gondola – Travel stories

We had a very pleasant trip down from Venice to Florence yesterday, the temperature was just right and the traffic was light and the scenery was very pretty. Then we got to the city. Fast traffic, hot sun and little scooters nipping in and out of every available space on the narrow roads, while their riders talked on the phone! I need a lie down just thinking about it…. Needless to say no photos, I needed both hands to hang on tight while I prayed fervently.

26 06d

(Look at those great clouds. About 45km from Florence)

But it’s all okay now, we did arrive at our new accommodation, safely. A large-sized bed sit with its own little garden on the edge of Florence. Another Airbnb find and the host has gone off to stay with a friend while we live in her very comfortable home. I on the other hand am not so comfortable. Got great mail from Susanna about mosquitos and Florence but by the time I had opened it the little angels had done their worst 😦 I anticipate more fervent praying….

26 06b

(And great shade)

So lets remember the good times in Venice! Forgot to mention yesterday that we did take a Gondola ride. It was eighty euros for thirty-five minutes but we didn’t pay that! We were standing around at a busy Gondola pick up point, trying to work out how to attract the attention of the guy in charge when Miranda spotted us. She was with her boyfriend, both in their early twenties, both from China. Turned out they wanted the same thing we wanted – a good deal! She was very determined and had the whole deal sorted while we followed her around!

26 06g

(Traffic jam on a side canal)

There was a bit of a traffic jam at the beginning but eventually we arrived at the grand canal and the Gondolier started to point out the Mayor’s house and Venice’s seven star hotel (maybe next time?) It was at this point that Miranda leaned across to take a picture and our gondolier commanded “No moving around, I need balance.” Up to then I had accepted that he knew what he was doing and all the rocking from side to side didn’t mean I was going to end up in the water, now…. I wasn’t so sure. We all kept very still after that. And I took a little look around (just moving my eyes not my body) to spot the life jackets, maybe they were under the seats?

26 06h

(Miranda took our picture. Look at the Gondolier in the background – they all use their legs to push away from the walls)

You see it’s a very precise thing the gondolier is doing, it looks easy enough, because they make it look easy but it’s not so easy. And it made me think about living in balance and how that might take a long time to achieve and may look very easy from the outside but it’s always a work in progress. So what’s that all about?

26 06i

(Perfect balance)

From itchy Florence, Mairead.

Well we’ve finally arrived, this is Venice.

22 06c

(Our first sight… so familiar)

We took a local bus to the island (well not exactly an island, it’s joined by a bridge to the mainland) and within two minutes of getting off we were taking pictures of familiar scenes. It’s exactly what you’ve ever seen on TV or in magazines. Exactly and it’s beautiful. And it’s surprising. Yesterday was Friday and there were a lot of people around but there’s plenty of space for them. It’s a pedestrians paradise, no cars, no bikes, no scooters, even no motorbikes! No waiting to cross the road… well, the road is a river so no waiting to cross because there’s a bridge or two for that.

22 06e

(Everything, everything has to travel on water)

We have four days here so we just wandered. Wandered down by the river, picking this lane way or that, coming to a little plaza and thinking it was a dead-end only to find there was a narrow alley hidden on the other side. Oh and the shade, wonderful shade from the tall buildings and the breeze, wonderful breezes from the sea. By the way, I was a little concerned that there might be a bad smell – there isn’t, just the smell of sea water – nice.

22 06f

(Nice)

As we were wandering we came to a bus stop (bus that goes on water – very biblical) and decided to check out the busses. There was a lady in front using the machine but having a problem with it. She allowed Denis go ahead of her. She spoke English so I took the opportunity to use my best language. It turned out she lived in Canada! Hello Canada people! She was on a school reunion with some friends and was taking time out to visit the modern art exhibition which her friends thought was a crazy thing to do with all the old art in Venice! Anyway, we chatted until the bus came and then we got on together. We were just starting to enjoy the spin when our new friend realise we had all forgotten to validate our tickets. We thought “oh dear, does that mean we will get to use these tickets again?” Our friend thought, “there’s a huge fine!”

22 06i

(Example of a small alley. What looks like graffiti on the left is actually directions to St. Mark’s square!)

Now, it was a genuine mistake (no, really it was!) and I was remembering my charming (!) way with the waiter the day before… so we weren’t too worried. Until our new friend pointed out the inspector that had just got on – oops. She disappeared – fair-weather friend! We hung tight, Denis considering, me shining up my charm offensive. There was a bit of a kerfuffle at the next stop (throwing someone without a ticket off the bus?) and when we started again our friend had returned and the inspector had disappeared….. (have you heard of the opera Death in Venice?)

22 06j

(We’re saving our Gondola ride for a day without cameras or photos)

It turned out she had got off at that stop, validated her ticket and got back on… what a good idea. We hadn’t so we were left with the burden of having to use our ticket later for another bus journey… mmmm.

All is well here in Venice, Mairead