venice. it is a charming cocktail of light, shadow, water, reflections, mist, bridges and gondolas. all coming together to form this lovely star. and today i walked through it.
a ramble through new parts – today castello, one of the six sestieri and the largest. i was on my way to a bookstore one of you told me about. where there are cats! but i decided to return when it isn’t raining so i don’t have to fumble with the umbrella and camera at the same time. i’m very interested in some of their crumbling old books and i need my hands free.
san marco in the rain. clusters of umbrellas huddled in small groups. no lines. i walked right into the basillica. sat for a long time to absorb the storied walls and floors and air.
the floors did put me in a bit of a trance. i snuck a photo.
there were plenty of people milling about, but it wasn’t crowded.
and after a spell i went to Lavena an old (1750) coffee house on the square. climbed upstairs for a little table overlooking the first floor.
marveled at the immense Murano chandelier, the paneled wood walls, and old mirrors.
then i proceeded to order a snack built for 2. and when it arrived i smiled graciously. then devoured. 
wrote in my journal. lingered.
then hit the streets again. took lots of video. have i mentioned how much i enjoy editing these videos of venice? such a creative pleasure.
walked through some particularly serpentine passages today. admiring the doors.
and facades of buildings falling into beautiful ruin.
tomorrow or the next day i am heading to burano & torcello for a walkabout. was thinking to catch a train to verona. i’ve heard winter is a perfect time to see what is usually a place very much on the tourist circuits. but it’s only a thought. and i have many of those. but no committments. we’ll see where the wind blows me.
Looks like a lovely day. That “snack”looks amazing, One little suggestion about your day trip to Torcelle. Don’t go too late in the day. The church there is beautiful -well worth the trip. But if you go too late in the day, you will have to walk back to the embarcdero in the dark. Torcello has a remote and melancholy feel and in off season you might want to walk back along the shores when it is still light. That’s just me though.
OOooh! Venice is so charming! I have seen it 3 times, 2 in winter and once in spring… and your walkabout bring me back there. It’s so cool. Yes, nothing wrong with admiring the floors! Gracious me they are gorgeous. Italy is SO full of mesmerizing art. It’s everywhere. The cities themselves are astonishing. So happy you are having a great time…, and discovered that exciting closet! You of all people needed to be the one to find it! Enjoy!
and have i mentioned how i love watching these videos?…
it’s a pleasure being in venice with you mary ann!
continue enjoying…xo
Oh!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for letting us come along! I love your images!! It so takes me back!!! I love Venice! You have inspired me to go back one day!!!!
Somehow you know exactly what I want to see. Such wonderful layers of artistry and workmanship with years of weathering and patching. And those floors are(ha!)divine!
If you find yourself in Verona, look up the supposed home of Juliet http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/01/18/juliet-house.html It sounds fascinating.
That door reminds me of a Hambly screen print one might find in a Mary Ann Moss journal! The floors of that church are amazing! So glad you snuck a photo.
You took a napkin or two for your book, right? I like the fact there are no lines. That’s why my hubby and I go to Disneyland in January. It might be rainy but you get on a ton of rides. Spending time in the Basilica would truly be special.
I adore the photos you are sharing. May I use these in my journal too? I am loving the postcards Many Thanks Michelle xx
Smacking my lips and just gawking and meditating and looking and looking and looking…absorbing.
OMG! I’ve just had the chance tonight & last to start reading your blog entries & watching the videos, THEY ARE AMAZING! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR TIME & EFFORT! (Ok I’ll stop the caps-it’s just pure excitement!) Wow, I’ve just gasped at the beauty & the videos w/ the music & your Christmas discovery! Oh holy crap I about peed my pants just watching the video! Had I been you, there live in person discovering all that memorabilia/ephemera I would have just fallin out! Oh Mary Ann, this is really an amazing journey you have taken us on! I hope you know how fabulous it all is! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! I can’t wait for more! ENjoy!
I lived in Italy for awhile and had forgotten how beautiful the umbrellas are in Italy until you mentioned your plaid umbrella.
I am loving this class and feel so inspired to travel on my own you make it seem so easy and relaxing. I can not wait to see more of your adventure!
I’m glad you can ride the wind, give us these lovely views from hither and yon, go where others might not or take the street less traveled sometimes and mingle with others when the mood strikes, all in all a very good day indeed. I can’t wait to hear about the book store you saved for another day…sounds like my kind of place indeed.
michelle,
yes you may use the photos for your personal journal. if your journal pages are then shared online via flickr or a blog or any another public space then i would like credit and a link back to the class information page here:
http://dispatchfromla.typepad.com/dispatch_from_la/ticket-to-venice-class-information.html
the photos may not be used on pages that will be published in any kind of magazine or in anything for sale
Looking at travelagents here in ice cold Sweden, You have waked my travellingboots, and that isn´n easy. Venice is on my “I want to visit” list from now on, thank you so much for sharing =)
Your lunch looks to die for. I had no idea about the Lavena Coffee house. I guess Florian’s is more known with the tourists. I think you were right to snuck in a photograph. It kills me if I go somewhere and you can’t take a simple piccie for the souvenir album. About Torcello, try to not get on a Japanese styled boat or you will be running the whole trip. I found Murano more interesting then Torcello, but tasts differ. As it should be. We went to a glass blower in Burano, but that was a bit boring for me, even if I can see that they are masters in glass blowing.
Have fun wherever you go, and keep those eyes open! Still loving your gorgeous little movies…
Ohhhh I love those floors in San Marco! Funny thing, I think I got the same postcards you showed us when I was there 6 years ago! LOL Wonder where I put them?
Have a wonderful time in Burano! Looking forward to seeing it through your eyes! (Hope the sun comes out a little to bring out all those colors!)
Simply Lovely!!! I love the counter at the cafe with the little tid bits of food on it…. and the dog with the red coat on is adorable!!!
Especially lovely photos today, Mary Ann! Is everyone else eyeing every photo for ephemera to collect? The ‘snack’ photo really has everything-coaster, chocolate wrapper, napkins, sugar bags, placemat, Wow!! What treasures!
I remember Burano as a very pretty little place with the buildings all painted in different colours, I would definitely recommend that it is well worth the (not overly long) trip! Your dispatches are so wonderful, I can hear the water lapping against the piers and feel the mist in the air even without the benefit of the fabulous videos, thank you!
Hi Mary Ann, Your pictures are so wonderful today( and every day! ). I personally swoon over door and window details! I don’t exactly know what it all means about my loves when traveling, but the details bury themselves into my heart. In Sept. John and I, while on a trip to France, spent five days in Arles. Met this lovely couple from Australia that we enjoyed meals with several times. One thing I remember so clearly……They had been to Avignon for the day, and commented that Avignon was so much cleaner looking than Arles….that the buildings in Arles seemed under maintained, in need of restoring. I commented that I loved those old, rugged, messy, crumbling, worn, discolored surfaces everywhere. For me, it spoke of the stories of peoples’ lives in Arles, of Arles’s history, of daily, ordinary and yet extraordinary life in Arles. I enjoyed, at that moment, my absolute HUGE love of peeling paint and tiny singing birds in open windows partially hidden by yellowed yet beautifully delicate lace. Inwardly I sighed with pleasure. Thank you, Mary Ann. I hope your day is unforgettable.