Tuesday was a mostly sunny day with just a few showers in the afternoon with temps in the low 70's. We went on the walking tour that was rained out on Monday. Our guide, Rosanna, took us through back streets to see some things we wouldn't normally see or notice and explained things that are not in the tour books.
She explained why tourists get lost so easily. First, Venice is divided into six districts, and houses and businesses are numbered, like street addresses, from 1 to about 6800. But they do this in each district so there are six of every number. One area might be 5300's and the next 2400's, there is no pattern. Also the street names are not unique even within each district. There are hundreds of streets named Calle di Forno, which means "street with an oven" (or bakery). There are also lots of streets named Marie or Marco, etc. So they usually give directions by landmarks not street names.
Unlike other cities, there is only one Piazza (meaning square) in Venice, Piazza San Marco (Saint Mark's Square). The rest of the open areas are referred to as Campo (field) or Corte (Courtyard). The Piazza was the only open area that was paved from the outset, while the other open areas were grassy or planted with flowers or vegetables. Most of these areas are now paved as well. A lawn service would not be a good business in this city.
There is no source of fresh water in Venice except rain water. So each Campo or Corte has a "well" which is really a cistern. The Campo has a large paved area with drains that lead to a huge waterproof tank underground. The water passes through a sand filter and into the tank, then water is pumped from the tank for drinking purposes.
This is the view from our balcony of the courtyard. The well is covered to protect the water below. The punishment for poisoning a well is death.
Here is a picture of a spiral staircase at the rear of a "palace". The story behind the staircase is that the owner wanted a way for his horse to climb to the top floor.
The picture below shows a lone gondolier in this canal. Gondoliers in Venice have to go to school and pass tests to attain a license. Only one woman has taken the classes and passed the tests. She was refused a license, however. She protested that she was being denied because of her sex, but was told she was denied because she is not a Venician. She still has a job as a gondolier, however, because she is the private gondolier for one of the hotels in town. But she cannot work at one of the regular gondola stands in the city.
The only female gondolier in Venice is standing on the gondola dressed in white.
After a nice pizza dinner Pat wanted to have dessert at the Florian Cafe in Piazza San Marco. The restaurant has been in business since 1720 and serves elegant lunches and desserts presented on silver platters, and served by men in tuxedos. Tonight they were serving outside in the square and had a five piece ensemble to entertain us.
Look closely at the bill and you will see we paid quite a bit for our indulgence, twice what we paid for our pizza dinner. This included a 12 euro cover charge for the music. But it is a once in a lifetime experience.
Below is a picture of a typical bar, where we had lunch. Bar's are not beer joints like we have at home...you can buy a drink if you want, but mostly they sell sandwiches (panini), coffee, and breakfast and lunch food at reasonable prices.
The guy on the left either works as a gondolier or somebody stole his clothes and he dressed himself from the souvenir vending cart.
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