Dia Undici…Waterbuses, Yachts, The Lido, Swallowing Venice Whole

Our final cruise on the Grand Canal.
 Not sure which of the many churches this is. 

 This is our last full day in Venice and I just want to swallow it whole. I know I’ve mentioned it before; I LOVE this city! Everywhere I look there are sights that stir my artist and I take hundreds of pictures hoping to capture what is always fleeting, the light, a particular architectural detail, a canal disappearing around a bend.

We awaken to the bells at 8:00 a.m. announcing it is time for the city to get about its business. I have no idea if there are earlier ones, but for a full five minutes, church bells ring enthusiastically. They repeat this at noon and 6 p.m. bringing an order, along with music to the day.

Across the alley from our apartment is a primary school. Mothers and Nonas (Grandmothers) and a few Fathers drop their children at school. Sometimes they don’t want to go and wailing, yelling and sometimes smacking occurs – in both directions. It can be a very dramatic thing being dropped at school.

Once the kids are in school the alley fills with deliveries from the canal to our left, to Via Garibaldi on our right where there are two groceries, a fresh fish market that pops up and disappears most days and several other stores.

Yesterday, at the end of our street a yacht was tied up that we though very impressive. It had six smaller boats, runabouts and power boats mounted on its decks. Play toys, we assume. Well, today, that yacht has been put to shame by a HUGE private ship that is as long as the full block to which it is tied, five decks high, and with only two smaller boats mounted on it, but they look like cigarette boats! The whole thing sparkles as if just taken out of the shrink wrap. Amazing, we will Google the name – Musashi – registered in George Towne in the Cayman Islands when we get reliable access to the internet.*

Today we will spend a good part of the day on the vaporetti enjoying the water and the views. The rhythm of being in a smaller boat on the water is one that feeds me. It is like making love to the ocean; it affects me deeply. We take the Number 1 route down the Grand Canal, to the Railway Station stop, then shop our way back to St. Mark’s square of the smaller side streets. I am successful in buying a purse from a market stall, but Dennis does not find the light jacket or shoes he wants.

Tired of the stores and the crowds, we jump a waterbus and head to the Lido, another island, but one with cars and buses. On the way there, standing on the deck and enjoying the view, there is an audible “ping” like a puck hitting the goal post in hockey, but it is Dennis’ sunglasses that attach by magnets to his glasses. Goodbye, have a fun swim in the Adriatic!

We walk the width of the Lido and arrive at a powdered sand beach that is obviously a huge destination for beach lovers, because there are thousands, literally, of beach umbrellas, and little huts with chairs and sunshades covering all but the sand closest to the water. I wade in the Adriatic and among the familiar seashells we find unusual ones like razor clams. The view out to sea includes three of the America’s Cup boats checking the seas for the races in a few days time.

We stroll back toward the waterbus stop, enjoying the flowers, gardens, canals and residential areas. We agree we would live in the Lido if we moved here. Bicycles were everywhere and the atmosphere felt clam and gracious.

Deciding we would eat on this side of the water, I choose a place because I am tired of walking and need a rest stop. Mistake! We have the worst dinner of our trip so far, but it doesn’t bum us out for long.

On the boat back, we decide to stop at the apartment to get an extra layer to warm us in the chill that always comes when the sun goes down by the ocean.  Then we cruise the Grand Canal in both directions, so lucky to get the very front seats on the open air boats, each way. We watch the sun set and the lights come on. So lovely, I try to absorb it all in case this is our only time here.

Back at the apartment we sip wine, pack cases and set alarms. Tomorrow we head to Florence and the adventure changes venues once more.

* Turns out, the yacht is owned by Larry Elliston, it is 88 metres long, and cost in the neighbourhood of $98 million. Its sister ship, The Fountainhead is owned by Mark Cuban, one of the guys on the show The Shark Tank and a billionaire.