Day Thirteen - My Grand Addiction

It is said that one of the reasons for Venice's decline was their proclivity towards excesses.  Being here it is easy to understand.  The audacity to build a city in the middle of a lagoon on piles of trees, build huge grand palazzos lining the main waterway, and festoon their gondolas with ostentatious decorations shows their penchant toward excess. The fact that the residents preened like ostriches in foppish and gaudy dress in the 15th century cements the claim even more.

Just being here in this place of excesses,  makes one inclined to indulge in some excesses of their own. I have developed a habit of swilling the wonderfully inexpensive and delicious prosecco that is sold in bulk here.  I have also developed a weakness for Gelato Fantasy's otherworldly amarena cherry gelato. (My physician will be happy to know in the last four days I have cut back from my normal three scoops a day to two.)

But undoubtedly my most serious addiction is the Grand Canal. I simply am incapable of going one day without viewing that mesmerizing waterway... usually from the top of the Rialto Bridge. I could sit their for days taking pictures of this majestic lady whose undulating movement dominates La Serenissima.


Today I started my day the way I have started the last several, by going to the Rialto Mercato to photograph the beautiful produce and the hundreds of types of lagoon fresh fish. After checking out my favorite haunts in San Polo sestiere I started back over the Rialto Bridge. Every time, I get no farther than the second step before I pull out my camera and begin to snap away. I always feel this urgency to capture the perfect picture; one that will capture the exquisite serenity that still dominates despite the frenzy of activity.  Like most days I spend some time at the top of the bridge taking pictures for lovers, families and friends who want a photo of themselves with the Grand Canal as the backdrop.

Next destination - San Marco, where the orchestra has been playing at this time most mornings. On the way I stop for some amarena gelato and briefly wonder how I will exist without my daily fix. The music in the piazza is exhilarating and for a time I watch a bridal fashion shoot before heading back to my apartment.

Later that night I head back to the Hosteria Al Vecio Bragosso praying that my excellent meal from the day before was not a fluke.  The grilled fish fish with orange sauce and grilled vegetables were excellent and my dining companions for the evening were equally delightful. Richard and Allison, a very friendly and chatting couple, live in the English countryside.

We happily converse for awhile about their country (she's a royalist who was NOT a Princess Diana fan). Richard works in IT in London and stays there during the week. Each has been married before, and I was amused at his frequent travel memory lapses. He would say, "Remember dear when we were in... ?" To which Allison would smile indulgently and reply "No dear, that must have been your first wife".

We talked about the world view of the U.S. and how we are viewed as a bully and the moral arbiter of the world. We discussed Syria and, while we we are appalled by the use of chemical weapons, we agreed that like Britain the U.S. should stay out of Syria and that any action should be only through the United Nations.

We talked until closing with me promising to visit the country that they loved so much.

As we left in opposite directions,  I was left to ponder if my "Grand Addiction" had been replaced by a more serious addiction to the stimulating international conversations with all those I had met on this trip.