Venice
Well Venice seems a distant memory now even though we only got back last Thursday! It was good to come back to a Bank Holiday weekend to ease us back into normality even if the weather was pretty awful. Secretly I am always pleased to be back, back to home and garden and all things that make me,me! I am not just talking about material things but my routine and normal life. Ever the creature of habit!
Venice is a like a world apart and in many senses it is. An island on which the only mode of transport has to be a boat of some sort or on foot! We were recommended by a friend to visit in May to avoid the heat and the smell. A good move as the temperature was just right and only the occasional whiff of something unpleasant. High summer would not have been a good time to visit! We did all the tourist stuff, visiting St Mark's square, the Doge's palace and the Basilica! The above picture is a stairway in the palace, absolutely beautiful but by the time we had been around the whole thing it seemed quite commonplace! What is it about the senses that once they are saturated by something it then appears to be very ordinary?
There was also an exhibition of John Singer Sargeant's paintings at the museum in St Marks Square, where we spent a cool afternoon admiring his work. That's where I found the wonderful painting by Luigi Nono as per my previous post....
And yes of course we took a gondola ride! Roberto serenaded us through the back waters pointing out important buildings and gave us a potted history of Venice, well worth doing! He recommended a brilliant trattoria for lunch and we eventually found it after much searching ( and nearly giving up!) and on a rainy Wednesday afternoon enjoyed a fantastic lunch and wine with the locals! We did so many more wonderful things and it is a place I would love to go back to......This is what greeted me when we got home......
The wisteria was just out....not very many blooms this year but good considering we replaced the bridge this year and we had to reduce the whole plant considerably! You can just see the new porch taking shape in the background.....
and my neighbour's black swans came to visit and brought their new arrivals.....
A lovely welcome home !
