This site is kept in loving memory of Trish Reske, who passed in October of 2021.
Trish was a writer - this site captures a bit of her incredible sense of humor.
You can read Trish's full obituary here.

Viva La Venezia

gondola on the canalI had always wanted to go to Venice one day, and now I have – in a day and a half. We drove into this watery city of islands via a causeway, parked our car at a modern garage, then boarded our first vaporetto ( boats that provide public transit) to float into Europe’s best preserved big city of a hundred islands connected by 400 bridges and countless narrow waterways and alleys.

We disembarked at the center of the island, at the famous Rialto Bridge. The Rialto area is tourism on steroids. Hundreds of tiny street side shops sell decorative Venetian masks, famous Murano-blown glass, jewelry, leather, and miniature gondolas (these caught Caleb’s eye right away). We lugged our luggage up and down the steps of the bridge and found our hotel, tucked in a narrow alley.

Venice is easy to get lost in, as the streets and alleys are so narrow, and every bridge looks the same. But Joel was our main navigator the first evening, and got us to St. Mark’s Square, the largest piazza in Venice and home to St. Mark’s Basilica, The Dogge’s Palace, The Bell Tower, quite a few museums, and thousands of pigeons. Caleb liked the pigeons the best, and I read a valuable tourist tip: If a pigeon poops on your head, don’t try to wipe it off. Let it dry and it will flake off easily.

Yuk. Luckily that didn’t happen. Although we were already pooped, we decided to take in one of the major sights, so we went to the top of the Bell Tower (by elevator) to take in a pigeon-eye view of Venice.

It’s really hard to describe Venice, or even get a feel for it through photos. The old palaces on the Grand Canal are beautiful, but all the first floors are flooded and unusable. That’s true of many of the structures built on water, whether the Grand Canal or the narrow canals. The city is beautiful and very old. There are no modern buildings, no cars in Venice, but lots of ATMs. That proved to be our saving grace because Venice is easily the most expensive place to eat, travel, or sleep in.

That night, Jake, Chloe and I attended our first Italian Opera. It was a small theatre, but the singers had huge voices. The storyline was familiar: boy meets girl, boy’s father forbids girl to see boy, girl feigns love for another boy, boy finds out father’s scheme and rushes to girl’s bedside. Girl dies in boy’s arms of tuberculosis.

We began our next day with 9:00 am Mass at St. Mark’s Basilica. Last Sunday we had attended Mass at The Cathedral of Notre Dame, and next Sunday I believe we’ll be in Vienna. It was great, and we followed along as best we could, given we know little Italian. Both churches give out readings in various languages, and of course the Mass is the same in any language.

After Mass, we toured the Doge’s Palace and The Correr Museum. After two museums, we were burned out, and so opted to take a gondola ride through the watery canals of the city.

You can’t see Venice properly without a gondola ride, and ours was wonderful. Each gondola seats six, perfect for a private Reske gondola tour. Our gondolier’s name was Fabio, and he spoke pretty good English, and pointed out some interesting sights while he maneuvered us through the narrow waterways. Everyone loved it.

Jake got the idea of choosing secret psychs for our trip, so we all picked names to buy a small, secret present for. During dinner at a small tratorria we exchanged gifts. Caleb and Jake both got the same exact toy gondola. I got a glass dolphin. Joel got a glass frog. Chloe got a Venetian mask. Dave got a postcard and M&Ms – one step up from a rock.

Today we visited the island of Murano and watched Murano glass being made at a factory. It was really cool – I mean hot. We left Venice by 1:00, and even before we were in the car, we missed Italy already.

Ciao Italia!

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