"... In the lane of earthly paradise ..." or autumn in Venice
Having passed all the customs formalities and security checks, we find ourselves in a huge Airbus 320. The plane is stuffed with a motley audience to the eyeballs and smoothly lifts off the ground.
The Queen of the Adriatic welcomes us with warm cloudy weather. It hasn't rained yet, but the condition is borderline for both the weather and the tourists. After picking up our passes at the ACTV box (for more details see tickets at http://www. veniceconnected. com/node/1483), we take the 5th bus to Roma, the place where everything starts and ends.
Quite strange platforms are placed on the streets, the realization of the purpose of which will come only the next day. In the meantime, they serve as great entertainment for our little Nastya, who briskly jumps from one to the other. We are waiting for vaporetto number 2, following through the stop we need "RIALTO". I catch myself thinking that the city smells differently than in summer.
Instead of the smell of mold, a subtle, but so disturbing stomach aroma of fried fish is heard from all sides. Having received the keys to the apartment and quickly settled in, we rush to the grocery store. Saturday in the yard and know how they work. The prices are pleasantly cheap. Selected muscat grapes 1.6 €, ribs for broth 4.5 €, chopped meatballs and even cheaper 4.20 €, apples 0.8 € ...Everything that was barely carried away cost 20 €. Haha!
What to do next? Walking, seeping through the narrow streets, getting lost in the tangle of Salizzad, Calle, Strahd and Rio, then going to the Grand Canal in the most unexpected place, then wandering deep into the Campo, then again rushing to the next fondamenta. Driven by an internal compass, we make our way to the Rialto Bridge. Twilight lights up the lanterns on both sides of the Grand Canal, making this place even more romantic and magnetic. An excerpt from Brodsky's poem comes to mind:
"...in the lane of earthly paradise
in the evening I stand, absorbing
heavily worn rubber
lungs clean, autumn-winter,
pink from tiled roofs
local air, which is enough
don't breathe…”
I deliberately omit “finally”, because we will enjoy this amazing beauty of the ancient city for another two whole days.
Morning in Venice. As much as my household would not like to soak up in bed longer, curiosity still prevails and we go to watch Aqua Alta. Living on the firmament of the earth, then getting to the island at high tide, you marvel at the irresistible power of nature. Piazza San Marco - the heart of the city is immersed and therefore even more attractive. Tireless traffic controllers direct the streams of curious people, happy owners of rubber boots are less constrained in their movements. We leave the area of San Marco and go to the area of Santa Croce. The day is spent loitering, contemplating, eating pizza.
The third day is the penultimate one.
Here we gave a five-year plan in three days! First things first, leaving the sleeping household, I'm going to look for the bridge of the Academy, in order to find it to get to an equally mysterious place - Fondamenta degli incurabili (Promenade of the Incurable) in the Dorsoduoro area and, of course, admire the magnificent temple nearby - the Cathedral of Santa Maria Della Salute. Having met the dawn on the Canale Grande and after jogging through the arts district, buying more warm croissants and other sweets for tea, I rush home.
The next item on the program is a visit to the island of Murano. Ten minutes from Fondamenta Nuove with an intermediate stop at the cemetery island of San Michele, and our family enters the realm of glassblowers, their creations and cheap Chinese fakes. The child, in complete delight, scratches all sorts of bright glass "gifts", the mother barely has time to pay.
Returning to Venice, we take a guessing unknown route, obeying the internal compass and exit to one of the large squares of S. S. Giovani e Paolo with the cathedral of the same name and the building of the former Scuola Grande di San Marco with a masterpiece facade. Then we turn to the already familiar Santa Maria Formosa square and get home along the Mondo Novo salizade.
“Twilight is deepening, and we have not yet ridden on the Grand Canal! How so? » exclaims my husband. "No problem! "I agree to the continuation of the compulsory free program after a rest and a soulful Italian-style home-cooked dinner. But, alas, from Rialto in the evening, all transport moves towards the station. Nothing remains but to postpone the walk until the morning of the last day.
It's time! Suitcases are packed and closed in the pantry. It's raining outside the window. We take umbrellas and go swimming. In the eyes of delight, and in the heart of sadness. Ciao , Venice, we will definitely be back!
