kimbofo

The naked ceiling

Place: Palazzo Abadessa, Venice, Italy.
Date: March 2, 2012.
Camera: Panasonic TZ3.

You're lying in bed. You look up. You're dazzled by a glass chandelier. Beyond that lies a painting that covers the entire ceiling. There's so much going on in the picture you don't know what to focus on first — every time you look at it you see something different. There's cherubs. And flowers. And all kinds of curlicues and scrollwork.

And then you notice that the woman, who sits in the middle of the painting, is baring her breasts...

A surprise trip to Venice

Place: Venice, Italy.
Date: March 1, 2012.
Camera: Panasonic TZ3.

On the last Wednesday in February I was told to have my suitcase packed by 1pm and await further instructions. I didn't know where we were going, only that it would be for three nights. I didn't know if our destination was somewhere in the UK or further abroad. I had an inkling that it would be a town in Kent (T's county of choice) or perhaps Hay-on-Wye or maybe even Snowdonia, in Wales.

When I received a text message at about 10am to meet T at Victoria Station, platform 12, at around 1.45pm I figured my hunch about Kent was probably right. It didn't occur to me that the Gatwick Express departs from Victoria. And nor did it occur to me that the "platform 12" might be a red herring. (I discovered that the trains from platform 12 go to London Bridge via an incredibly convuluted circuitous route.)

When we boarded the train to Gatwick Airport, I was still none the wiser as to where we were going to be spending the next few days. Even as we checked in the luggage, I had no idea. But when I accidentally saw the baggage label being attached to my suitcase with the destination code "VCE" I knew we were headed to Venice, Italy. Cue excitement!

I have been to Venice twice before, but on the last trip I had a chest infection that morphed into pneumonia and most of my time was spent in a feverish blur as I coughed my lungs up and tried not to die. This time, however, would be different!

To be continued...

Memories of Venice

 

Place: Venice.
Date: October 29, 2006.
Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC-W1.

Prompted by the news that Venetians held a mock funeral for their city yesterday (because the population has dipped below 60,000), I decided to hunt out some of my Venice photographs. I've been to Venice twice -- for a few days in 2002 and a week in 2006 -- and it remains one of my favourite places on the planet.

This photographs was snapped on that second trip (in which I came down with a rather nasty case of pneumonia). You can see my two Venice galleries on smugmug or check out some of my favourite piccies on my general blog.

Campanile from a distance

Place: Venice, Italy.
Date: Monday, October 30, 2006.
Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC-W1.

With the Salute church at your back, this is the view across the water to St Mark's Square. Amazing, isn't it?

Campanile and St Mark's Basilica

Place: St Mark's Square, Venice, Italy.
Date: Sunday, October 29, 2006.
Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC-W1.

Late afternoon. We push our way through a maze of narrow shopping alleys filled with dozy go-slow tourists. Eventually we find ourselves in a covered walkway and then, almost before we know it, we are stepping out into St Mark's Square where two of the world's most famous landmarks beckon. It's like accidentally stumbling onto a movie set and I have to pinch myself, because it doesn't seem quite real. Between the pigeons and the twin orchestras on either side of the piazza, I don't know what to photograph, so settle for this stereotypical view. Judging by the number of other tourists around me with cameras at the ready, I'm not the only one who has a photograph like this in their collection.

Wooden bridge

Place: Venice, Italy.
Date: Sunday, October 29, 2006.
Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC-W1.

Wooden bridges are few and far between in Venice. This one is located in the Accademia/Saint Croce area.

Wrought-iron bridge

Place: Venice, Italy.
Date: Monday, October 30, 2006.
Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC-W1.

Venice is dotted with countless bridges, some of them more elaborate than others. This bridge, directly opposite the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, was unusual in that it looked very new: the concrete arch seemed too clean, the wrought-iron detail too black. And, unfortunately, it did not lead anywhere, except the front door of a private residence -- to which I did not have a key!

Hanging out the washing, Venice-style

Place: Canal near the Jewish Ghetto, Venice, Italy.
Date: Tuesday, October 31, 2006.
Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC-W1.

My, what long arms Venetians must have to hang their washing on lines so high! I'm joking, of course.

There's nothing more satisfying than seeing freshly washed clothes flapping in the wind. But these washing lines, connected to one of the exterior walls of the Jewish Ghetto, were kind of special. Why? Because I imagine residents have been hanging out their underwear and bed sheets in this way for centuries.

That's the thing about Venice. Without cars and other wheeled-traffic to remind you what century you're in, it's easy to lose sense of time, to feel as if you've been sucked into some other era from the distant past. And if you saw a Lord Byron or Casanova-type character flitting past, you wouldn't blink an eyelid.

Venetian goodies

Place: Venice, Italy.
Date: Tuesday, October 31, 2006.
Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC-W1.

I can't be entirely sure, but I think this shop was located on the Strada Nuova in Cannaregio. I just remember stopping and admiring the cakes and pastries in the window -- they looked so good!

Unfortunately, because I'm not very well versed in Venetian treats and had no appetite at the time (due to chest infection rapidly turning into pneumonia), I didn't step inside to buy any of these goodies. I'm kicking myself now, of course. Just look at all those yummy things!

Blue

Place: Santa Croce, Venice, Italy.
Date: Sunday, October 29, 2006.
Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC-W1.

It's not often I can be bothered kneeling down to take a photograph, but I did in this instance, because I wanted to focus on the boat in the foreground while capturing the reflections in the grey-green water and the boats parked on the other side of the canal. The only way I could do this was to get the knees of my jeans dirty. The things we do in the pursuit of a good photograph, right?