Postcard Assignment: Venice

50 Cent Gondola Indulgence
Venice

This was a tip from Rick Steves. It's from across one side of the canal to the other. Beats an 120 euro price. We go down an alley with signs pointing to the dock. It's deserted. There are two docks. Which one do we stand at? A couple locals trickle in behind us. We follow them. They look confused at our presence. We see the gondolier in stripes approach us from across the way. Coins line the side of the gondola, scattered not stacked; a giant pile of money (small change). He reaches down to make change for a dollar. The locals do not appreciate our stark tourism, and I feel bad but keep smiling and try not to let it get me down. The gondola sways; now it's full. I wonder how much time this cuts out of our trip? If we cared. But as it is we have nothing to do, and all the time to wander in a city I had imagined to be smaller. It is small, but the path is never straight, and the wide canal cuts through, an unsanitary barrier to the other side. Bridges are scenic and necessary.

San Marco's Piazza
Venice

Saint Marc's Square is not yet flooded like this picture. There is water closer to church, and the water damage is visible from the inside. The floor in the entry is wet with combined damp and dirt, a slight coating of sludge. The inside glitters with gold; and the outside too. The extra room at the side of the church isn't free. We are charged for everything but we don't actually go. The pigeons outside are a sight. Vendors sell bird seed. I read somewhere that they throw in birth control to keep the population down. If someone holds the seeds the pigeons attack, and the person is clothed in live feathers. They don't really bother me like they do some in the group. We try to each lunch in the square. Random things we bought at our hotel in the suburbs. But it is pay at a restaurant or get kicked out. We go to a park nearby to finish eating. All the benches and sitting space is taken. A deformed pigeon begs for food. We feed it but it has a growth on its beak. It's hard to please all seven of us at the same time. Tensions are a little high but there is still so much to see. Lisa recommended a church, Frari.