Venice

June 4, 2016

We check out of the Boscolo Excedra Roma to make our voyage to the Boscolo Venezia. We are taking the train - the Frecciargento, or La Frecce, which travels on both the high-speed and traditional rail lines. It is about a 3 1/2-hour trip, and we arrive in the Venice train station around 1:00 P.M. We walk out of the train station and are pleased to see several vaporetti, or water taxis, just a few feet away. We select a taxi, then walk onto the dock to board. As the taxi driver is loading our bags into the boat, I lose my balance and nearly fall off the dock! The rest of our ride is (thankfully) uneventful, and we arrive at the hotel, which is located in the Sestiere Cannaregioa, a quiet section of Venice away from the tourist areas. We check in, unpack, then take a walk around the neighborhood near the hotel, which is picturesque and charming. We have a late lunch at the Trattoria Ai Do Fradei, which was recommended by the hotel's concierge. Afterwards, we take the hotel's shuttle boat to St. Mark's Square, which is packed with tourists. We spend some time walking around, taking in the sights: the Campanile, or Bell Tower (top left and bottom right pictures on page 160), with its gold statue of the Archangel Gabriel; St. Mark's Basilica (top right picture on page 160 and bottom left picture on page 161); the Torre dell'Orologio, or Clock Tower (bottom left picture on page
160); and the Doge's Palace (top row and bottom right pictures on page 161).

June 5, 2016

Today we are taking the train to visit Flavio Cecchin, a distant cousin of Gary's mother, who lives in Castelfranco, an hour's ride northeast of Venice. We get off the train to find Flavio and his 17-year old Mercedes (page 162) waiting for us. We make the 45-minute drive from the train station to Sant' Eulalia to pick up Flavio's lovely long-time companion, whose name unfortunately escapes us (top and bottom pictures on page 163). Flavio treats us to lunch at the Ristorante Al Molinetto, then he takes us on a driving tour of the local area, which includes viewing some trees which feature memorials to members of the Italian Resistance who were hanged here in World War II (middle row pictures on page 163).

June 5, 2016 (Continued)

We stop for a while at the home of Flavio's companion, then head back to Castelfranco, where we go to Flavio's house. He shows us his garage. where he used to raise chickens (he still keeps a few for old times' sake!), then we go inside (bottom of page 164) for a glass of his home-made wine (he gives us a bottle to bring back with us). After a while, he takes us back to the train station, where we say our good-byes and we head back to Venice. One of the lasting memories of meeting Flavio will be the sound of the ever-present turn signal on his Mercedes, which he obviously has learned to ignore. We (but not Flavio, or maybe he was just ignoring it) heard more than a few horns being honked by the irritated drivers behind him who had no idea if or when he was planning to turn!

June 6, 2016

Toady is our last full day in Venice and we try to make the most of it. First, we visit the Jewish Ghetto (top two rows on page 166), with its Holocaust memorials and bronze placques commemorating the spot where the Nazis rounded up 200 Jews for deportation (only eight returned). The bronze placque in the third row left picture on page 166 reads:

"Men, women, children, masses for the gas chambers
Advancing toward the horror beneath the whip of the executioner,
Your sad holocaust is engraved in history
And nothing shall purge your deaths from our memories,
For our memories are your only grave."

We drop into an art gallery owned by the artist Tony Green (bottom left picture on page 166), who was born in Naples but raised in New Orleans. On the way to the Al Fontego Dei Pescatori for lunch (top left picture on page 168),

June 6, 2016 (Continued)

we encounter the "Oliver Hardy" half of a Laurel and Hardy street act on his way to a performance (bottom right picture on page 167). The store in the bottom left picture on page 167 is just one of many that we saw in Venice selling masks for Carnevale di Venezia, which is renowned for its elaborate masks. After lunch, we visit the "Time Space Existence" exhibit at the European Cultural Centre, part of the 15th International Architecture Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia (page 168 and top left picture on page 169). It was a really fascinating multimedia look at current developments and thoughts in architecture, highlighting "the fundamental philosophical concepts of time, space and existence." I'm not sure what we

June 6, 2016 (Continued)

were supposed to get out of it, but it certainly was fun and interesting. I couldn't help but wonder what my father would have thought of it! We go for dinner at a restaurant that features music (page 169), and I have my third and most delicious meal of cacio e pepe. This time, the chef appears with a huge wheel of pecorino cheese, into which he spoons the hot pasta, which mixes with the cheese, with the help of the chef. As evident by the smile on my face (middle left picture on page 169), it was incredible! The pictures on pages 170-172 are some of our favorite scenes from Venice, including the Church of Madonna dell'Orto (top left picture on page 171), and the Boscolo Venezia and its beautiful Murano glass chandeliers (bottom right picture on page 170).

June 7, 2016

We have to get up at an ungodly hour to catch our British Airways flight, which leaves at 7:20 A.M. We have booked a private vaporetto/water taxi, (which costs us an arm and a leg) to make the 1/2-hour voyage to the Venice airport, from where we take our leave of this lovely country.

Arrivederci, Italia!