply because the day was so awesome. I mean when you've got optimal weather like that who wants to be indoors right? I therefore decided to load up my camera along with my notpad and walk the length and breadth of the city on this final day so I could see as much as possible before I left.
I got up fairly early that day 7:30 am or so. The hotel didn't start breakfast until 8:00 am so I got my shower and started going through my stuff to make sure I didn't leave anything behind by accident. The room that I had been assigned was small and I mean really small. If I had chosen to be a priest it was probably the size of the room I'd be alloted to
spend the rest of my days in devoting myself to God. There was nothing in there really but my bed, a desk, a sink and a couple of small lamps. You know what though? The room was absolutely perfect because I was only in it to sleep. I had a great view of the hotel courtyard from my window and I could see the Venetian skyline above me every day. What more could a guy want?
The family that owns Hotel Tivoli are very kind. I'd guess that the proprietor is probably in his early 50's and his children worked in the hotel with him. Also, he employed a number of younger teens to work at the desk during the night. I remember talking to one young guy at the desk and while he was the first to admit it wasn't the most exciting job it provided him with a paycheck and that was what mattered. There was an older Italian couple that stayed in the lobby on a regular basis. I sort of assumed that it was the parents of the proprietor but I did not know for sure.
The old Italian couple were there pretty much
every night talking and laughing with guests or whomever came in the door. The couple were very well dressed and while they didn't know a lot of English and I am still learning Italian we got on fairly well. I sat with them one night drank a few beers and showed them all the photographs from my prior trips. It was really cool. The guys wife carried herself with class and she certainly dressed the part too. The older Italian guy himself was always dressed in slacks, a good shirt with a sweater to keep warm as it was still cold. Just a classy couple from beginning to end and I will always remember them. The first night I met them they were sitting in the lobby having a glass of wine, they saw me smiled and said "Ciao." Completely cool.
On that last day I was looking at my map to see where I might go as I'd pretty much walked everywhere. I set my sights on Chiesa dei SS Giovanni a Paolo which is over on the other side of Venice by the Ospedale Civile. I decided to take the long way around moving from Dorsoduro through
San Paolo and San Croce in the morning. Amazingly, there was still a fair bit of snow in various areas so I snapped as many pictures as I could while I walked. As I walked through the streets I could see that many of the boats in the canals were still covered in snow. The air was chilll but it was warming up gradually and the sun was out which helped a great deal. The city seemed quiet that morning but as I made my way over by the train station I could see more activity on the streets and in the canals.
I started the day walking through Cannaregio because I remember seeing some really cool fresh markets there were you could buy all sorts of fruit and vegetables. By the time I'd made my way over there the markets were bustling with activity. People of all ages and backgrounds were crusing the markets looking for the best deals and haggling to get better prices. I watched an older Italian lady haggling with a vendor trying to get a deal on vegetables.
I've noticed in my travels through Italy that when Italians speak they don't just use
words to get their message across they also make a lot of gestures when telling stories, talking with friends or trying to find deals on produce. The older Italian lady I was watching was probably driving the guy behind the counter nuts. They were both engaged in conversation waving their arms and getting right into each others faces as they tried to set a deal on what the lady wanted to buy. If you didn't know better you'd think they were fighting but that wasn't the case at all. The lady was trying to get a deal on food for dinner and the guy behind the counter was trying to make a sale without losing his shirt! It was really awesome watching them go back and forth. In the end the guy capitulated on a price and the lady got what she wanted.
I moved further on down the street and saw another older Italian woman with a little boy who was probably her grandson. Grandma was dressed her very best fur coat and all while the little guy was bundeled up against the cold. The boy stopped and picked up a chunk of frozen snow and tried to
put it in his mouth. That's when grandma stepped in and took it out of his hand. The little guy started to cry so she let him have the snow back which seemed to make him happy. I was able to get a picture of them both before he started crying. Looking back on the picture I could see that he was intently focused on something I couldn't tell what and grandma is leaning down talking to him. A really cool picture.
I moved on through the district and I was really playing it by ear with regard to the direction I was going. I stopped for awhile looking at my map trying to get my bearings. I was able to figure out that I'd made my way as far as the Camp dei Santi Apostoli when an old Italian guy came up to me. I smiled at him as I wasn't too sure exactly what he wanted. This guy actually spoke a combo of English and Italian which made conversing with him interesting. I figured out that the guy thought I was lost but I wasn't sure if he was homeless or not and was going to hit
me up for some money in return for his help.
This guy was actually pretty funny and it's possible he might have been a little drunk. I told him where I was going and he looked at my map but then he turned the map upside down and started pointing and telling me where I was. Mind you, I had the map right side up and he turned it upside down as he was giving me directions totally hilarious. I let the guy help me out and took my leave of him to continue walking on my way. I was in an awesome mood which just got better with every encounter I had with folks on the street.
I ended up down in the Piazza San Marco again not be design it just sort of happened. I think all roads lead to the San Marco whether you plan on going there or not. As it was my last day I decided to tool around the square a bit to see what was going on. The piazza was full of people but when is the piazza not full of people? I made my way to the water to get
a good look at the canal because I knew I would not see it again for awhile. I think one of the coolest things about Venice down by the water are all the lamposts with the pink glass. I really regret that I wasn't able to go back out to see them lit up at night. I will just have to save that for another visit when the weather is a lot warmer.
I took several more shots of the square and the Doge's palace. I was particularly intrigued by the arched hallways that stretched from one side of the palace to the other as you made your way around it. When you take a shot of the halls with your camera the vanishing point makes it look like the hallway goes on forever which is cool. One of the best shots I had that day was of a young boy sitting down eating a panini by himself on the bench. This guy was on his own but it looked like he was dressed for school so I wasn't sure what was up with him. As always whenever anyone has food out in the open that person will get
the undivided attention of seagulls, pigeons and whatever other birds are in the area who are hoping to get a snack.
The boy seeing that he had a crowd of birds around him decided to start feeding them. I don't think he realized how many birds were going to fly in his way but a swarm settled on the stones and bench all around him waiting. Some folks may find that a little unnerving because the birds weren't doing anything but watching the boy to see when he was going to start tossing them food. Some of the birds got too close to his face so he turned away only to be facing a line of pigeons on the bench. The boy decided to start throwing the gulls food far out so they could fight it out amongst themselves. The boy then took his time feeding the pigeons that were literally standing in line on the bench waiting. I got a shot of that with my camera. It came out really cool.
I decided to make for Giovanni e Paolo over by the hospital since that was my original goal. As I'd mentioned the streets of Venice tend
to twist in various directions and it's easy to end up in a place where you'd not originally intended on going to. I was making my way in the right direction but I got stuck in a convoy of Chinese tourists in a narrow street. I had no idea what they were doing but I looked on the map and this seemed to be the most direct route to my destination so I tried to make my way through the crowd. After a few twists the convoy vanished into a Chinese restaurant and the coast was clear.
I was starting to get worried because I wasn't seeing my church and I thought this time I'd really gotten myself lost. I turned a corner however and then there it was right where it was located on the map. I've been to a lot different churches in Italy that have historical, cultural and religious significance to people all over the world. For myself, I travel to learn and appreciate everything I see no matter what and this church was no exception. The Bascilica Dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo is a beautiful church both inside and out. I am grateful for my
study abroad experiences with Professor Delph over the years and I found myself wondering if he'd ever been to this particular church. I will simply have to ask him.
I was not familiar at all with any of the artists whose work was on display inside the church but many of the works displayed various scenes from the Bible. The church was silent save for a few parishoners and tourists moving around the church. I started at one end of the church looking at the art and made my way around the entire building making sure I didn't miss anything. I took my time as there was no rush and at one point I sat in a pew and just took it all in. Totally awesome day!
I decided to make my way back down to San Marco's get some lunch and just watch people for the afternoon. I had a craving for gelato so I stopped by this place close to the bascilica before going into the square itself. The gelato was okay but totally overpriced because of the shops proximity to San Marco.
I made my way into the square picked a spot, sat and
just ate gelato in the afternoon sun. The piazza was packed with people primarily young people. The snow had vanished and everywhere I looked I saw folks from all over the world talking, laughing, and as always feeding the pigeons. It was then I noticed an something I hadn't seen yet. I saw several people taking turns putting food on each other (i.e. bread, popcorn etc) and then waiting for the birds to land on them while their campanions took pictures.
I got out my camera and started moving to see what shots I could get. Photography is a hobby that I have gotten very good at over the years. I try to catch the most candid shots of people that I can get on my travels. Photos where people are posing for the camera never turn out good and it's when people are just being themselves you can capture the moment forever.
I got several photos that day of people feeding the birds but probably the best photos are of two friends who took turns taking picture of each other while they were covered with birds. I had no real desire to have birds land all over
me so I was more than happy to kick back and take photographs instead. These two particular guys were funny as it had to have been tough to hold still with all of those birds climbing all over them while the other guy took the picture. I was able to get a close up shot of the one guy as his buddy was taking a picture and he was just laughing because he had one bird on his head while the other two were trying to get to his hand where he had more food. It was an awesome shot.
I made my way back to Dorsoduro but I took my time there was no hurry. The sun was already setting through the clouds and the reflections on the water gave the impression that the water was on fire. The snow had pretty much melted leaving puddles on the pavement except for areas that the sun could not reach. I found a little lonely snow man who was melting so I took his picture for the memory of my time in Venice that will last until I return again next year.
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anonymous
non-member comment
Nice
i have never been in that part of italy before but after reading your story I would like to travel there and it sounds like it would be money well spent happy traveling!