MAJESTIC ITALY Part 3

The gondola ride, as much as anything else, is one of the icons of Venice.  Whenever you speak of Venice, someone always mentions the gondolas, and therefore not to ride them would be not to truly see Venice.  As I mentioned earlier, our tour group was afforded an opportunity to ride at a reduced rate.  Mom and I were in the second boat to be loaded, loading not being so easy as there are no solid handholds except the operators.  Each gondola seats 6 people, four facing forward, onefacing the side in fold-down chairs, and one person facing the rear.  The gondolier stands on the very back of the gondola.  In one of our gondolas we arranged for two musicians, an accordionist and a vocalist to join us.  Skillful navigation allowed the gondola with the musicians to stay in the middle of the pack.  A word about gondolas, they most closely resemble canoes, as they are narrow and long.  Gondolas as a rule are painted black with a real shiny finish, with brass trim and either red or blue seat cushions.  According to our local guide they are sometimes referred to as floating coffins or death ships.  These nicknames stemming from both their appearance and their ultra quiet operation, as they float gently in a misty fog evening. The gondoliers themselves wear either white or black outfits; a few were seen to be wearing outfits that Americans would more closely associate with jail uniforms. As the dock had only two or three slips, and our group needed seven gondolas, the first three boats were loaded, left the dock, then were held still a few meters down the Grand Canal to let the others catch up.  We then proceeded from the gondola dock nearest San Marcos Square along the grand canal to the site of the famous Venice opera house, which was destroyed by fire a few years ago and is currently being rebuilt.  All the way accompanied by lively and sometimes romantic music.  A lot of photos were taken and the group was in high spirits.  We then started touring the minor canals and waterways, and this is where the ride really gets interesting.

You see there are no cars or motor vehicles in Venice, instead the entire chain of islands contains an elaborate set of waterways, both natural and manmade that allow for the residents and supplies to reach their destination by water.  These tiny waterways even have traffic lights, traffic signs like you would expect in a normal town.  Clearly in Venice the waterways are the street system.  This was truly pointed out when we found ourselves in a gondola traffic jam.  Along the waterways the gondolas navigate waterways that are maybe three gondolas wide at the most, and pass under several footbridges.  These footbridges, although they appear quite low, are quite safe as long as you remain seated keeping your arms and legs completely in the gondola.  It was noted that the standing gondolier sometimes had to duck and assume otherwise awkward positions to pass under some bridges.  It was also noted that several buildings had back doors and private docks along the waterway.  A curiosity appeared in the form that a gondolier only uses one oar or gondola pole or whatever they call it.  And they only row on one side of the gondola, yet are able to fully steer.  Though sometimes a well-placed foot by the gondolier along the sides of the waterway was employed.  As I was sitting up in the very front of the boat facing rearward, I noted a sort of coat of arms on the front of the bow, proclaiming that our gondola was the Francesco, at the very rear of the boat is a fin like tail that I have only seen used on gondolas.  Very unique.   Our gondola ride lasted about 45 minutes, and then it was time to take turns at the boat slips to get out.  Getting out was quite a challenge, and after we unloaded we took delight in watching the others.  After everyone had safely unloaded we made our way to a souvenir cart to purchase some goodies, like a book about Venice (hint to travelers: when buying books and videos in other countries be sure to get the English version and for a video the NTSC version. (Of course if you are not from the USA and you landed on this document, adjust the language and video version as fits your situation) a tote bag, and a postcard.  The group I left back at work had requested a postcard, so I figured the sooner I sent it, the better chance it would have of reaching my office before I did.  (Note, I beat the postcard to my office by about a week) Next stop was the Venice post office.  They don't have stamp vending machines, and they only had one window open.   Hey wait! I could be describing any local post office!  The slow moving line finally made its way to the front, where I learned the postage would be 1,500 lire ($0.75).  I was more surprised when they handed me no less than 5 stamps to affix to the card. Rather than try to keep track of the stamps and the postcard separate, I affixed the stamps while at the post office then put the card in my bag to fill out back at the hotel.

A brief stop to use the facilities, yes lire was involved, as pay toilets are still standard operation over in Italy. We then headed towards San Marco Church.  You see not only was this a sightseeing tour, this tour was also, (maybe even primarily) a tour for our church choir (That's the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, KY for those who are interested). To the right, you can see a photo of our choir at our home Cathedral.  In fact this would make the sixth trip the choir has made outside the USA. The choir was scheduled to sing at the 18:45 mass at San Marcos in Venice.  The air outside is still quite cold but the breeze seems to have subsided.  While waiting for the church to open, I stopped in a coffee bar.  The Snack Bar Americano.  This particular snack bar features American food like hot dogs.  I walked over to the coffee bar and ordered a Hot Chocolate (or Chocolat).  To my surprise I was served in a real china coffee cup.  This particular hot chocolate is the richest I have ever had.  Imagine a hot chocolate made with Hershey's Special Dark. A nice warm filler, until it was time to be admitted for church.  

Mass this evening would be said in a small side chapel, with hardly any lights on.  This was a minor disappointment as I had planned on taking the time to look more closely at the mosaics all around the church.  From what I hear the lack of sufficient lighting created some unique challenges for the choir as well.  Mass was noteworthy in that it was said with the priest facing away from the people.  Something I had personally never seen.  The choir did a good job, and dealt with the unusual circumstances like pros.  About halfway through the service somebody finally decided to turn on the lights.  Choral performance #1 over, there was a brief stop outside for a group photo in Venice before making our way back to the boat dock to catch our waterbus back to the mainland. 

The walk back to the dock was interesting, as we passed several vendors who were noticeably not there during the day selling all manner of roses and electronic toys and purses and stuff that you wonder about its quality and origin.  Luckily the pathway back to the boat dock  was now dry.  The walk back also seemed to take a lot longer, as each bridge took its toll on us with the stairs both up to and down from the bridge.  There was one unhappy event when one of the “Cheerleaders” fell on the steps and broke both of her upper arms.  Luckily she was able to continue on the tour until the end after a trip to the hospital.  Eventually we made our way back to the boat dock to discover no boat.  It seems that the boat we went to Venice on was having some difficulties, however they were sending another boat for us.  The replacement boat was smaller, yet we all fit on board in a cozy manner.  At least the second boat had a much more gradual gangplank to load and unload.   We took a more direct path back to the mainland dock, and made our way back to the bus.  It was noted that the entire marketplace on the mainland dock was closed for the evening.  Our bus took us back to the hotel.

Dinner was not included today.  Our tour called for the breakfast plus one meal per day to be included.  Today the tour furnished lunch so diner was our responsibility.  After dropping souvenirs into our hotel rooms, a large number of us met in the lobby to plan dinner.  The McDonalds next door to our hotel was briefly considered and rejected.  We decided not to venture out and instead chose the hotel restaurant.  Tonight we ate light, or we ate more to the American method of Italian dining.  That is to say we merely ordered a pasta dish and bread.  I did the spaghetti Napoli that is Spaghetti with tomato sauce, basil, oregano, garlic, and cheese. A very good dinner followed by a very good night's sleep.  Catch you in the morning!

Day 4 - Thursday, November 15, 2001

This was to be a day on the road, with a couple of important stops along the way.  This required an early morning start to pack up and leave our bags for the hotel staff, while we went down to breakfast.  Quite tasty.  Back up to my room where I wrote the postcard and dropped it into the mail chute in the hotel lobby. Then onto the bus for a lengthy drive to Ravenna. Most chose to get some extra sleep on the bus ride.  There was a lengthy viaduct we passed in a large body of water, and the chance to see even our driver get confused in the roundabout.  A couple hours later we were at the Ravenna train station picking up our local guide (Luciana).  We would start with a driving tour of Ravenna, which would include such sites as Dante's (Divine Comedy) tomb. On the way to Ravenna we got some political commentary.  Something about how the rich areas of Ravenna feel that they are paying too much of the taxes.  In other words, politics are the same all over. Our local guide while quite knowledgeable also had a rather abrasive personality. Our first stop would be the National Museum, which is housed in an old monastery.  A much-needed break was given after the long bus ride, and we looked at some of the artwork and artifacts on the entrance level of the museum.  I also spotted a common site I would see at other historical sites. A coin operated television monitor provided for those without the luxury of a guided tour.  Back to our guided tour. It was pointed out that the museum we were standing in is housed in a building of the 16^th century, and that after we go down a flight of stairs the church we would tour is from the 6^th century.

The Basilica of St. Vitale is an octagonal shaped church.  It was pointed out that this was the church of the government, not the main church of the people.  As such, local custom would have dictated women to remain on the second floor gallery level.  We hear that the church was used both for political as well as religious meetings. We are then shown the mosaics in the apse of the church in great detail.  These have an emerald green background.  We also hear that unlike the mosaics of Venice, which are mostly flat, Ravenna mosaics have a rough textured surface.  After a lengthy description of the mosaics we exit the church and go to the Mausoleum of  Galla Placidia, another 6^th century work.  Once inside the mausoleum the doors were closed so that we could appreciate the light provided by windows made of alabaster, not glass. Inside the background color was a royal blue, and mosaics lined all four the ceiling and walls of the cross-shaped building. After seeing the mausoleum we exited the museum by a side gate and made our way to a local Mosaic artisan's shop for a demonstration on the manufacture of mosaics.  As a tie to our previous days touring, mosaics are made out of tiny pieces of glass, and in this case Moreno glass is used.  The same type of glass that was used in the glassblowers shop from yesterday's tour.  After the mosaic demonstration, some time was given for gift shop purchases before getting back on the bus for our next destination. We would travel by bus approximately five miles to St. Apollinaire in Classe.  This was the church of the people.  Attention was paid to the round bell tower in the rear of the church before entering.  Everything that St. Vitale was, this church wasn't.  St. Apollinaire featured large bright windows and several openings, while St. Vitale had minimal windows and limited access.  We learned that the difference is that of Roman vs. Gothic architecture and theology.  The roman belief was "Church as Fortress of God" So there was little outside light admitted, while the Gothic style saw light as God entering the building, so this church features large windows, and several doorways.  As was eluded to in St. Vitale by having to go down the stairs from the 16^th century to the 6^th century building, the historic buildings are in fact sinking.  And over time newer buildings have been placed on top of the old.  In a corner of St. Apollinarie church, you could see a small segment of the original flooring, and you could see that it was easily 3 feet below the current floor.  Our guide explained that when it was time to raise the floor, in order to keep the columns and capitals intact, a portion of the wall above the column work would be removed in order to preserve the column work.  We also received the detailed explanation of the mosaic work in this church and learned how all the mosaic work was really a visual aid for the congregation.  A final point of interest was in the various crypts located along the long walls.  It was noted that in most Roman churches only three sides of the crypt are decorated as it is placed against a wall anyway. Here, an unusual thing all four sides of the crypts are decorated.  The decorations having been chosen by the deceased shortly before death. Call it the pre-planning of years past.   Lining the tops of the walls are the portraits of the bishops of Ravenna, and special note must be paid to one, whose name I forgot, but a sculpture of a papal crown has been added to the top of it to indicate that he made it to the rank of Pope.  Other portraits had a dove above them.  This was to signify bishops who were selected by an ancient custom of placing all bishop candidates in the church and releasing a dove.  The priest who the dove rested on became bishop. 

Thus ended our formal touring in Ravenna.  Before getting back on the bus some free time was offered.  As dinner was to be the day's included meal, a suggestion was made that the restaurant located next door to the church was quite reasonable.  The vast majority of the group decided on the local restaurant.  Once inside the restaurant you could either order what you wanted, or go for the Tourist Menu or (Menu Touristico). Of those who decided on lunch, most of us decided on the Menu Touristico for 20,000 lire ($10.00).  A tourist menu is a complete meal prearranged to offer the tourist the chance at an authentic meal without having to figure out the menu themselves.  Today they were serving "Light Lunch". At least they call it light lunch; back here it would be a full dinner.  The meal consisted of a salad and a pasta dish, similar but not exactly tortellini stuffed with cheese and spinach.  Even I the staunch anti-vegetable person managed to enjoy my pasta.  Noteworthy also, is that the price included beverage, and beer and wine were offered as choices in the included beverage service. The meal concluded with an Ice cream cup, with the unique feature that it was mostly vanilla with a chocolate musical note that went as deep as the cup.  I'd say a fine meal for $10.   I just don't think you can get a bad meal in Italy.  It was a bit comical when our tour leader apologized for rushing us through lunch.  Rushing?  That was an hour-long leisurely lunch, to those of us used to eating in 20 minutes or less, this was a nice relaxing lunch.  As we would find out Italians really enjoy meals, and usually eat at a slower and more relaxed pace than we Americans do.  

After having had lunch, it was back on the bus for the long ride to Assisi.  Shortly after leaving Ravenna the Ferris wheel and top of the lift hill for Katun, a B&M inverted roller coaster could be seen.  Luckily for the coaster enthusiast in the group, Mirabilandialand was closed today, as it has been since October 7.  Why lucky?  Lucky as I didn't have to bear the site of passing by an OPEN amusement park.  After passing by Miribilandia it was a long bus ride through the mountains and tunnels of the hillside for quite some time.  It was actually a very scenic and picturesque drive. About halfway there a stop was made at a rest area/store then it was on to Assisi.

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