Day Six - Learning the Locals' Secrets

I ran into the greeter, Tota Fraino, on Tuesday and chatted about how much I loved Venice except for the mosquitoes and the horrendous throngs of tourists.  I asked her, being a full time resident, how she dealt with the crowds. She smiled a knowing smile and said, "We locals know the secrets".

I must have warranted some special trust because she gave me a conspiratorial smile and explained that the locals knew all the backstreets and alley to take to get them to their destination  without accessing  any of the crowded main roads.

In a whispered voice Tota told me about two in particular. One of these secret roads was in back of the Misericordia Canal; the other, directly in front of us was a maze of narrow alleys, where one could reach Piazza San Marco in peace and quiet and see a lot of locals living their daily Venetian life.

So around noon on Wednesday, I busted out my heavy Nikon for the first time and headed down the secret path to San Marco. To my amazement, I didn't come across a soul for several minutes as I wended my way through the warren-like roads.  Soon I came across a small campo where a mother sat on a chair watching her children at play. They were the only ones there. It was a lovely sight and I stealthily captured a picture.

I came across small florist shops, trattorias, patisseries all of which served the locals. I did wonder fleetingly where THEIR barrel wine shop was. I seemed to be the only tourist intruding on their idyllic secret.  Some of them looked as I snapped photo after photo. No one said a word, but, they all looked relieved when I moved on.

A little later,  I came across a little mask shop with these wonderfully elaborate handmade masks. Venetians definitely take Carnevale seriously.  I have wondered more than once how the island can sustain so many handmade mask and costume stores... especially for an event that comes only one a year.

I crossed lovely canals and was able to get some wonderful closeup shots  on gondolas and gondoliers that had eluded me on previous sightseeing excursions. When I saw the huge dome of a church and increasing volumes of tourists, I knew I was rapidly approaching St Mark's. My respite was over far too soon. 

On my way back I found the famed Gelato Fantasy, and considered stopping. Ultimately, I decided against stopping and waiting in the crowded alley but, vowed to come back one day after the daytrippers return to their cruise ships.

I made a quick stop at Sephora for some "essentials" which made wish that I had one back in Nashville that I could walk to in a little over 5 minutes!

Now that I know the secret, I will be visiting Piazza San Marco more often without having to suffer the fatiguing crowds. I love these quiet parts of Venice and whenever I spend time here, I know I could live here forever.