“Strike” While the Touring is Hot! Paula Dupont

Closed … a frequent finding all over Italy

Some group is always on strike in Italy.  And if not striking, simply closed for the day due to a supposed religious holiday, national observation, or simply the fact that this week – Tuesday followed Monday, and ecco!  Best-laid plans can be completely sabotaged by the unexpected closing of a museum, the random posting of a “chiuso” sign, or simply a bus that doesn’t come.

This year’s big strike – and there are undoubtedly smaller groups I’m not aware of – is the public transportation strike which has been ongoing for some months now.  Naturally conducted in an entirely civilized manner (at least in Venice) – without marches and picket sign and the like, in striking as in all else, Italy maintains la bella figura.  Thank goodness.  Major service interruption days are planned and posted and there are a host of websites to help you navigate there if your travel is already planned.

Piazza San Marco — Yours for the Taking

But if you can get there (and it takes some research and planning), the place is yours.  Check out this link to a blog on this Canadian site, http://blogs.canada.com/2012/06/25/63716/.  Have you ever seen Venice look like this?  So while it’s a little difficult to get around by vaporetto – only the “essential” routes are running, and at reduced frequency – if you’re willing to mosey, the island is yours without contest.

No waiting in line to enter St. Marks.  Your viewing will be jostle-free and leisurely.  A visit to the bridge of sighs might actually allow you to pause for more than 10 seconds and

Yours to sigh beneath

imagine the anguish of prisoners catching their last glimpse of the beautiful city.  The Campanile?  Yours to relish, taking spectacular photos from each vantage point.

Ristretto Perfetto — Florian’s Venice

When leisurely touring has taken its toll, a front row table at Florian’s awaits, where you’ll be encouraged to sit, relax, and enjoy – a lovely ristretto perhaps, or a refreshing prosecco and a delectable hazelnut torte.  This is la dolce far niente that Italy is known for.  In a nutshell, it’s the concept of the leisurely & languid approach to life.  Not possible, perhaps, in “normal” Venice as a tourist.  But in the strike zone – sí!  Check out this blog for a closer look at the phenomenon http://happinessrx.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/la-dolce-far-niente/.

Need to get somewhere?  Well, you’ll have to hoof it, or hire a gondola.  Certainly not the most cost-effective way to travel Venice, but more slow, dreaminess tied to the “dolce far niente” above.

Not sure this is what they mean by “dolce far niente!”

I’m a bit on the fence about this.  Some of the charm of Venice is the hustle, bustle, and frenetic activity.  To see uninterrupted waterways, as in the blog linked above, seems unnatural and sort-of creepy.  I suppose we could think of it as a snow day, where, temporarily, the hustle of routine life comes to a halt.  You have no option but to stay put and enjoy the day without outside distractions (other than plowing yourself out of the driveway …)  It’s pretty magical – if short-lived.

Venice Art — Where More is More! Paula Dupont

Summer Fests — Fun for All

It seems that every city – large or small – comes alive during the summer months with events that embrace the outdoors and invite participation.  I don’t know how this works in locations where it’s warm year-round … It seems that these little events, fests, and celebrations would lose their magic if they were available 52 weeks of the year without fail.  California, where we lived for several years, should technically fall into this group.  But if you looked really hard, there were actually seasons there (at least merchandising directed seasons as September ushered in the window displays of chunky sweaters, stunning wool coats, and fur like clockwork, with or without the weather to support), and so summer definitely had a different vibe than the rest of the year.

I – like many who see Venice as a vacation destination – feel it’s a floating permanent festival of food, drink, and events.  But I guess more is more, and maybe it feels different for the locals.  So if you’re looking for something to do, this Saturday is “Art Night Venice.”  And again, if you’re with me in thinking that the backdrop of Venice, its stunning combinations of art and architecture, its pastel homes and cobbled streets, its colors, sights, and smells at every calle are beauty enough, pretend you live there.  And let’s say

Venice Rialto Magic — Who Tires of This?

that walking past St. Marks is just part of the daily routine; or let’s suppose that looking across at San Giorgio is what you wake to each day; or maybe your balcony is within sniffing distance of the Rialto Market – well, you need to shake things up some.

Art Night — Venice at its Best

In its second year,  Art Night Venice aims to do just that.  Held on the Saturday closest to the summer solstice is this collaboration between the city of Venice and the Ca’Foscari University (founded in 1868 as the first business school in Italy).  The school itself seems to have something of a reputation for international studies (because who WOULDN”T want to go to school in Venice – hiding this from my 17-yr old …), as well as for hosting myriad cultural events.  Ecco!

Beginning at sunset and continuing well into the evening, the city will come to life with art – including music, cinema, poetry, and literature – set against the grand canal and tiny alleyways as backdrop.  Museums throughout the city will open their doors and offer free admission, and shops are expected to capitalize on the extra traffic and remain open well past “closing time.”   In addition to the “real” art, student groups will have the chance to show their work without the baggage of securing a gallery, paying for space, etc.  This year’s event – from what I can glean on the site – is also fund-raising for the area hit by the recent earthquake.

It’s possible that the true art afficianado finds this unappealing.  Sharing art in such a casual way with the masses.   Of course, they should see some of the other fests out there, like this one in ever-proper England …

England? Really? Does the Queen approve?

But I think it sounds like a wonderful way to spend a Saturday, perhaps prefaced by a delicious dinner of pasta alle vongole or a pizza with prosciutto and arugula, strolling, unrushed through the sidestreets, sipping a glass of wine, or maybe a coffee, making new friends along the way – and possibly discovering the next Tintoretto.  You never know.  All because Venice wanted more!

A Twist of Fate! By: Paula Dupont

Venice … in good times

Imagine telling the grandkids this story …

Once upon a time, many years ago, there was a beautiful floating paradise with no cars, no buses, no smog, and only funny-shaped boats, called gondolas, for transportation.  It was a vibrant, energetic place full of color and life and history.  The houses were pastel; the streets narrow and cobblestoned; the jewelry brilliantly-hued and hand-made on one of the islands in the group, Murano.  It was a land of romance and betrayal, poets and musicians, coffee, gelato, and seafood.  Sinking slowly into the Adriatic, this land was called Venice  and nicknamed “City of Lights,” “La Serenissima,” and “Queen of the Adriatic.”  But one terrible day, in a literal twist of fate, Venice was no

Venice — A glittering vortex?

more … taken, swirling through the skies like some magical glittering puff of sparkling beauty, and never seen again.

Sounds like crazy talk at the end of a long evening of Bellinis, or maybe the caffeine-fueled tirade of the next Lord Byron …

But it could have happened.

Check out the twister in this video swirling behind Venice as a stunning foreground, http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7411436n&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cbsnews%2Ffeed+(CBSNews.com).  In case anyone is alarmed … Venice was relatively unscathed by the water spout, with reports indicating some overturned boats, damaged roofs, and uprooted trees.  But what if?

Imagine what could have been …

The types of havoc-wreaking tornados that strike the States are uncommon in Italy.  Their tornados, or “trombe d’aria” (trumpets of air), are typically small and wispy, or over water – where they usually fizzle out.    That’s a good thing because let’s imagine a tornado posed a real threat to Venice.  None of our tried and (sometimes) true methods of tornado safety is available to them.  Evacuation?  Not so much.  Despite the fact that the twisters burn out over water, a boat is not the place to ride out the storm.  Shelter and cover?  Well, between the city flooring of marble and stone resting on the lagoon bottom, and pilings giving support to city structures, Venice buildings just don’t have basements.  Steel gates are used to stem encroaching tides – but offer nothing on an impending tornado, which leaves … crouch and cover.

Does this really work?

I guess this is where the school drills come in handy.  Open the windows, let the air blow through, and find a corner to duck and cover in.  But charming and delightful as Venetian homes are, what they are NOT is built to any type of modern code meant to be sound through a devastating storm.  At the minimum it seems the flying pottery poses an immediate threat!

And this doesn’t begin to address the omni-present scaffolding used for the rehabs continually in-progress, or the giant cranes positioned in locations all over the island for repairs and construction.  I guess a true tornado would have put an end to the question of how to fund the restorations – for good.  And the world would be saddened.

All that’s blowing in Venice

But this story has a happy ending.  The Bridge of Sighs remains for lovers to cross beneath again.  Florians lives to revive the weary traveler.  The Campanile will chime.  And at glass factories the only thing continuing to blow is the hot air off the massive furnaces.  Molto bene!