Venice

Venice is a town I could live in. I really enjoyed my short time there.

This morning I walked over to the Piazza Roma and got the water bus down the Grand Canal to Piazza San Marco. This was a great way to see something of the city and take some pictures for the blog.

My hotel, the Palazzo Odoni was very nice, quite small, very friendly and included a Continental breakfast that was excellent.

Given my interest in climate change, and during my excursion along the Grand Canal I looked with interest at the height of the ground floor above sea level, and this must be extremely worrying to the inhabitants, the city of Venice and the country. With only a few inches of sea level rise some of the ground floors will be flooded, and this is not thinking of any unusually high tides or storm surges. I must do some research and see what options the city is considering.

The wake from boats could even be worrying. Unlike in the movies speed limits are strictly controlled to, I would guess seven knots. And as normal under most Rules of the Road for marine navigation powered vessels give way to human powered boats, so the bus stops for the gondola's.

I had a cappuccino at Cafe Florian, Piazza San Marco, 56, Venice established in 1720 and is a contender for the title of the oldest coffee house in continuous operation. The cappuccino was very good and the service first class. I was the only one sitting outside where the temperature was 1 degree Celsius, as you can tell from the picture. I could not have smiled if I had wanted too, my face was practically frozen.

Hemingway's Hangouts

Having been to the El Floridita bar in Habana where Ernest Hemingway used as his favourite watering hole in Cuba, as well as having visited his home, now a museum outside of Habana, and having briefly known his brother Leicester in Jamaica many years ago, I had to visit Harry's Bar in Venezia and I have the picture to prove it!

Leicester was a very pleasant man, as was his wife, whose name escapes me.

We had them on a ship that I worked on, the Motor Vessel Delaware, he was trying to build his own independant island in the Caribbean. We [the ship] had been chartered to transport a large metal framework out to Formigas Banks, which were 90 miles north-east of the island of Jamaica. We also took tons of rocks along to be dumped into the framework. The idea being that eventually the construction would would trap sand causing the area to silt up and eventually create an island. The MV Delaware on which I worked never took him back there and I never heard of anybody else going back there with him.

According to Wikipedia 'Hemingway created the micronation of New Atlantis on a raft in the Caribbean, intended to serve as a marine research headquarters. The project was cut short when New Atlantis was destroyed in a hurricane after only a few years'. this however is not quite true as I was there, or should I say, certainly for the first attempt.

Here is a picture I found of Florian's which I do like, apparently taken some time ago, and its had a new paint job in recent years. The furniture on which I sat looks identical!

Venice to Rome

The Italian trains are very nice, modern, fast and excellent service. No WiFi unfortunately, but electrical connections at every seat (in first), and in an easy to find location. I was therefore able to charge both my phones that had been depleted by taking too many pictures and some navigation.

Tomorrow it is heading south once more to Siracusa. I wonder what the trail will be like today? I leaves Rome at 11:30 AM and arrives at Siracusa at 10:30 PM.

This night in Rome was interesting and I realised that the city is quiet at night, I have not heard one siren or one car with a blaring stereo. And this was in the centre of the city. In Washington a few weeks ago there were, or in New York there is noise all night long.

I must admit that when I got out of the taxi from the railroad station and I looked at the hotel I had to ask myself and the taxi driver if this was the right place. It almost looked like a hotel that rented rooms by the hour. However, the hotel once I got inside and on the correct floor was very nice, very new and very welcoming. Apparently they are renovating the exterior of the building and the ground floor. I will take a picture of the front of the building as I leave and post later.