Venice, Day Two - (1)

In my post of December 4, 2012 "Flying to Venice" which you can see by clicking here I related our first afternoon in Venice. The next morning I looked out of our window, which fronted Canal del Gaffano and watched some people walking below.  Gondolas were on the canal already and other people were sitting along it, eating breakfast.  (Click on collage twice to see better.)

It was strange in a way not to hear cars driving by.  All was quiet.  As I mentioned in my post of December, because of my husband's illness we did not think we were going to Venice until six days before our departure so I had not done much planning.  That morning we were not sure where to go and what to see, so we opted to walk around and get a "feel" for the city.  As we walked, I looked at all the buildings, up and down, and realized how old they were.

I had seen pictures of Venice before showing bridges, but you have to be there to fully comprehend how much water there is.  There are no streets really, just a maze of narrow walkways and alleys with many little bridges.  You can suddenly come up to a larger area called "campo" or place, often in front of a church, or you can as well end up at a dead-end looking at a canal, as we did below.

We did not have a map but looked at signs on top of buildings, giving us directions to places we did not know.

Below, we ended up again at a canal.  Actually, many are landing areas where people can board their boats, or get deliveries.  Since there are no roads everything is delivered via the water, goods and services.

The city of Venice is located in the Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay of the Adriatic Sea.  It has been inhabited since ancient times but it was during and after the fall of the Roman Empire that many people settled here, seeking protection in the marshlands from the unprotected open countryside and Barbarian invasions.  There, early inhabitants discovered land just above the water line - about 118 small islands which had been made by tree trunks embedded into the silt.  They covered them with stone slabs, planks and millions of Alpine pine wood pilings.  Because they were driven deep into the silt oxygen could not enter the wood bringing microbes and rot.  The foundations petrified into the compressed clay-mud.  Below is a French map of the Venetian Lagoon.

In the 15th and 16th centuries further hydraulic projects were made that stopped the natural evolution of the Lagoon into marsh again.  The network of 160 canals is very vulnerable to changes in the sea and groundwater levels.  Venice is fragile, and sea level rises because of global warming could have a tremendous impact on this city.  As it is, the saltwater from the Adriatic can soak the soft permeable bricks and, with time, destroy them.

It is bewildering in a way to look at all the ancient houses, knowing that they have been unchanged for centuries.  I don't believe that there is another city like this.  There are many cities in the world with "historic district" or historical monuments, but not a whole city which has not been changed or renovated along the way.  I was thinking about the city where I grew up - Paris - well it has been changed many times.  Below is a painting by Hubert Robert showing houses on Pont Notre Dame being razed in 1786.

Demolishing Buildings on Pont Notre Dame in 1786, painted by Hubert Robert, French 1733-1808

The oldest hospital in Paris called "Hotel Dieu" founded in 651 used to be on the southern side of Notre Dame Cathedral, on the island of the Cite (cathedral built in 1160 finished in 1345.) The backside of the hospital faced the left bank of the river Seine- see early 19th century engraving below and 1860 photo.

 When Baron Haussmann renovated Paris between 1866 and 1878 the hospital was remodeled, away from the main "parvis" (courtyard in front of the cathedral) - this gave a better view of Notre Dame from the Seine, as can be seen in the painting below.  The Paris of Les Miserables is not the Paris we know in 2013.

 Notre Dame de Paris 1888, painted by Frederick Childe Hassam, American 1859-1935

I found some fun old photos taken by Charles Marville (1813-1879.)  The City of Paris commissioned him to take pictures of Paris in the 1860s to document the old streets, avenues, buildings, etc., that were being demolished by Baron Haussmann, the Paris Prefect, to modernize the city.  Below is the Place du Carousel in Paris, before and now

and the Place de l'Opera then and now (old photos courtesy Ministere de la Culture.)

 Actually many people do not know that there was another river in Paris.  It is called "La Bievre."  It still exists but now it runs under Paris, in the sewers.  It runs in several French departments and used to run in the 13th and 5th quarters of Paris, but it was totally covered in 1912.  Below are some vintage postcards showing this river when it could be seen in Paris.

I am getting away from Venice when I talk now about Paris (about 700 miles/1127 kms away) but this was to show how other cities have changed, but not Venice.  We kept walking in the little alleys, as shown below.

We walked along the canals and over the bridges.

It was a lovely, sunny day but not too warm.  Sometimes, we could walk no further as we were facing a larger canal, so we would stop and look at the waterbus going by.

It was more a "stroll" than a real walk as I stopped constantly to take pictures.  At every corner was another canal with a picturesque view.

 Stepping down a small bridge we saw the entrance to a university called "Universita Ca' Foscari."  It is housed in a Gothic palace built in the 15th century by Francesco Foscari.  It offers an international program to the PhD level.  We walked inside the entrance courtyard as I could see a bench - and we sat a few minutes.

 It was getting warmer and we stopped when we passed by fountains.

As you walk you have to watch where you step as the old stones are uneven.  I also like to look up to see all the diverse windows.

 We had a good breakfast at our inn that morning but after all that walking we were tempted by some luscious looking gelato.  So we stopped and bought some.  More to come after this little stop...

  

Our Galette des Rois, and more...

My mother, at home in Paris, would always buy a "Galette des Rois" in early January at the local bakery.  It was a traditional event.  I was not sure why we had it then, but I liked eating the galette. A similar confection here is called "King's cake" but it is not the same.  Luckily we have a French bakery in our area called "Douceur de France" and when we visited them last Monday we purchased one of their galettes. (Click on collage twice to enlarge and see better.)

It is usually said that the galette was baked in honor of the 3 Kings and started in France in 1311.  But that is not exactly true - the tradition for this cake is much older - it goes back to Pagan times.  During the Winter Solstice feasts in ancient Rome a mock king was elected and roles were reversed - the slaves or servants gave directions and were served by their masters.  The election of this king was done via a bean, or a feve (French for bean) inside a cake.  Whoever obtained the bean in his part of the cake became the king.  In 46 BC when the Romans adopted the "Julian Calendar" December 24th was the shortest day of the year, so December 25th was when daylight began to increase signaling the start of the Winter Solstice merriment.  However, in 274 AD, Roman emperor Aurelian, who was a follower of the cult of Sol Invictus (the Unconquered Sun) decided that Sol Invictus' birthday should be celebrated on December 25 to upstage the Winter Solstice. 

 Sol Invictus, 3rd Century AD (Courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

The popular Roman festival of Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (birthday of Sol Invictus) starting on December 25th lasted for many years.  The people would wear masks, there were even parades with floats, called "carrus navalis" - which could be the origins of our current carnivals now.  In the cult of Sol Invictus it was believed that this savior had been born from a virgin, the birth had been attended by Persian priests (Magi,) had been crucified, buried in a cave and resurrected three days later.  He was called the Lord of the Light, the Sun or Son, etc.  By the 4th Century the new Christian religion, which did not like all these pagan festivals and felt threatened, held the first Feast of the Nativity in Rome on December 25th, AD 336.  It seems that, eventually, the Christian Messiah was merged with Sol Invictus resulting in the official church of Rome.  Scholars are still arguing about this, and since I am not a scholar, I just read about it.  Around the 14th century the Catholic Church in France changed the pagan galette into the "Galette des Rois" but kept its shape and color, round and gold like a sun, and the bean inside, still called a "feve" after all these centuries.  The galette has been popular ever since as you can see by the vintage postcards and plate below.

To get back to my galette I was the lucky one and found the feve in my piece.  We celebrated with a fine sparkling wine.

At first the tradition, in France, was that the bean or feve in the galette was a porcelain fish to symbolize Christianity or a baby for the Baby Jesus.  But this has evolved into a feve that can be anything - fruit, animal, etc.  People collect these feves and there is even a name for it, it is called "Favophilie" or "Fabophilie" and collectors try to obtain all the feves of a series or rare specimen.  Below are some examples.

My bean, or feve, was a little "lutin" or gnome- real cute.

The Galette des Rois is traditionally made with flaky puff pastry and "frangipane" an almond vanilla cream.  A touch of rum can be added to the cream and I distinctly tasted rum in my piece of cake.  When we went back to Douceur de France bakery yesterday I asked if there had been rum in the cake.  The salesperson assured me "no" so I asked her to go and ask the cook.  She came back, very surprised, and said "you are right - there is rum in it."  So this time we bought some Rum Balls.

In France you can find these tasty galettes in January in most bakeries and pastry shops.  The connection with any religious holiday has become faint, it has become more of a "traditional" French holiday and everybody buys one.  I was reading in a French forum about it.  A Tunisian lady (Muslim) was asking whether she could buy a galette.  Here was the answer: "vous vous trompez, chaque famille fait une galette à sa façon , nous dansons entre parents et élèves et nous partagons nos galettes. Les parents musulmans nous redemandent cette fête chaque année, même si nous n'avons pas prévu de la faire!" Translation: "you are wrong, each family makes a galette the way they wish, we dance between parents and students and we share our galettes.  The Muslim parents ask for this holiday each year, even when we have not decided to celebrate it."  I think this person is a kindergarten teacher.  She added that many people eat "croissants" the French pastry and don't realize that it started as a way to celebrate Islam.  So that peaked my interest and I researched the origins of the croissant which we just happened to buy at the bakery, too.

On the English Web I found out that the earliest history for the croissant goes back to 1683 in Vienna, Austria, during the Ottoman Turks siege of the city.  But going to the French Web I found out that, once again, this is not so, that it is older than that. It seems that French King Francis the 1st (1494-1547) invited Ottoman Suleiman the Magnificent  (1494-1566) to a banquet to solidify the alliance between the two.  The French pastry chefs would have invented a pastry in the shape of a crescent to honor the Sultan.  At the time the French people were upset to have a crescent or "croissant" in French, instead of a "lily" which was the emblem of the king.

  Even Queen Consort Catherine de Medici had "40 cakes in the shape of crescent" served in a banquet in Paris in 1549 (way before they were introduced in Vienna in 1683.)  In any case, I like croissants with my coffee for breakfast.

This past week was not spent only eating pastries.  I finished one of the books given to me as a present called "The World of Downton Abbey" by Jessica Fellowes.

  It gives lavish illustrations about the television series and good background information about the Edwardian era.  

 

Last Sunday I also watched the first episode of the third season of Downton Abbey on television.  I had not seen the first season but enjoyed the second year very much.  Actually I had not watched any other television series since then.  I was surprised by Shirley MacLaine's look.  I felt that the camera lightning and her makeup did not suit her well.  I also felt that her character was the stereotype of what an Edwardian British aristocrat would have thought of a rich American.  Shirley reminded me of someone and after looking in my art folder I realized that she did look a bit like the sculpture made of a lady reading by French artist Veronique LaurentDidier, who has a workshop in Pertuis in South Luberon, France.

Now I have to wait for the second episode.  Where will the money come from to save Downton Abbey?  I don't know but I would be afraid that one of the ways would be for Lady Mary to inherit the money her new husband is refusing to accept - that would mean that his character would disappear - maybe he might fall off his horse, or get a virulent virus, or whatever ....  Below is a vintage postcard of the real Downton Abbey, which is Highclere Castle.

A Year of Reading

Several of the bloggers I read have posted a list of all the books they read during the last year.  I have not done this yet but thought it was a good idea - someone might see a book on my list they would like to read.  Reading has been a joy for me since childhood.  When I lived in Paris my mother would take me along the quays of the Seine where the "bouquinistes" (bookstall owners) sell second-hand or rare books as shown in the vintage postcard above.  We always found a book for my mom or for me.  Now they have branched into selling posters, prints and postcards, too.

Les Bouquinistes a Paris by George Lapchine, Russian 1885-1950

My books were my friends as I did not have any siblings nor a large family.  If I was the first in my class my mother would buy me three books.  If I placed from second to the fifth it was one book and nothing after that.  I liked  the series called "Bibliotheque Verte" or "Rose" or "Rouge et Or."  They were series of books for children called Green Library, Pink, or Red and Gold and new volumes came out every month.

I would expedite my home work so I could read my books.

Reading by Lilla Cabot Perry, American 1848-1933

I am not good at making lists - I try, but I forget to keep them up.  I read many books from the local Library, too.  This year I read about 60 - 65 books or so.  I cannot go to sleep without reading first, even if it is very late.  The first book I finished last year was Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh.  I had purchased the original 1945 edition at an estate sale for $1! I buy most of my books second-hand.

My last book of the year was Mad World - Evelyn Waugh and the Secrets of Brideshead by Paula Byrne.  Please click on the collage above twice to read the titles better.  Often I read a book then read more books in the same style or subject.  For example after watching the series Downton Abbey on television I read Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by the Countess of Carnarvon.  This started me reading books on the "Gilded Age" like When the Astors Owned New York by Justin Kaplan and Glimpses of Long Island's North Shore by Richard Panchyk.

Personnages by Jean Beraud, French 1849-1936

At the Library I saw a book which stated that if you missed Downton Abbey you should read Daisy Goodwin's The American Heiress, so I did.  I also read what happened "downstairs" with the book Rose, My Life in Service to Lady Astor by Rosina Harrison.

 

Then we visited our daughter and family near Nashville.  While there I read two books that were on her shelf: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua and Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman - two stimulating ways to bring up children. 

If there is a bookshelf in a home - it attracts me like a magnet, for sure.

Girl Reading by Elizabeth Baron, American, contemporary

When we came back home we decided to visit the Titanic Exhibition in Atlanta.  We did and I wrote a post about it here. But before we went I read a book about the sinking of the Titanic which I already had on my shelves called A Night to Remember by Walter Lord.  I also went to the Library and borrowed ten more books on the subject, as you can see below.

I can be a bit obsessive when I am interested in a subject.  I'll try to read everything I can find.  Once I read a book by Virginia Woolf - I liked it so much that I hunted all the second-hand bookstores, library sales, flea markets and then online to get the whole collection of her writings.  I also bought the books written by her husband Leonard Woolf.  Then I read several biographies on her, her sister, and the Bloomsbury Circle.  I have two large bags or more on all this.  

When I go to book sales I always try to find books written in French as they are expensive to buy here.  Mostly the books are those that are required in French classes and are underlined, etc., but I can find some nice old books sometimes.  This year I read the French books below.

The books above I bought in France, though, when I was there in May 2011 and I bought some more that are on my shelf now when we were in Nice in October 2012.  I buy paperbacks as they are lighter in my suitcase.  After reading several books by Colette I also read the literary biography on her, below, by Julia Kristeva, and

another biography "Colette" by Allan Massie.

Gerald and Sara Murphy featured in the book above by Amanda Vaill called "Everybody was so Young" is about the "lost generation" of expatriate Americans in France between the two wars which included Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Cole Porter, and Dorothy Parker.  The Murphys' were friends to them all.  They had some nice observations to make.  My husband had given me Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast, shown below

and this started me to read a whole collection of books about that time frame in Paris.  I loved it.  Books like Charmed Circle, Gertrude Stein and Company by James R. Mellow - which at 626 pages took me a little longer to read - really made me feel part of the circle.  Actually because of this book we went to New York last May to see an exhibit on Gertrude Stein's collection of paintings.

Shakespeare & Company by Sylvia Beach was also outstanding for bringing out the characters of those she knew - like James Joyce, Sherwood Anderson and all the writers, artists and musicians who came to her bookstore.  I could imagine being there at the time, meeting them in a cafe in Paris.

Then I was planning a trip to Venice.  I found out that an American mystery writer called Donna Leon, a former English teacher overseas, had written some good books based in Venice.  Luckily my Library had a large supply of them.  I think I read fifteen of them in the course of 5 weeks or so.  It really brought the atmosphere to me.  Of course I also read articles and guide books on the subject.

Donna Leon loves Venice, and it shows, but she is realistic about it - showing the many problems like pollution and overt commercialism.  

Venezia by Rubens Santoro, Italian, 1859-1942

This lead me to read a book about the Venice tourist problem.  It is called Venice The Tourist Maze (A cultural critique of the World's Most Touristed City) by Robert C. Davis and Garry R. Marvin.  Tourists have certainly been in Venice for centuries!

I also found more Don Blanding poetry books as shown above.  Chris Bohjalian's The Sandcastle Girls was a gift.  It is an historical love story happening during the Armenian Genocide.  That explained to me why some of my father's cousins, who were orphans, had been in orphanages in Aleppo, Syria.  So I turned to my Library to find more books on the subject.

Romance by Mihay Bodo, Hungarian, contemporary

I did find a couple more of books with Armenia as a background.

Adam Bagdasarian's Forgotten Fire was inspired by his great-uncle's experience who had to surmount terrible hardship to survive.  The Last Day of the War is a novel which is set close to World War I.  A Jewish girl falls in love with an Armenian-American soldier and finds him in Europe.  It is an entertaining novel.  All the books shown on my post can be found and described at Amazon.  I also like to read mysteries.  Below are a few of the mysteries I read.

I have a large collection of Agatha Christie's mysteries in my bookshelves and will read several each year - still have many to go through.  I don't know what is better in the world than reading a good mystery with a cat near you.

Sunday Aftenoorn by Bruce Bingham, American, contemporary

I was forgetting to mention the great find from the last University Women book sale.  It is a French book which was a best seller, in English is was titled The Elegance of the hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.  I found it in the original French L'Elegance du Herisson - and for 50 cents it was a steal!

I don't know if all the books I read in 2012 are mentioned in this post - I thought it would be nicer to show them in pictures than making a list.  But here we are in a New Year with a lot of new book reading opportunities....

Reading by Kay Ritter, American, Contemporary

Here are several quotations I like as an ending - 

I am a part of everything that I have read - Theodore Roosevelt

A house without a book is like a room without windows - Heinrich Mann

A book is like a garden carried in the pocket - Chinese Proverb

Once you learn to read, you will be free forever - Frederick Douglass 

 

Stories by Deborah Dewitt-Marchant, Dutch-American born in 1956