Saturday, June 6, 2009
Lord Byron in Venice
"After visiting a mistress at a palazzo in Venice one evening, Lord Byron jumped, fully clothed, into the Grand Canal and swam home. The following night - in order to avoid being wounded by the oars of passing gondolieri - he was careful to hold a torch in one hand to make himself seen."
I found this quote interesting as not only does it speak on Lord Byron, a great writer and interestingly strange human being, but it also states that he swam the grand canal AFTER visiting one of his mistresses. I bet his mistress was glad he didn't decide to swim the grand canal to see her.
Venecian Waterways
As mentioned on an earlier posting, the Venecian waterways were just gorgeous, the water an almost teal green, if it weren't for the smell and the cold I'd have been tempted to go for a dip, being the water-baby that I am. But alas, I fear I couldn't hold my breath for that long and besides I think if I had have taken a dip in that water, I'd still be trying to wash the smell out of my hair.
Gondaleers
Gondalers are a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian Lagoon. Gondolas were for centuries the chief means of transportation within Venice and still have a role in public transport, serving as traghetti (ferries) over the Grand Canal. They are also used in special Regattas (rowing races) held amongst gondoliers. Their primary role, however, is to carry tourists on rides at established prices. These 'established' prices were, I'm afraid beyond our means at 195 Euro for an hour, we figured our money would be better spend on fabulous dinners during our time in Venice. Speaking of dining in Venice, whilst we were there I had some great seafood pasta, the prawns were really fresh and delicious. Hubby ordered some tomato pasta dish with which he was less than impressed, it appeared that they'd just poured tomato puree over cooked spaghetti - what a shame. It's strange how from the same restaurant and the same chef you can get such a variance in quality.
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