Sunshine and Warmth

We decided we would walk around the city to find good places to take promo photos for the Uptown Duet.  We walked through the labyrinth of this city, into some winding, narrow little streets to find old bridges that might work for our shots.  It was fun posing for the camera and playing music on ancient bridges over canals.  Once, someone opened a window a couple of stories up over where we were playing so they could hear us better.  There were tourists taking pictures of us while we posed and played!  There are so many tourists here in Venice.  The place is crawling with them, but everybody is so happy to be here that it doesn't matter.

After our early afternoon expedition for picture taking, we power napped.  Then, Paul did a painting from atop the Accademia Bridge, which is near our hotel.  That is one of the most beautiful spots in all of Venice.  A flotilla of four and another of five gondolas passed under the bridge with an accordian player and a tenor singing opera in one of them.  We had dinner with Patricia Locke, a friend from the Marchutz School tonight at a little restaurant in Dorsoduro, the area of Venice that we're staying in.  

Tomorrow is our last full day here.  We don't want to think about that.

Not Raining

Woke up at 11:30 again.  We keep missing our breakfast in the hotel.  Oh well.  We said goodbye to our friends, including Alan Roberts.  Then, a boat ride to yet another beautiful bridge, a walk to a hidden park, and finally to the motif of the day...a bridge.  Paul painted.  Caren had to pee the whole time.  Bleh.  

We had dinner tonight in a fine little restaurant in Dorsoduro.  The duck was divine, and so was the red wine.  We had creme brulee for dessert.  We thought we would take an alternate route back to the hotel...we knew we had taken a wrong turn when we arrived at the bus station.  First cars we have seen since our arrival.  But, before that, the city was quiet as we strolled through the back streets, over sweet bridges and calm canals.  We caught the last boat down the Grand Canal which forced us off at the Rialto bridge and sent us walking yet again through town.  St. Mark's square was nearly devoid of people and a sight to behold.  It is truly one of the most magnificent architectural achievements of humankind.  We made it home at 1:00 am.

Rainy days in Venice

Venice is a fun place to be, even in the rain, which it has been doing for the last two days, but it doesn't matter.  We took long walks into the remote areas and enjoyed seeing where the Venetians live.  This is a densely populated city, or rather, was, at one time.  There are still areas with many people living close together.  We like the quiet parts of the city best, with their little stone bridges over the canals and the laundry hanging above.  We visited the original Ghetto, a tiny island in town where the Jews were forced to live.  It felt sad there.  Last night we rode a boat across the water to Giudecca, a nearby island, where the radical Venetian aristocrats were exiled, and we each did a painting looking back at Venice. By the time we went home, it was dark and raining....umbrellas, backpacks filled with painting supplies, lots of wind.  

This morning we stayed in our room and played music, then ventured out for some lunch and exploring.  We took a boat ride, then strolled in the rain through Castello and saw, among many other amazing sights, Carpaccio's paintings from 1502-1509 in an old church built in the 1400's.  Everything is old here.  Makes our lives feel like a speck in time.  Glad to be making art and writing so we, too, can leave something behind when we're gone.  Tonight we went to a Vivaldi concert with friends, also in an old church.  What a great sound in there!  Then we tromped with our buddies through the darkened, wet streets to the Fenice, the opera house, and had a drink next door under an awning and watched the opera let out.  Good laughs, good friends, good times in Venice.

Venice - Saturday, April 18, 2009

This place is too amazing for words...so beautiful.  The seafood pizza!  We couldn't believe our eyes (or mouths).  Painting on the Grand Canal at the Rialto Bridge.  Fighting through jet lag...warm in the sun and chilly in the shade.  It's fun to get lost walking these crazy streets.  Incredible shops, old deteriorating buildings (old is the operative word).  People everywhere, from everywhere.  We stayed awake to try to keep going the first night.  The Marchutz kids had heard that Paul was a Euchre player and they didn't finish until one in the morning.  We slept until 11:30 am today.  Can't wait to go out again tomorrow to find more amazing places and pictures.