The past week has been yet another wild ride for us Ramages and our BC group. This weekend students went all around Europe, with some going to Germany, others to Spain, others to Poland, and others–like us–traveling within Italy. Our choice for the weekend was Venice, which more than surpassed my expectations. Unlike some other Italian towns, the cat has long been out of the bag when it comes to Venice’s beauty. Indeed, the hordes of tourists and cruise ships that pile into the island town daily can be annoying, but once you remember that you too are one of those tourists and just accept that most great sites are like this, it is no problem.
For me, the best part of Venice is just walking around and taking the vaporetto (boat) around the lagoon to take in the rustic beauty of the old palaces and churches sitting on the water. Saint Mark’s Basilica is of course great. I am a big fan of Eastern-style churches and art, and this one fits the bill as it was constructed with the experience of Venetians who knew the East and who had gone on Crusades. (In fact, some if the infamous deeds of Christian Crusaders were committed precisely by the Venetians!) It’s great to go into an Italian church and see icons of the Pantocrator and the Descent into Hades. Then of course St. Mark is buried there, having been “rescued” from Alexandria by the Venetians who needed a big saint for their big empire.
Another one of my favorite parts of the weekend: Sopresa Veneta. No, it’s not a church. It’s meat, a specialty of the region which we bought on the cheap along with some cheese and bread for an outdoor lunch in front of the train station on our way home. The simple things in life, like a nice view of a body of water or a tasty panino, are sometimes the best.
Oh, by the way: some pictures below are of a BBQ with some new Italian friends of ours. It was a bizarre and providential feast. So Jen goes on the internet looking for some kids Julia can play with, and she finds a site with an Italian mom asking to see if any English-speaking toddlers in Florence would be around to play with her kid. We give her a call, and she says to come over the next day for a BBQ. I wondered what she meant by this term. When we arrived, it turned out that this day was this family’s annual “American BBQ” day, wherein they all dress in red, white, and blue, put out American flags, and grill out American style. It was a welcome treat to have chesseburgers and hot dogs in the company of America-loving Italians.
- Original Florence baptistery doors, now in the Duomo museum
- Nice late p.m. shot of the Duomo, etc.
- Palazzo Vecchio with David at bottom
- American BBQ spread
- This Italian setting for grilling is slightly different from mine at home
- Great, typical Italian gathering—only this one with a USA theme
- Julia having fun at the American party
- Nice Duomo view from our friends’ place
- Julia, her friend Giovanni, and their cat-friend
- Going into the castle grounds for an amazing “American BBQâ€
- Julia doing yoga with the students (pose 2)
- Julia doing yoga with the students (pose 1)
- Nice late-afternoon shot of our villa’s terrace
- Another view of the palace
- Little castle down the street from our villa where Jen meets a family for a children’s play group
- Michelangelo’s other Pieta, unfinished but still amazing
- Donatello’s Abraham and Isaac—notice the expression on Abe’s face
- Donatello’s Mary Magdalene—what point in her life do you think he is depicting?
- Breakfast brought to our room in the Venice hotel (they often do this because there is no space for a dining room)
- View down to a side canal from our hotel room
- Covered walkway Venetian prisoners walked on the way to their deaths, giving them one last chance to look out over the city they will would never see again
- Doge’s Palace, former governing center of superpower Ventian empire
- Nice side canal
- Other side of the Ponte Vecchio at the same time
- Ramages on Florence’s famous Ponte Vecchio
- Manning the baby on the train—even the fast trains are not quite fast enough!
- Ramages on our hotel’s rooftop terrace
- A Venetian fire “truckâ€
- Daytime traffic on the Grand Canal
- Nice side canal
- Nice illustration of Venice’s water traffic, with 4 ships—including one massive cruise liner—in a small space
- Our kids with Grandma Harms (Grandpa was also there)
- Classic Joseph aboard the back of a vaporetto
- A church façade unfinished after its builders ran out of money
- Notice the pilot of the gondola having to duck his head under the bridge
- One of hundreds of great views down Venice’s side canals
- My favorite view in Vence—not famous, but just right
- Vaporetti and gandole on the Grand Canal at night
- One of many waterfront palaces illuminated at night for visitors to feast their eyes on
- Live glass workshop demo on the island of Murano. This guy made an intricate horse in a matter of a couple minutes
- The Grand Canal from atop Venice’s famous Rialto Bridge
- One of the best meats I’ve ever tasted (right)