Our Arrival in Venice

We arrived from Frankfurt at Venice Marco Polo Airport on Thursday evening, May 14 and passed through immigration and customs, with nary a glance at our passports! Hail to the European Union! We had excellent and rapid bus service right into the heart of Venice at the Piazzale di Roma, which is the bus hub. The Piazzale is across the bridge from the Santa Lucia train station and right next to the Water Bus ('Vaporetto') hub. The first thing we had to do was head for the Ponte near the Giardini Papadopoli Tollentini to pick up the keys to our flat. We were so exhausted that I waited on the bridge with the luggage, entranced by the gondolas and life on the water below, while Spud went to the office to pick up the keys.

When he returned, we walked to the nearby Vaporetto station and bought a ticket for the water bus to Giardini. I headed to the back of the boat and we found two seats on the stern and plenty of room for our luggage. What followed was brilliant - a wonderful and refreshing 40-minute boat tour through the heart of Venice. What an enchanting city! there was no spot that did not require an "oooh" or "ahhh." The light, the architecture, the people, the boats, the gondolas, the everything. It was like stepping into a postcard!

It took us quite some time to get to our apartment once we left the Giardini water stop. We meandered through a beautiful park to the Via Garibaldi and along a little canal with picturesque homes and shops on either side. We found the Campo di San Pietro - a charming green square with a beautiful old church and campanile.

Our apartment overlooked this lovely venue and also offered a view of the little bridge over the Canale di San Pietro with its attendant boats and the wall of the Arsenale (il Castello) rising beyond.

The first night we were not in much of a position to enjoy it as we were exhausted and jet-lagged. We took a hot bath and had a nap before heading out for some dinner at a local trattoria (La Nuova Esperanza) across the footbridge in Campo Luga. And so to bed...

The next morning (venerdi, il 15 maggio) we were awakened by the Campanile tolling Matins (I assume), although it wasn't until 0800, and was perhaps a call to mass instead. In mid-morning we ventured forth to the Via Garibaldi and did some shopping for groceries. We were concerned that we would not have enough Euros, but we seemed to be on a roll and were able not only to charge our groceries but to hit the ATMs for multiple cash infusions.

In the late afternoon, our friends Peter and Wies Gysi
arrived from Bern, Switzerland to a joyful reunion. Babs has known the Gysis since the 1960s. They were married 40 years ago while staying for a few days in her apartment in Washington. The new arrivals rested up a bit and unpacked and then we were off for a beer on the via Garibaldi. We had a snack there and then wandered down to the quay and through Venice's Castello region, followed by dinner at a trattoria at the entrance to the Arsenale. We had great fun stopping at one shop or another to acquire cheeses and meats and bread and lovely stuff. Our ace in the hole was Peter Gysi, who speaks five languages, including fluent Italian. We found, in any event, that many people in Venice--and Italy as a whole--speak English. It seems to be the lingua franca for the international tourist community.

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Barbara S. Malone
The Queensbury Press