Chapter Numero Uno...

OK.
Finally!!!
A bit about what my vacations were like…

ON THE ROAD TO VENICE…
I left for Venice by the mid of November. The original target of our visit was Berlin, but given the fact that Mrs G and I had at our disposal two weeks of uninterrupted holidays together, we thought it wouldn’t hurt us at all to do a few stops before getting to Germany. This settled, budget minded, of course, we looked for the more convenient option to suit our purposes. And it came out to be a flexible “europass” bus ticket that would allows us several different connections between 30 European cities, within a 15 days period, for the very reasonable price of 236 euros (each). Not that we were going to need more than 4 or 5 connections. But at that price there were no two thoughts about it… At least until we got on the bus and did the 18 hours!!! ride from Barcelona to Venice and we started to remember (especially our delicate butts) why is it that traveling by bus with Eurolines coaches sucks:
- The seats are great, if you are a 12 years old kid’s size;
- You cannot reserve numbered seating (so we had to do a significant part of that first trip separated);
- For some weird reason, through the night, drivers stop every two hours for coffe breaks, thus making it impossible for anyone to just fall deeply asleep and forget about the tiny, painful seats…
The one good thing about all this (not counting the price), any place you finally arrive to after a ride like this you are bound to like it!!! Make that place Venice and then you are in rapture. (if you ever hear about Mrs G dumping me, do not be surprised if anything related to my travel preferences comes out in the conversation)

Anyway, we arrived to Venice. And what can I say about it...
I’m not sure how other people who’ve been to Venezia feel, but I just think I can’t describe it without feeling ridiculously far from the impressions I felt (and ridiculous, in general, just at the attempt).
Whoever thought of building a city that looks as if it were floating on the sea??? Who were the first brilliant minds that saw in a bunch of lonely islands the dreamlike city Venice would turn into??? Because Venice is not just a city built full of beautiful channels and intricate dark alleys (there are other places in the world that would also match that feeble description)… Far from that, Venice emerges from the water only the way The Atlantida would… Majestic, mysterious, often decrepit, but yet so astonishingly elegant, beautiful and captivating… A magic place that sinks deep into the most glorious past and, unbelievably, seems to be born again, every day, plethoric of life and new vibrant energy… Thanks the God I don’t believe in that it wasn’t high season and the place wasn’t crowded with tourists (Italy’s number one plague)… And yet, I doubt even all the tourists of the world could ruin a place than more than a city seems a divine creation…



Again, I repeat, where can I begin to tell without feeling ridiculous … Palaces, channels, monuments, gondolas, vaporettos are all there for real and, luckily, immortalized in million of pictures for the world to see… But Venice is such a surreal display of unlimited marvels in every single detail and every single corner that it becomes also impossible to try to conceive it as a universe of separated elements… Did I like Piazza San Marco??? Of course I did… Did I walk through Rialto Bridge? Sure… Did I take a vaporetto to cruise the Grand Canal? Most certainly… But… Did I enjoy these experiences more than a cigarette sitting by one the countless old water wells and piazzas??? Did I enjoy them more than having a bottle of grappa at night, talking with my girl on any of the stairs and passages leading to the dark and lost water channels??? Did I like the breathtaking statues and amazing building facades better than going into small run down bars, where old Venetian men had their red wine glass with one foot on the bar and the other on the outside, so that they could have a cigarette and not break the law that forbids them to smoke in public places??? Is there anything I enjoyed more than just simply admiring the beauty of simple things like iron window holders or door knockers???? YES!!! NO!!! TRULY, I HAVEN’T GOT THE FAINTEST IDEA… Venice confused my senses and it had me walking though its maze of waterways and alleys like an enchanted zombie in love… So much ordinary and extraordinary beauty than it hurts just trying to remember…

TO BE CONTINUED (AS SOON AS POSSIBLE)