A whole box of chocolates
Sep. 12th, 2009 10:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sacredchaoDearest LJ, I have been slack. I meant to post each day but we’ve been walking in the door and falling over and quite frankly I couldn’t be bothered.
My initial impressions of Verona were correct in as much that it’s a bit of a display village, at least as far as that part of town goes. The same goes double for Venice. Our tourist guide book has a Truman Capote quote that says something like “Visiting Venice is like eating a whole box of liquor chocolates in one go.”. He knew wherof he spoke. We’ve been here for three days and barely scratched the surface. Do come here and see it before you die…you really really must, but then flee as we’re doing and see some of Italy that isn’t completely focused on i touristi. God, it’s pretty though. We saw the basilica today. Insane mosaics, beautiful floors and a collection of exquisite treasures collected over the ages that defy belief. We went to the top of the bell tower in Piazza San Marco and looked out over Venice in all directions. We visited Casa d’oro which started off in the 12th century and seems to be one of the few buildings in Venice that wasn’t destroyed by a huge fire in the early 16th century. I think what I’ve enjoyed most though is just wandering the streets of Venice. There are a thousand back alleys and tiny passages and sotoporteges that lead into small campos (there is only one piazza in Venice and that’s San Marco) or stop at a small canal and each one manages to present a fantastic scene, no matter how decrepit because you’re looking at a series of 16thC Venetian houses and the amazing clutter of centuries that they’ve accumulated without destroying their essential character.
Visit Venice. Don’t argue, just go there. Having gushed about it, I’m still not sure that I actually like it. It’s gorgeous and fascinating and I’m incredibly glad we came but at the same time it is so tourist focused and so clogged with the tourists on which it focuses that there’s not much that isn’t directing you to either Piazza San Marco or Rialto and there’s almost no escape from vendors wanting to sell you a bag with “Ciao Bella” in the Coca Cola script. This makes those little back alleys even more appealing. Still, it was a marvelous thing to see and we’re off to Ravenna tomorrow.
Incidentally, if you ever find yourself in Italy, eat pizza. It’s not quite like Australian pizza and it’s all the better for it. Simpler, lighter and much better. And when you start thinking of ham on pizza, it’s prosciutto cruda, not the crap we use. Un’ pizza prosciutto e mezzo litro di birra is not a healthy diet but it’s a great way to end the day.
My feet hurt.
My initial impressions of Verona were correct in as much that it’s a bit of a display village, at least as far as that part of town goes. The same goes double for Venice. Our tourist guide book has a Truman Capote quote that says something like “Visiting Venice is like eating a whole box of liquor chocolates in one go.”. He knew wherof he spoke. We’ve been here for three days and barely scratched the surface. Do come here and see it before you die…you really really must, but then flee as we’re doing and see some of Italy that isn’t completely focused on i touristi. God, it’s pretty though. We saw the basilica today. Insane mosaics, beautiful floors and a collection of exquisite treasures collected over the ages that defy belief. We went to the top of the bell tower in Piazza San Marco and looked out over Venice in all directions. We visited Casa d’oro which started off in the 12th century and seems to be one of the few buildings in Venice that wasn’t destroyed by a huge fire in the early 16th century. I think what I’ve enjoyed most though is just wandering the streets of Venice. There are a thousand back alleys and tiny passages and sotoporteges that lead into small campos (there is only one piazza in Venice and that’s San Marco) or stop at a small canal and each one manages to present a fantastic scene, no matter how decrepit because you’re looking at a series of 16thC Venetian houses and the amazing clutter of centuries that they’ve accumulated without destroying their essential character.
Visit Venice. Don’t argue, just go there. Having gushed about it, I’m still not sure that I actually like it. It’s gorgeous and fascinating and I’m incredibly glad we came but at the same time it is so tourist focused and so clogged with the tourists on which it focuses that there’s not much that isn’t directing you to either Piazza San Marco or Rialto and there’s almost no escape from vendors wanting to sell you a bag with “Ciao Bella” in the Coca Cola script. This makes those little back alleys even more appealing. Still, it was a marvelous thing to see and we’re off to Ravenna tomorrow.
Incidentally, if you ever find yourself in Italy, eat pizza. It’s not quite like Australian pizza and it’s all the better for it. Simpler, lighter and much better. And when you start thinking of ham on pizza, it’s prosciutto cruda, not the crap we use. Un’ pizza prosciutto e mezzo litro di birra is not a healthy diet but it’s a great way to end the day.
My feet hurt.
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(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-12 08:40 pm (UTC)Hope you're enjoying northern Italy: I've been to Florence, Bologna, Venice, and Trieste a couple of years ago, lovely country.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-13 04:58 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-13 01:28 am (UTC)Ms J sends her regards. She was asking if we had heard from you two since your departure.
We'll miss you this afternoon at Baker's Guild.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-13 02:36 am (UTC)Are you going to get to see any of the little islands nearby? Apparently they are quite interesting.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-13 04:58 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-13 09:41 am (UTC)Granted, where I currently live, my proscuitto sits in a deli presliced (the staff are too lazy to slice it for me on demand) for an unknown amount of days before I can buy it.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-15 05:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-15 05:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-15 08:42 am (UTC)