We took two marvelous-yet-foot-weary trips to Venice during our stay in the Friuli region of Italy; it was only a hour's train ride away from Pordenone, where we stayed.
Lord Byron, who lived in Venice with his mistress and a small zoo of monkeys and birds, called Venice "a fairy city of the heart." Yes, I know the Brits love Byron, but his Romantic-era sappiness doesn't do it for me. (Fairy city?)
Conversely, a guidebook we read personified Venice as a fancy Madame welcoming you with one hand while slipping the other in your pocket. Now that is an adept description. If Venice really was a dame, these are the questions I'd ask her (and, yes, some are rhetorical):
Lord Byron, who lived in Venice with his mistress and a small zoo of monkeys and birds, called Venice "a fairy city of the heart." Yes, I know the Brits love Byron, but his Romantic-era sappiness doesn't do it for me. (Fairy city?)
Conversely, a guidebook we read personified Venice as a fancy Madame welcoming you with one hand while slipping the other in your pocket. Now that is an adept description. If Venice really was a dame, these are the questions I'd ask her (and, yes, some are rhetorical):
Q: Are you really going to sink into oblivion? We read that you're settling into the water at a rate of 2mm more per year.
Q. Could your markets BE any more stellar? We could have spent hours in them with all the Venetians buying their seafood and produce.
Q: Does everyone dry their laundry this way?
Q: We heard you're trying to get rid of the pigeons, which were brought in by the Hapsburgs. Really? They make the squares so idyllic! (But we do concede BW's backpack got pooped on.)
Q: Do you think a cicheti (Venetian tapas bar) would fly in Prague? Glasses of wine and mini-sandwiches/seafood snacks for a euro each is brilliant.
Q: What's up with all the kids climbing on statues?
Q. Could your markets BE any more stellar? We could have spent hours in them with all the Venetians buying their seafood and produce.
Q: Does everyone dry their laundry this way?
Q: We heard you're trying to get rid of the pigeons, which were brought in by the Hapsburgs. Really? They make the squares so idyllic! (But we do concede BW's backpack got pooped on.)
Q: Do you think a cicheti (Venetian tapas bar) would fly in Prague? Glasses of wine and mini-sandwiches/seafood snacks for a euro each is brilliant.
Q: What's up with all the kids climbing on statues?
Q: Is it possible to take a bad picture in your environs? Stunning backdrops abound.
Q: Why do your gondoliers all look like they stepped out of a Tag Heuer or Montblanc ad? Is that a prerequisite for getting the job?
Q: Has anyone fainted in your churches from being overwhelmed by their beauty?
Q: Has anyone fainted in your churches from being overwhelmed by their beauty?
Q: How can you tell the authentic food from the bogus stuff? We sat down at a pizzeria and it was definitely the frozen variety; another night we had homemade goods for roughly the same price.
Q: Where do we get there from here? (We were lost dozens of times and asked ourselves that repeatedly.) Like Ma W jokingly asked, "How do we get from point A to point B without hitting C, D and E?"
Q: You have so. many. windows. Is it a fashion or function thing?
Q. And most importantly of all... WHEN CAN WE COME BACK?!
Q. And most importantly of all... WHEN CAN WE COME BACK?!
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