The Nerd's Eye View

It was as impressive as I thought it would be, and lived up to all my expectations. The whole thing was terribly remarkable, if only for being an ancient city that was essentially unchanged in the modern world. While there is something of the Disney/theme park feel, it is undercut by the fact that this place functions: there are drinks and food delivered to the restaurants; hotels have supplies; and newsstands have periodicals. Where does it all come from? It's quite impressive in that regard.

Traveling to my hotel turned out not to be as difficult as I had thought it would, although I'd be lying if I said I figured it out myself (the addressing system alone on the damned island is mystifying). But I was soon on a vaporetto , or water bus, to the Saint Mark's area and then trudging through narrow alleyways to my hotel (this place has no wide streets to speak of at all - it's all just narrow alleys, some hiding amazing places.

aside: No wonder the Venetians ruled the seas! You can smell the sea at any canal. Two trips on the vaporetto and had to work to regain my land legs on arrival. Imagine living there all the time...

I didn't have much time in the city so I spent the majority of my time in the Piazza San Marco and specifically in the Doge's Palace. What an amazing place that is - I had no idea that the role of the Doge was mostly as a figurehead for the Senate and the various other councils that ruled Venice. It's amazing that they lasted so long and were so powerful with their government as complex as it was. Finally the scene in Othello where he is called back before the Council of Ten to finalize the plans for attacking Cyprus make sense. The Venetian Republic put a lot of work into projecting their strength, first to their citizens and then to the external world. Mind you I am exactly the type of mind they were trying to impress I think since that sort of "majesty and strength of the State" stuff always gets me.

I wandered around the city on foot, to get a feel for the place. It's labyrinthine and confusing. I can't imagine growing up here and learning to find your way back home from the corner store. There is a system - sort of - and you can get around by following the signs to the bridges that cross the Grand Canal, but there's a nagging feeling that there's a better way to get around. Still I can't complain too much, without all that walking around I wouldn't have happened upon a live band playing Glenn Miller's In the Mood in a piazza - wonderful.

The last thing I'll mention is dinner, where I found a place right by the hotel and was seated out front. I ate in silence, just watching the crowds, and trying to savor my food. The couple that was seated next to me, Stuart and Linda, turned and started to talk to me. I was so taken aback that it took me a few minutes to calm down and have a proper conversation, but when I got into it I was quite pleased. They were British and Scottish respectively and quite down to earth and pleasant. We ended up talking a lot longer than I thought, and looking back at it I see what happens when I say 'Yes'.