This letter was written before we got news of the hurricane. Our major source of news here in Italy is the BBC World Service. That means headlines occasionally about events all over the world. Only rarely do they mention the U.S. news. Our first news of any hurricane was after Katrina hit Florida. Now, of course, the hurricane has been the lead story for the past two or three days. The coverage from this source is kind of thin so it has been difficult to really know what is going on. From what we can learn, this sounds like the worst storm in recent years. Our thoughts and our sympathy go out to those who are in harm’s way. In addition, we feel particularly lucky to have missed floods in Germany and Austria, and to be safe and sound in Italy. We feel awkward sending out a letter detailing fun in Europe at such a time, but we really don’t want to get too far behind.

Bon Giorno,

In our last letter we were in Verona. Getting to Venice from Verona was no problem. We opted for a campground on the mainland in a town called Fusina across the lagoon from Venice. A ferry ride of about 25 minutes takes you to the city. Having bought a three-day ferry ticket, we parked our RV, plugged in the electricity and left for Venice about three o’clock.

We can’t describe this jewel of a city without sounding like a tourist office. Winding through it is the Grand Canal, the main drag here. It still looks much the same as Caneletto painted it in the 1700’s – changed only here and there with a few newer buildings. Except that in his scenes the water is serene and calm. That is not the current scene in Venice. There are no cars, but there is a lot of traffic. Vaporettos (bus-boats), traghetti (special gondolas that only go across the canal where there are no bridges), gondolas, water taxis, ferries, garbage boats, delivery boats, mail boats, private motor boats and sailboats, yachts and cruise ships. The crowded traffic on the water moves constantly in all directions because there are no traffic lanes. (Picture 1 shows a gondola gliding under a bridge in Venice.)

Everything on the water bounces up and down due to the wakes of the boats moving on the water. The vaporettos pick up and drop off people at bus stops consisting of oblong floating docks. Getting on and off the bus is no easy task because both the bus stops and the boats are continually moving up and down in uncoordinated fashion. Adding to this sense of constant and chaotic motion are hordes of tourists that tramp the streets between the canals. (Picture 2 is a random shot of the masses of tourists on the streets of Venice.)

The first afternoon we walked to St. Mark’s Square through narrow streets and many bridges – all of which had a lot of stairs – first going up and then coming down. Tourists were everywhere – and you heard every language spoken. It was a long walk but we got there eventually and it looked just like the pictures you’ve seen. There were people and pigeons everywhere. All the buildings on three sides facing St. Marks Basilica had shaded porticos on the street level. On the fourth side was the Basilica, a Byzantine gem of a building exhibiting lots of gold and mosaics. Above the center entryway were the fabled four bronze horses stolen so long ago from the Eastern Church in Constantinople that the details of when and how the horses were fashioned are unknown. Actually the horses on the outside of the Basilica are replicas. The originals are inside. (Picture 3 shows the four horses as they appear on the top of the entrance of St. Marks’ Basilica.) To the right of the Basilica is the Campanile, a very large tower that looms over the Square.

By the time we got there we were in dire need of refreshment. We decided that we had to have coffee in St. Mark’s Square and look out at the crowd. So we sat down and ordered coffee. Just coffee. But these two cups of the brew set a personal record for us as the most expensive we ever have had the privilege of drinking. The tuxedo-clad waiter presented the bill. With the tip, the bill came to 17 Euros— a little over $20. And you know what? We did not begrudge the price. We were very tired so we sat for a long time in a very beautiful setting and took a picture of the two of us with the Basilica in the background. That is, a Japanese/Chinese couple there on their honeymoon took our picture. Despite the good feelings we took away from that particular coffee break, I think we can live our lives without the need to have a similar experience in future. After coffee we walked around some more, feeling considerably lighter than when we arrived and then headed back. (Picture 4 shows Adelle & Ron at St. Marks Square.)

On our way back to the boat we found the only bargain in Venice. A single scoop of gelati for one euro. And is it good! We got back to the dock at about 6 for the 6:30 ferry, and found ourselves so far back in the line that we were afraid that we’d get left at the dock until the 7:30 boat. Luckily, we did get on and went back to the campground, but some people behind us in that line were not so lucky.

There were perhaps two hundred people on that boat, and very few went to the campground. Apparently that town is a favorite way to get into Venice. You can only bring a car into a few places in the city itself – in the industrial area where there is a big parking garage and at Lido Beach at the other end of the city. So if you want to see Venice, you leave your car in a place like Fusina and take the ferry.

There were also hundreds of people around the area of the boat dock – sitting and lying on towels on cement walls – sunning themselves. We didn’t see a pool. They just came to tan. Makes one wonder about the incidence of skin cancer!

We stayed in Venice for three days. As usual, we walked a lot, but we also figured out the system. We bought a 24 hour pass for the “bus”, and went everywhere by water. By getting onto the bus at the first stop, we were even able to get a front seat outside the cabin so Ron could take pictures. (The rest of the pictures were taken from the boat as we cruised the Grand Canal in our “bus”. No. 5 is a view of some buildings in Venice on the Grand Canal. No. 6 shows St. Marks Square on the Grand Canal. The low building is the Palace of the Doge. In back of it is St. Marks’ Basilica and to the left is the Campanile or Tower. Look at the boats passing by.)

Our only “inside” venture was when we waited in line to go into the basilica of St. Mark’s. We even paid a modest fee to view the rest of the treasures (besides the horses) that the 13th century Crusaders had stolen from Constantinople. The rest of the time, we just walked around or rode through a Canaletto painting.

Our next stop was Bologna. We were pretty walked out by the time we got there. We decided we would just take it easy. So we did the sensible thing. We had lunch in a trattoria that featured Tagliatelli al Ragu ( Spaghetti Bolognese to you), and then caught the bus back to the campground. Incidentally, that campground was the best one we’ve ever seen. Beautiful, new, wonderful facilities, and well thought out. We were able to send out letter no 5 from their Wi-Fi internet system using our own laptop. A pleasure.

The next morning we took off again. We got instructions from the man in the office about getting to the the ring road around the city since that was how we would get the autostrada. Only problem was that when we got there, a construction crew had just barricaded that entrance. Ron asked them where we could get the highway – and we were treated to a great Italian oration. The man was very expressive – and totally incomprehensible to us. It was an impasse. Finally he motioned to a man in a panel truck and explained the problem. That man opened his passenger-side door, said “follow me”, and off we went. We drove for a while and then he stopped at an intersection (green light and all) and explained with the help of his arms that we needed to make a U-turn and then we’d be able to get onto the highway. We thanked him and drove on – only to find that we got onto that ring road going in the wrong direction. So we got off and after a short scenic drive, found the correct direction. We’re getting really good at getting lost. That is, at not getting nervous about being lost.

At exit one, just before the autostrada was a huge supermarket in a mall setting. Carrefour is one of the best, and we were all excited to find it – though a bit confused about where we could park since it had the unfortunate 2 meter high barrier. We drove around to the back and found a parking lot we could use. It required lots of stairs because the supermarket seemed to be at the top of a parking garage and a mall. Things are rarely what they seem. The sign was at the top, but once we got up there, we had to go down a different way to get a basket and then we found that the Carrefour at the top level was all clothing and household goods. We had to go downstairs for food. Confusion, confusion.

But we shopped and checked out. Went upstairs because there was no entrance to our parking lot from the supermarket floor, and then found we had to take the basket downstairs, walk up and across the mall to get to the exit we needed. By then we were cursing Italian mall designers, but we got to the car, unpacked the groceries and started to get back onto the highway. Don’t even ask. We followed all the signs but it must have taken us ten or fifteen minutes of driving just to get back onto the road. They kept routing us around and around – we have never seen such a complicated cloverleaf in our lives. Fortunately, we followed the signs and eventually, we did get onto the road to Florence.

That sounds a bit easier than it was. We were really glad we planned to go on the autostrada because we had to go through a whole mountain chain to get to Florence. There was a smaller road that also went there, but that would have been very hard on us and even harder on the Italian drivers in back of us! We were very glad to pay the toll. In fact, we were surprised it was so little. We must have gone through twenty tunnels!

Before we go further, we need to make a few general comments about Italy and Italians. We already noted that talking is a National Sport. We stand by that observation. The fact is that we love Italy, though it does have some oddities. For example, as we walked through Florence on day two, we saw a hair salon and we stopped. Adelle needed a haircut. The sign on the door proclaimed that they were open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 1700 (5 p.m.). It was 10:30 a.m. We stopped in – but the young man cleaning the floor said to return at noon when the place will open! What did we miss?

Italians are very helpful. It wasn’t only the construction guy and the truck driver. When we bought a telephone card, we couldn’t get it to work. We looked at each other and at the incomprehensible message on the telephone. The man in the next booth came out, pulled out my card, broke off the correct piece and we were in business. When we are standing looking at a map, help is offered. When we can’t figure out anything, someone will step in. It’s a nice feeling.

The other thing about Italy is the amount of time we end up standing and waiting, and what seems to us to be irrational uses of time. We already mentioned the bus in Verona that came 70 minutes late. Why was it scheduled so early in the first place? After waiting for an hour in the campground, we still had to wait two hours before the performance began. In Bologna, the bus ran from the campground directly to the downtown area. Very convenient, except that it only ran every two hours. The trip in either direction took 20 minutes. What in the world did they do with the bus driver and the bus for the next hour and a half?

But people who insist on coming to Italy in August probably have no right to complain. There are unbelievable numbers of tourists everywhere. In fact, we hear many Americans talking as we pass them on the streets and in museums. Venice was loaded with tourists. Besides Americans there were tourists from Italy and every country in Europe. There are also large numbers of Asians – often in large tour groups. We’ve met people from all over – including Australia and New Zealand. When we originally decided to go to Italy earlier than we had planned, we were worried about the temperature. It would never have occurred to us to worry about the number of tourists because we had no idea how many people come to Italy for vacations. Although we have traveled a lot, we have never seen anything like this!

We think this will change next week – when people start to go home from vacation and children need to be in school. We’ll still be in Italy for a while longer. It will be interesting to see if the number of tourists goes down.

When we look at the facilities offered at a campground, we are always ambivalent about the presence of a bar on the premises. This is high season and there are many young people touring Europe by bus. They spend the day in the city and then come to the campground to occupy their tents. Entertainment is needed. When there is a bar available on site, the noise level is often disturbing. Ron calls it Bar Babble. More like Bar Battle!

We’ve spent a lot of time looking for signs in Italy. There are rarely separate street name signs – just a little plaque on the side of the building. A not too obvious plaque that requires effort to find! Other street signs too are a bit too discrete for our taste. There are always signs indicating the presence of a campground, for example. But since it is small and inconspicuous, it is easy to miss. And there are no signs indicating a major museum that can be seen from across the square. You need to be right there to notice the building name in small print. The same is true of Tourist Information offices.

Actual highway signs, though, are terrific. They tell you what is coming up, and then warn you at 700 meters, at 500 meters, at 100 meters, etc. Arrows always indicate the number of lanes going to a particular destination. If a lane is going to disappear, the arrows on the sign will let you know. When necessary, city names will be indicated in large white letters on the roadway itself, so you know which lane to get into. If it wasn’t for the ubiquitous construction, we’d have no problem at all.

That’s it for now. Tune in soon for Firenze (also known as Florence).

Adelle & Ron

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