No additional words are necessary. I hope you enjoy this short view into the mystery of a foggy day in Venice.
Showing posts with label fog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fog. Show all posts
Friday, December 13, 2013
Venice in fog December 13, 2013
No additional words are necessary. I hope you enjoy this short view into the mystery of a foggy day in Venice.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
A foggy day in Venice
If you have never been to Venice in winter before, these photos will give you a little taste of what a winter day can be like: fog so thick you can't see anything in front of your face. It's days like this that you can feel mystery in the air. You can just imagine people wearing dark flowing capes disappearing down long narrow calles. It's quintessential Venice.
Beautiful foggy view on the Grand Canal
This photo was taken about 2 pm. That's the sun trying to make an appearance.
Kind of spooky. Venice in the haze.
Like I said, this kind of weather brings out Venice's mysterious moods. Made me want to run buy a cape. Maybe tomorrow!
Sunday, December 23, 2012
A foggy day in Venice
Yesterday morning we set off for Rialto market in search of fish, more precisely sardines, for our Christmas Eve meal. The fog was thick, so thick that all the vaporettos that run up the Giudecca canal were being routed up the Grand Canal. Typical winter though, it's foggy here. Here's what the vaporetto dock at Sant'Elena looked like as we were leaving.
I disembarked at San Zaccaria, with the intention of walking the remainder of the way from St. Mark's up to Rialto. I had no idea there was a regatta being held yesterday, so you can imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to discover several boats queuing up right in front of the San Zaccaria boat dock. Not your usual regatta participants either. All the boats were being rowed by Babbo Natales- and , looking a bit closer , I spotted some ....yes, that's right, women rowers. Brava, ragazze!!!
These photos are as good a view as I could get, through all the fog.
As I watched these women maneuvering their boats, I found myself having an Italian language discussion with myself, in my head. I thought..if one is Babbo Natale, is two or more of them (males) Babbi Natale?? or Babbi Natali?? Is a female then a Babba Natale?? And more than one Babbe Natali??
I found myself completely in the fog... inside and out!! So I convinced myself to give up. To satisfy myself and end the internal debate, I took it upon myself to call these female rowers "Babette ", and not worry about the plural at this time. Basta. At least then I could get my head out of the fog.
Hmmm... Rudolfo and friend pulling....a boat, not a sleigh. Only in Venice!
I didn't have time to stick around to catch the entire regatta as I needed to get to the fish market before it closed. The market was swarming with people, all with the same shopping list I had, evidently- fish for their holiday meals. I bought crab, oysters and rombo. Unfortunately, not one tiny sardine left in all of Rialto to be had by the time I got there (about 10:30-11 am).
Loaded down with not only fish but a bag full of vegetables, I waited for the vaporetto at Rialto Mercato to return home. Fortunately, most of the fog had burned off. As I waited for the #1 boat to make it's way down the Grand Canal, some of the Babbo Natale regatta racers were making their way home down the Grand Canal, post race. I had a great vantage point for photos right on the front of the dock.
Wonder if she is the Ice Queen??
As the last rower passed in front of me, I turned to my right, and caught this man also observing the rowers (see photo below) while queued up for the vaporetto. Santa?????
I disembarked at San Zaccaria, with the intention of walking the remainder of the way from St. Mark's up to Rialto. I had no idea there was a regatta being held yesterday, so you can imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to discover several boats queuing up right in front of the San Zaccaria boat dock. Not your usual regatta participants either. All the boats were being rowed by Babbo Natales- and , looking a bit closer , I spotted some ....yes, that's right, women rowers. Brava, ragazze!!!
These photos are as good a view as I could get, through all the fog.
I found myself completely in the fog... inside and out!! So I convinced myself to give up. To satisfy myself and end the internal debate, I took it upon myself to call these female rowers "Babette ", and not worry about the plural at this time. Basta. At least then I could get my head out of the fog.
Hmmm... Rudolfo and friend pulling....a boat, not a sleigh. Only in Venice!
I didn't have time to stick around to catch the entire regatta as I needed to get to the fish market before it closed. The market was swarming with people, all with the same shopping list I had, evidently- fish for their holiday meals. I bought crab, oysters and rombo. Unfortunately, not one tiny sardine left in all of Rialto to be had by the time I got there (about 10:30-11 am).
Loaded down with not only fish but a bag full of vegetables, I waited for the vaporetto at Rialto Mercato to return home. Fortunately, most of the fog had burned off. As I waited for the #1 boat to make it's way down the Grand Canal, some of the Babbo Natale regatta racers were making their way home down the Grand Canal, post race. I had a great vantage point for photos right on the front of the dock.
As the last rower passed in front of me, I turned to my right, and caught this man also observing the rowers (see photo below) while queued up for the vaporetto. Santa?????
Sunday, February 13, 2011
A bad boat week
Sciopero. Now there's an Italian word you should learn quickly. It means strike. The verb is scioperare- to strike. And yes, this week in Venice there was yet another transportation strike. Fortunately, most of the time the strikes are short in duration, this one was from 9:00 until 12:30. The one we had about a week before that was a 24 hour strike, which was very unusual. But this week, the strike just compounded my boat woes.
The whole week started out badly for me with the onset of a terrible cold (raffredore) on Sunday. By Monday morning I was in no shape to get up for my daily trek to FateBeneFratelli for therapy. So I stayed in bed. Tuesday morning I felt only slightly better, but missing therapy two days in a row was not on my agenda- until I looked out the window to check on the weather. Fog was predicted for Tuesday morning. This wasn't just fog, this was the worst fog I have ever seen in my life! I could not see out the window. For certain, there would be no boats running this morning. I dragged myself back into bed, a little bit thankful for the double reason not be going to therapy. Now, mind you, at the end of therapy every day I am grateful that I went, because I feel so much better afterwards. But the actual process of doing it is sheer torture - the pain is unbelievable. And the commute is no picnic either.
Wednesday morning I was feeling much better. Not over the cold, but was feeling better after Mike had made a trip to the local farmacia for me the day before. He came home with a bag of goodies- pills for a runny nose, lozenges for the sore throat, and syrup for the cough. All worked wonders. And the fog that was predicted for Wednesday again didn't materialize. I got up, got ready, and was out the door headed for the boat dock at Sant Andrea on time. The minute I arrived at Sant Andrea, I knew I had a problem. When there is no one else at the dock, it's a sure sign there are no boats running. There was no fog, and no other signs posted indicating anything different happening this particular morning, but I had to trust my gut instinct. No boats were coming. I walked to Piazzale Roma. Just as I made the turn around the corner by the Coop, I had the answer to the mystery. It wasn't just the 42 or 52 boats not running, there were NO boats. Aha- a strike. The electronic sign over the boat dock confirmed this. The stike would last until 12:30. Ok- I would at least get home from therapy, if I could actually get there.
I considered walking the whole way. It's a long way, and my knee was not feeling happy at all. So, I used Plan B- hire a private water taxi. These guys must love strike days, cause the locals use the taxis when they otherwise would not. 10 minutes and 40 Euros later I was standing at the doorway of FateBeneFratelli.
Thursday was a nice day, and the boats ran on schedule. I was thanking the Boat Gods.
On Friday, I double checked the weather forecast. Fog was not predicted. Good. I walked to the boat docks, and again, there was no one around. The dock was open, but there was a chain over the exitway leading to the boats, which was a bit unusual. I sat for a few minutes, during which time just one other woman arrived. This was definitely unusual. At this hour of the morning there typically is a pretty good crowd waiting. I threw in the towel and walked to Piazzale Roma. Sure enough, the # 52 was not running and the # 42 was leaving from Piazzale Roma. I didn't see any explanation for why the schedule changes, but it didn't matter, all I needed to do was get to FateBeneFratelli. The # 42 wasn't running on it's normal schedule either, apparently, as I waited 30 minutes for the boat. I started to get nervous that I wouldn't have enough time to make it to my therapy appointment. Fortunately, the boat arrived.
As we rounded the corner onto the lagoon leaving the Cannaregio canal, I saw what the problem was. The fog out here on the lagoon was thick as thieves. You could not see in front of your face. I couldn't even see the shore line and I don't think we were 100 feet away from it. I wanted to be mad. My whole week was sent topsy turvy by the boats this week. But- I just couldn't find it in me to get mad. Instead I was mesmerized by the view. Venice is even more mysterious, more beautiful when it is veiled in fog.
The whole week started out badly for me with the onset of a terrible cold (raffredore) on Sunday. By Monday morning I was in no shape to get up for my daily trek to FateBeneFratelli for therapy. So I stayed in bed. Tuesday morning I felt only slightly better, but missing therapy two days in a row was not on my agenda- until I looked out the window to check on the weather. Fog was predicted for Tuesday morning. This wasn't just fog, this was the worst fog I have ever seen in my life! I could not see out the window. For certain, there would be no boats running this morning. I dragged myself back into bed, a little bit thankful for the double reason not be going to therapy. Now, mind you, at the end of therapy every day I am grateful that I went, because I feel so much better afterwards. But the actual process of doing it is sheer torture - the pain is unbelievable. And the commute is no picnic either.
Wednesday morning I was feeling much better. Not over the cold, but was feeling better after Mike had made a trip to the local farmacia for me the day before. He came home with a bag of goodies- pills for a runny nose, lozenges for the sore throat, and syrup for the cough. All worked wonders. And the fog that was predicted for Wednesday again didn't materialize. I got up, got ready, and was out the door headed for the boat dock at Sant Andrea on time. The minute I arrived at Sant Andrea, I knew I had a problem. When there is no one else at the dock, it's a sure sign there are no boats running. There was no fog, and no other signs posted indicating anything different happening this particular morning, but I had to trust my gut instinct. No boats were coming. I walked to Piazzale Roma. Just as I made the turn around the corner by the Coop, I had the answer to the mystery. It wasn't just the 42 or 52 boats not running, there were NO boats. Aha- a strike. The electronic sign over the boat dock confirmed this. The stike would last until 12:30. Ok- I would at least get home from therapy, if I could actually get there.
I considered walking the whole way. It's a long way, and my knee was not feeling happy at all. So, I used Plan B- hire a private water taxi. These guys must love strike days, cause the locals use the taxis when they otherwise would not. 10 minutes and 40 Euros later I was standing at the doorway of FateBeneFratelli.
Thursday was a nice day, and the boats ran on schedule. I was thanking the Boat Gods.
On Friday, I double checked the weather forecast. Fog was not predicted. Good. I walked to the boat docks, and again, there was no one around. The dock was open, but there was a chain over the exitway leading to the boats, which was a bit unusual. I sat for a few minutes, during which time just one other woman arrived. This was definitely unusual. At this hour of the morning there typically is a pretty good crowd waiting. I threw in the towel and walked to Piazzale Roma. Sure enough, the # 52 was not running and the # 42 was leaving from Piazzale Roma. I didn't see any explanation for why the schedule changes, but it didn't matter, all I needed to do was get to FateBeneFratelli. The # 42 wasn't running on it's normal schedule either, apparently, as I waited 30 minutes for the boat. I started to get nervous that I wouldn't have enough time to make it to my therapy appointment. Fortunately, the boat arrived.
As we rounded the corner onto the lagoon leaving the Cannaregio canal, I saw what the problem was. The fog out here on the lagoon was thick as thieves. You could not see in front of your face. I couldn't even see the shore line and I don't think we were 100 feet away from it. I wanted to be mad. My whole week was sent topsy turvy by the boats this week. But- I just couldn't find it in me to get mad. Instead I was mesmerized by the view. Venice is even more mysterious, more beautiful when it is veiled in fog.
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