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Day 13 April
After being rained off on Tuesday today was the day for Venice. Got up early and walked to station for the train to Venezia. Very crowded but we got into 1st class so it was comfortable.
Arrival in Venezia is the first of many surprises. Crossing over on to what seems to be a causeway for rail and road one realises that the city really is all at sea. With boats rushing up and down their own routes sea is what you see. Of course, one has always known this but to see it for one self offers a different reality.
The train empties it's vast cargo of humanity, which then emerges onto the front steps to see the reality of Venezia: boats on a narrow canal rushing about with no apparent order. Gondoliers and their handlers looking for trade; cargo vessels carrying a myriad of goods ranging form waste to expensive articles greets the eye. The sun glints off the blue-green water and out come the cameras. It is quite a sight. All the time as we travelled along the Grand Canal I was reminded of the sights in Bangkok where the river seemed to serve a similar purpose: a general-purpose highway for everything with boats acting as a sort of rapid transit for the city. Except here it is far narrower but not necessarily less busy but essential. Without it, the city would struggle to cope.
The journey along the canal allows us to see the main sights. Well, once we had the correct 'vaporetto' going the correct way around! The people selling tickets are so inured of tourists that they generally ignore them. We see the Venice of legend, eg the narrow waterways of the main channel, certainly exist. The lower walls of the buildings, resting in the water, are crumbling and covered in green slim, and the water splashes up the walls as the boats rush past. Piers are still supported on old timber piles, partly rotted and of various shapes and angles. One wonders how they stay upright!
So to the sights. Whether the crowds were vast is hard to say but they were inescapable. Many school parties but everyone seemed patient with only a little pushing and shoving. San Marco was extraordinary in its 13th Century splendour. No photographs, said the sign, and one of the wardens, when he eventually appeared said "No photos". But everyone seemed to ignore him, just as they had in Verona.
The square was very busy so it was very difficult to get any sense of its size or spaciousness. At one café a small string group played suitable music, and another an amplified piano was being played. Muzak as someone put it.
Of course the art was amazing in San Marco and perhaps it was good to see something other than the Renaissance material we had met elsewhere. The Tintoretto's were monumental in the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, which had a cycle of more than 50 of his major paintings. All were hard too see as the room was perhaps a little too small and they were enormous! We also saw some Titians.
Just walking through the streets was interesting in their narrowness and the range of shops available. Either the very pricy, so they don't put any price on the goods, and have little on display eg Gucci etc. Or the awful, tourist tat that vies for cheapness in its awfulness. Everywhere. Even street traders selling weird plastic toys. And beggers.
Anyway we enjoyed the day and at some point we will return on a city break so that we can explore the other places. But now its time to head south…a little. Ravenna here we come!
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