Travel Venice - Game of Life - Postcard 36

Venice This morning the sun kissed the sky and fell upon the streets, as the breeze danced through the trees.  The leaves waved like the fingers of time, saying hello. The birds harmonized a melodic tune that inspired me to sing back. I started laughing while standing before the open windows in my room as I remembered a Mary Poppin's song I used to sing with my mom and dad.  I thought if there was a perfect time to pretend I was her, it would be now.   

Beginning my walk down the street to the Lido station, the reception at my hotel told me they would call me a cab. I said I preferred to walk. I set out on foot until I hit the sea, where I purchased a twenty-four hour boat pass for twelve euros. I was unsure of what each stop offered, as no one had a map. I figured the wind had guided me thus far and although it seemed to have stopped when I got onto the sea, I knew it would pick back up all in perfect timing.  There were many boats on the water; the one that caught my eye was a little fishing boat. I watched it intently for a few minutes because it reminded me my time growing up in Florida and going deep sea fishing with my dad and brother regularly.

Third stop was San Marco Square; since this was a place I had heard of I thought this will be where the adventure begins and got off the boat. The streets were crowded with tourists. The gondola driver's were everywhere asking if anyone wanted a ride. I knew I absolutely had to take a ride, but not yet. Walking through San Marco I realized there really were no streets in the city. The closest thing to a street was a side walk or a bridge connecting one to the next. I walked into an area that showcased glass blowing from the locals. They had their work displayed in little shops that filled the first floor of the surrounding buildings. There were pizzerias and gelato stands everywhere. While crossing a bridge a gondola driver began singing to me as he guided his boat under the bridge.  A few streets away I saw the same gondola driver, still with no one in his boat he smiled at me and began singing again. 

Across the Grand Canal, I saw what appeared to be a boat raid. I began to wonder if it was the equivalent of someone getting pulled over in the states. Then another four officers in full uniform piled onto the boat and I knew it had to be more than just a speeding ticket.

After lunch and feeling like I had circled around all of San Marco by foot, I found the place I started. And wouldn't you know the gondola driver that sang to be before throughout the city was standing there with his arms up for me to come to him. I laughed and asked how much it was for a ride. He said eighty euros. I asked where it went and how long it was. He said they would give me a special tour. He called another gentleman in a black and white striped shirt over, who took me by the hand and escorted me to a boat.  He stepped in first to help me get in. There were four other people already sitting in this boat and I wondered did I get the special price because I have to ride with them? The gentleman continued on and stepped into the next boat. He took my hand again and helped me into my own boat. They were concerned that with knee high, high heeled boots on, I might topple into the canals. I sat down in the middle of the two seats, like I a queen. In a boat built for two, I sat with me in one seat and my life sized smile the other!

We left from an area that went under a bridge where the tourist's stood taking pictures of people on the gondolas. The expressions on people's faces towards me riding alone was priceless. I held my head high and smiled from ear to ear as I had never felt so alive. The first place we came to was an old prison.

My driver didn't speak much English so when we came upon a historical building, he'd say the name in English and use words like boy or girl, old or new, bad or good.  The water was a beautiful blue green; the sun would sneak between the openings in the buildings and smile down from above. I looked over to my right and saw two little green doors open that led to a room full of books. I asked if it was a library and he answered yes!

When we got to a three way intersection at one part of the canal, I heard a man singing in Italian. It echoed off the walls and when I thought my smile couldn't get any bigger, it did!  As we made our turn down one of the canals off the intersection, we were two boats behind the man singing. I leaned off to the side and saw the older man in a blue sports coat standing in his boat while three others sat and watched him. He belted out the words to a romantic Italian love song. His voice seduced all by passers to stop and take note. My driver began saying the words, 'Latin lover' over and over; I turned around because I couldn't understand why he was saying it. He kept trying to talk when the man singing would hit his high notes. We both started laughing and he pointed to another building and said, 'Casanova, Latin lover, home!' I looked up and there it was!

Through out the city were clothes lines outside of windows with freshly washed laundry drying in the sun. It was funny to see that the clothes in men's or women's sizes were mostly white, black or tan. The clothes in kid's sizes were only in bright colors.

We turned down another small canal and someone shouted, 'Marco!' My gondola driver shouted back, 'Polo!' I started laughing as I thought they were playing the game that kids play in America while in a swimming pool. Then my driver said, 'There' Marco Polo, live!' I looked over at a very simple white building and there was a marble plaque on the side saying, 'The Home of Marco Polo'

After going through all the smaller canals we turned onto the Grand Canal. I recognized the area from the larger boats I had taken earlier. There were cafes lining the water's edge and every table was full of people drinking wine.

Continuing on this canal, we came to a huge white bridge set up for people to cross the canal by foot. There were only two bridges that connected one side of the Grand Canal to the other, this was one of them. 

After forty-five minutes of traveling by gondola, we came to a stop and I got out. I didn't realize how much time had passed and hoped that I would still have time to check out the two museums I saw the day before. I went back to the boat station at San Marco and took a boat heading towards Roma, where I was told to get off at the Salute exit.

I began walking in search of the Peggy Guggenheim museum but seeing as how I didn't have a map, I really had no clue where I was going. I walked for awhile and kept stopping to ask where it was, everyone's response was different. When I found it, it was closed. I looked at the times and decided I would attempt to see it first thing in the morning. When I left the museum entrance I asked what time it was, she said twenty after six. Seeing as how it was still early and very light outside, I decided to take the boat back towards the bridge I had seen on the gondola to stop in at one of the cafes that lined the edge.  Apparently I missed that stop by a few stations, so when I got off I found myself in the residential area of Venice. Through out the streets were older couples drinking wine and walking their dogs. Men were playing chess in the streets and kids were playing soccer. I wanted to play soccer with the kids, but because I had boots on I figured it best, I continue walking. About an hour later, I realized I was completely lost and unsure of which way the Grand Canal was. I heard laughter in the distance and followed it, to a kid playing soccer against a wall in an open square. His father stood about thirty feet away watching. There were a few family's and couples in this area that all appeared to be locals. The little boy kicked the ball as hard as he could against the wall and it shot out past his father. I ran twenty feet over to the left and kicked the ball as hard as I could so that it would make it to the wall and bounce back to the boy. The boy started laughing as did the father and as I walked away I realized the whole square was giggling as they watched a woman act for a moment, like a child.

Ten laundry lines, four boys playing soccer and three stray dogs later, I hit the Grand Canal. I hopped back on the boat and took it to Lido, to begin my walk back to the hotel. I realized when on the boat that nobody had asked for verification of my boat ticket all day.  Not only did they not check if people had them, you didn't need to scan them to get on or off the boats. I wondered if it worked on an honor system and that people just paid, because that is what you are supposed to do. Walking back from the Lido station I stopped into the pizzeria I ate at the day before, to eat again. Tonight it was packed, the chef laughed and said some things in Italian when I walked in and he realized I was there the night before.  Eating my pizza, I begin to feel how tired I was.  On the walk back to the hotel, I wished I was able to spend two weeks in Venice so I could fish and see the outside of the city that you can only get to by private boat. I wanted to see the parts of the city the locals loved and cherished and most importantly kept secret.

Published on May 08, 2006