kimbofo

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?

Under a Venetian moon

Place: Piazzetta dei Leoncini (just off St Mark's Square), Venice, Italy.
Date: Sunday, October 29, 2006.
Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC-W1.

We'd spent our first full day in Venice traversing the city on foot, and had enjoyed a late lunch/early dinner in a cafe behind St Mark's Square, when we stumbled out into the deep blue light of a descending dusk.

It was magic to see the campanile and St Mark's Basilica all aglow, but when we turned the corner by the Doges Palace and entered the Piazzetta dei Leoncini, which is open to the waterfront, I could feel my heart leap into my mouth. The view was spectacular. Just seeing the column on which the winged lion of Saint Mark stands made me realise that yes, I was indeed in Venice! With a silvery sliver of moon shining down on us, it felt slightly surreal, as if we'd been transported back in time to the Venetian Gothic found in history books.

I took many photographs, snapping away with and without my flash (and no tripod!), but this is about the only one that turned out reasonably okay. I love the silhouette of the lion. Apparantly Napolean's troops hauled the statue to Paris in 1797, but it was returned in 1815, albeit with some leg damage -- not that you can tell from this distance!

Cacti collection in a Venetian window box

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

I'm always fascinated by the plants that people choose to grow in their window boxes, but this is the first time I've ever seen a collection of cacti.  At first I wondered if I had somehow been miraculously transported to Mexico or somewhere similiar! It seemed kind of ironic to see these kinds of desert plants when I was exploring such a damp, water-abundant city. But they look great, don't they?

Shop window

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

The shop windows in some parts of Venice are . . . well . . . intriguing. I really have no idea what this particular shop in the Academia part of the city sold, apart from weird masks and figurines. It never seemed to be open, no matter what time of day or night we wandered past it.