The Tide Is High

In the words of "Blonde" The Tide is high and I'm losing control !!! So it's true Venice is sinking, no s--t shirlick as a friend Anette would say. I was just hoping it would wait a few more hundred years to do it, but no, why wait, why not today, let show these tourist what we have to put up with, the real Venice that the real people live in. The population of Venice is only 50,000 people so when you consider that in area of some 660 islands there are not a lot of people that actually live there any more, it is just over run by the tourists. San Marco square is an example during the day you would be lucky to put a cigarette paper between the crowds but come late night or in the early mornings you can be on your own. The other morning it was raining and sooo windy I went out for my early morning walk, Sandy had been feeling a bit under the weather, so I thought I'm in Venice, I need to explore some more, even on my own, I can't get too lost, I've got a map and my Vaporetto tickets so I'll be back later, she kissed me goodby like I was not coming back!!! Besides I really need to walk of some of the good life that we had on the cruise. I head out, we are only 267 steps to the San Emanuele Vaporetto stop, our local which can then takes 10 mins to get to San Marco or if I can remember the way only about 15mins walk through a maze of little Calla's and Campo's. So dressed with my wind jacket and my "new"so neat venetian neck scaff and my umbrella in hand looking like a real local, well with out my nee length gun boots, I new I should have packed a pair, I head out, alone. My umbrella was to wide to open up fully for the first few hundred steps, so with my semi erection (of the umbrella) over my head I was so please my wind jacket was at least a little bit water proof. It was a sight to see, me fighting with my semi erection, with the wind in my hair whirling up our small Calla Lezze but I was determined to head out and see the quiet side of Venice without the tourist, and come to that, without the locals also. Don't even think the locals were to keen to be out that morning. So over several of the 400 odd bridges and over a couple twice or perhaps three times ?? but I do think in different directions sometimes, but let's not get to bogged down on the boring details. Venice for me was like a fish swimming in a fish bowl I could go round and round in circle's and still seeing something different, this is heaven for me as I always get lost, at least I'm seeing new things even if in the same places. I have no sense of direction and some days Sandy would just walk with me, and as she would say, humour me?? To see the excited expression on my face when I would fined our way somewhere, she said life is never boring watching me getting lost some days. So maybe the kiss this morning she really did say goodby. But alas, I do returno to our apartmento said with my new Italian accent. It may have been 3 and 1/2 hours later but I never stopped walking. Venice is a bigger than one thinks my fish bowl was quite big, and so interesting some many doors and some many that look the same, all that makes them different is that little number just above them but only one 3316 so with a process of elimination and several hours I did returno. San Marco square was empty when I was there perhaps everything and everyone was blown away, and I have a picture to prove it actually several and in different locations to, woo hoo.