One of the best things about Venice is how, the minute you walk outside, you are surrounded by curious and beautiful and surprising and amusing things. It used to be that most people would notice at least some of them; now that 98 percent of humans spend all their time staring at or listening to electronic devices, I suppose most of the aforementioned curious, etc. things could just move away and live somewhere else, like Turkmenistan, and nobody would notice. “Hey! Where’d Venice go? I was just checking my email/Twitter feed/Facebook quagmire/WhatsApp” (by the way, nothing is app), and the city’s just gone.” Of course, for the same reason they probably wouldn’t notice in Turkmenistan that a World Heritage Site d/b/a “the most beautiful city in the world” had suddenly sprung up in their midst.
But I still wander around looking at things, and here are a few I came across recently:
A highly superior dog exploiting his master’s feet on the 5.1 vaporetto.You thought he couldn’t be any cooler? How about this?And speaking of vaporettos, I don’t know if the doll gets a special rate, but she certainly has been given a great seat. I’m not sure I’d have had the liver, as they say here, to ask to sit there.I finally noticed, after years of passing the church of San Trovaso, that above the door to the belltower a guardian being was long ago installed to ward off evil spirits. He’s not the only one in Venice, but he does have a certain charisma.However, if I were an evil spirit this face would more probably cause me to ask “Do you feel like talking about it?”There are many other canines to be found around Venice, in a variety of breeds and material. If this pooch is supposed to be scaring away evil spirits, he’s got a funny way of doing it. Maybe he plans on wagging and licking them to death.A bit of worldly wisdom in a shop window, expressed perfectly in Venetian: “When I talk, they don’t listen. When they listen, they don’t understand. When they understand, they forget.”And while we’re on the subject of understanding, there is something so complicated about three dimensions in a small space that it defeats people’s comprehension. This image needs no further comment from me, though I had several ready at the time. When you and many other people need to disembark, they have to squeeze through the backpacks here like hot pig iron through rollers. (One point, though, to the man on the right for color-coordinating his pack and jacket. Point deducted for the vileness of the color.)Two stuffed toy rats in a training potty. The world is a great and imponderable place and Venice is doing its best to keep up.
I so love your posts and your way of eviscerating those who don’t know how to behave, or notice the signs that clearly show that you are supposed to put your backpack at your feet while on the vap. Yes, you cannot go very far in Venice without encountering something wonderful, or at least arresting. I last visited in 2016, for 11 days, and cannot wait to return for the eighth time. Keeping your feet dry?
I, like you, am a very curious observer of people and places. I would have a heyday in Venice. I especially liked the two toy rats in the potty. That had to have been in a store, right? Someone there has a real sense of humor.
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I so love your posts and your way of eviscerating those who don’t know how to behave, or notice the signs that clearly show that you are supposed to put your backpack at your feet while on the vap. Yes, you cannot go very far in Venice without encountering something wonderful, or at least arresting. I last visited in 2016, for 11 days, and cannot wait to return for the eighth time. Keeping your feet dry?
I, like you, am a very curious observer of people and places. I would have a heyday in Venice. I especially liked the two toy rats in the potty. That had to have been in a store, right? Someone there has a real sense of humor.
As always Erla, a great post with your great photos! Many thanks for the change-of-season cheer!
Trying to get back in the groove. Thanks for sticking with me!