It is the city of mirrors, the city of mirages, at once solid and liquid, at once air and stone."---Erica Jong
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Day 14 and 15
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Venice to Rome |
Our train back to Rome didn't leave until noon, so we had a few hours to soak in more of the Venetian splendor. The sun was out and the sky was a brilliant blue. We climb to the top of the Campanile di San Marco, which lucky for us was only about 10 steps up to the elevator. Gotta love those Italian elevators. After all that walking it was nice to save our breath because the view from the top was breathtaking. Venice is so crowded with tiny streets, meandering canals, and an over abundance of tourists, it was nice to get another perspective. We could see how the city was laid out and how the Grand Canal snaked around and through the different neighborhoods. We could see the lido, the cruise ship terminal and a few of the other outlaying islands.
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Farewell Sweet VeniceWe were leaving Venice shortly and took advantage of the nicest weather of our trip as we take another lap around the city in another overpriced water taxi. There were blue skies, cool dry temps, and a gentle breeze to see us off. We first stopped to watch the high tide seep in through the stone pavers in St. Mark's Square flooding the vestibule of the cathedral and raising the tourists up on elevated walkways. We zipped through the Grand Canal passing the impressive palaces that line the waterway and ducked under the pretty bridges arching overhead.
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Did you know?
450: The number of palaces in Venice 150: The number of canals in Venice 400: The number of gondoliers in Venice 1.2 millimeters per year: The rate Venice is sinking 201: The number of churches in Venice 2010: The year Venice got its first female gondolier 115: The number of islands in Venice 6: The number of neighborhoods or sestieris in Venice 404: The number of pedestrian footbridges in Venice |
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Back in Rome
We arrive back in Rome and sadly had only a few hours to see a few more sights before heading home first thing in the morning. From our hotel we walked over to the Spanish Steps and saw Bernini's recently restored Fontana della Barcaccia, aka Ugly Boat Fountain. We took another look at the incredible Pantheon, stopped at Trajan's Column, and strolled the fashionable Via Dei Condotti. We enjoyed our final Roman dinner at a sweet little outdoor cafe surrounded by glamorous designer boutiques, followed by one last gelato.
Getting lost......very lost, in Rome, again.
There are worse places to get lost than in Rome. As a matter of fact we never felt unsafe at any time. All we were trying to do is get back to our hotel. Sound familiar? And the sad thing is we actually had a map, a real map this time, Streetwise Rome. Just when we thought we were making progress we'd pass a monument or statue or fountain that we'd already passed. We circled the Victor Emmanuel Monument at least three times. We passed the Circus Maximus at least twice. The fourth time past the The Marcello Theater we knew we needed help. But thanks to the kindness of strangers, (it took several strangers to get us there), we finally made it after about two hours of circling around and around. It was almost as if Rome didn't want us to leave. We finally limped down Via Nazionale to our hotel around 11:00 PM. Where was Caterina when we needed her? As for the Rick Steves' "no grumps" policy, it was a good thing we were no longer on our tour.
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Two hours to walk just about one mile.
Lessons Learned:
In Hindsight: Do not use the Victor Emmanuel Monument as a point of reference. The streets in the area radiate out from the monument like the spokes of a wheel, with a few other streets circling around the monument creating a giant spider web just waiting to trap unsuspecting directionally challenged tourists.
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Home---Rome to New York to San Diego
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As Pliny the Elder would say, "Home is where the heart is.", and David and I believe that we may have left a piece of our heart in Italy. All the worry and planning that went into this vacation really wasn't necessary. Italy was easy. The Italians, Caterina, and Rick Steves made it that way. Easy to use the train system to get from place to place. Easy to find fabulous food and friendly residents. Easy to handle the language barrier, since there really wasn't one. Easy to step back in time to imagine life in ages past. Easy to find other travelers with which to share good food, good times, and great memories.
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