Decadence or Class and Culture? You decide!

Wow!  Two days in Venezia.  Makes me sort of sad I went to Hamilton instead of Venice High School.  It's like Water World meets Disney.  So much tourism, so many canals.   We did the gondola ride, had too!  I tried to compare it to Napels in Long Beach.  Here's the big difference.  In Long Beach, the Gondoliers may sing and they may be good at what they do.  In Venezia, they sing, they show you Marco Polo's house, Mozarts house and garden, Jockomo, or Cassanova's house plus palaces and churches build in the 1400 & 1500's.  In Long Beach we got the Captain Morgan pirate guy and the 2nd Streed Bridge.  Nuff said.




Marco, our gondolier

I think Chris and I took about 500 pictures in Venice alone.  It was Carnival time.  Masks, costumes and confetti everywhere.  Wine coming out of fountains.  On Sunday, the tide rose up about 2 meters more than usual and the St Mark Square was partially submerged.  People didn't care because the city puts up raised sidewalks to walk through the square.   I think this happens a lot since the city is officially or unofficially sinking depending on who you talk to and who you want to believe.    

Us at St Marcos Square

Me and someone from Cleveland

I have no idea!

Food?  Well, we had been on the cheap since arriving in Venice.  So we treated ourselves to fresh seafood of clams, mussels, langostini and calamari with spaghetti and a whole sea bass grilled crispy.  A great Chardonnay from the Dolemites and for dessert and Sacher Tort as well as Mascarpone with Amaretto.  A nice tab, but we had not splurged in some time.    Yes, that is the fish head on my plate. 

Probably one of the highlights of our Venice stay was a tribute concert we attended to a Venezia native son, Antonio Vivaldi.  Two Concerto's and his Le Quattro Stagioni or Vivaldi's Four Seasons at the Ateneo St. Basso church. 

Class and Culture.  Bravo!