The trouble with Venice

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The difficulty in writing anything about Venice, even just writing for myself, is that it has all been done before. Or as Mary McCarthy put it, "There is nothing to say about Venice that has not been said before (including this sentence)" or something just like that. After reading that (and some Henry James--I recommend The Aspern Papers which I am enjoying immensely), I was rendered temporarily mute on the subject of my impressions and experiences. Someone, somewhere has experienced it, said it, wrote it and everything I have to contribute is beside the point. And what to say, after all? Venice is lovely, yes. It is alternately and simultaneously thrilling, charming, picturesque, mysterious, elegant, quaint, decaying (but in such a charming manner, or in such as way as to lend an air of mystery).

You see--there's no avoiding being 1. repetitive; 2. hackneyed; 3. derivative; or 4. dull. With that firmly in mind, I've decided it's okay to record my experiences, even if it has all been said, done and written before. I will harbor no pretense that I am at all original.
I've also decided that being derivative is going to be good fun. Because I am a compulsive reader I'll use the words of all these writers--James and Joseph Brodsky and Byron (to name just a few literary figures who have waxed on about Venezia), and if I'm feeling peevish, maybe some Ezra Pound, who died in this very neighborhood (Dorsoduro). James, after all, says everything better than anyone else ever has. Twain will be useful when I am feeling more to the point, and less elegant. Virginia Woolf if and when I am hating Venice, perhaps. And if I just want to be prosaic, record the day? I shall.

And then we come to the problem of photography. Same thing. I've been resisting my impulse to shoot every picturesque canal I come across, thinking, "why bother?" It's been done, and done better. Well, I am going to bother and stop resisting the impulse because I want to, and my kids want to. So all my photos of canali and campi and calli are going to show up here too. And maybe we'll try some black and white, just to be contrary. So here come some canals. They might look like canals you've seen in the photo spreads and coffee table books, without the expert photography. But these are mine.

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Photos

Canal
Sestierre San Marco

Canal
A lone gondola

Canal
With the boys, on the Fondamenta Nuove (northern Venice).

The boys
Always original subjects

Backyard canal
Reflection in the canal by our house, taken by Gabriel.

leaf boats
The boys have been making boats made out of leaves and sending them down various canals, testing their sea-worthiness. These are Gabriel's.

canal
Dorsoduro, near our house.

Comments

[Marian Fortunati]

Yes, but
Yes, but as you said these are YOUR memories, impressions and photos. Besides even if I've seen them a million time, I'm enjoying reading about your experiences and seeing pictures of the city where I fell in love and got married.

[Marian Fortunati]

Oh by the way..
I am a friend/former colleague of Elizabeth Louros and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog posts and leaving comments. Please do drop by Roberto's store if for no other reason than to say hi! Be well... happy exploring.

[lee]

memories
No matter how many canals or how many views the memories will come flooding back. This is the wonderful aspect of your travel blog. It will also be wonderful for the boys to look back and say[ We saw this I remember what we were doing when we were there]. Keep it up. I miss all of you so much.

[AdrianaIna]

Thanks Marian
Thanks, Marian for your comments! I will certainly stop by the store. I am looking for opportunities to meet more Venetians, though my Italian is very limited at this point.

[cpilon, the male]

I love your pics and comments
SO there it is--I love them! And I love you too. Keep em com'in oh sis-o-mine. Chris

[Carrie]

Yes! Take any dang picture you want! Write up your impressions with the awe that accompanies them. So what if others have been similarly impressed and have expressed themselves with distinction? It's not a contest. . . These are yours, from YOUR time there with your boys; they will treasure them -- now and later. And we who are following along treasure your impressions -- verbal and visual -- because they are yours. Not because they're Woolfian or Jamesian or Byronic or Twains-y or Mann-ish. . . but because you're seeing Venice and letting all that mystique and madness work on you as it will. It's Venice, after all. Don't get in your own way, sister dear. It's OK to be impressed. . .

[liliram]

No matter......
We all fell in love with Venezia. So, no matter how many times we all wax romantic or sentimental, and no matter how many times we repeat ourselves, we all feel compelled to do Venice justice by saying the same things! We may have seen the same places, the same canals , every nook and cranny, but we may not have experienced it all the same way. Your boys will remember Venice differently from the way you do. Even if you think you had the same experiences and adventures. Keep writing! Cheers.....