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VENICE, ITALY -
Not surprisingly, jumping ahead nine hours wreaks havoc on your internal clock. The first few
nights we found ourselves passing out at 8:00 pm and wide awake at 4:00 the next morning. Deciding
we might as well make the best of it, we set out to see what Venice looks like before dawn. It
actually turned out to be one of the more unique things we did on our trip - I felt like we got to
see a different side of Venice. We made our way through the narrow streets, meeting
locals with their heads bowed against the hour, and popped out at Piazza San Marco in time to watch
the sun rise.
Those of you who went to Cal will recognize that Berkeley's campanile is modeled on the one in Piazza S. Marco.
Our pictures of sunrise over the Isola di S. Giorgio came out fuzzy (seriously, I think we were shivering too much),
but the postcard below is pretty accurate. No matter what time of year you're in Venice, sunrise and sunset are
supposed to be the nicest times to see the busy Piazza.
One of the main reasons Venice has practically no street crime is the presence of the Carabinieri, military police instantly recognized by the red stripe on the sides of their pants. Part of their winter uniform is a full-length navy wool cape, and there's nothing quite like walking along the misty, wind-whipped waterfront and coming across a guy in a cape, gliding by in the twilight like an apparition from the 19th century.
At left is the dome of the church of Santa Maria Formosa, across the campo from
our hotel. The Campo Santa Maria
Formosa has apparently appeared in many movies, although we didn't recognize it. Its screen credits include
"Death in Venice," "Wings of Love" and "For Your Eyes Only."
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