Tourism – So Many Words…

Italy 2024: Venice

I enjoyed Venice for the most part. It was small and quaint and the crowds weren’t as intense as many places we visited. We could actually get a glimpse and feel of local life rather than just a blast of tourist kitch.

Our rental was on the second and third story above a shop. The second floor was the tiny kitchen and one bedroom and the third floor the bathroom and another bedroom. Then there was a steep narrow ladder that led up to a tiny roof top deck. Our travel companion was not very trusting of the construction and refused to sit up there with us. I figured if it had clung to the roof for this long, it was likely to continue doing so.

These are some of the pictures I took from that vantage point.

One of my best photos is of this lone accordion player. He sat in that spot for a couple of hours every afternoon/evening and really put the final touches to the Italian ambiance.

This was a great spot to watch the life of Venice. We were off the main route to the tourist hotspots, so we saw a more casual group of people.

There was a small restaurant just a few doors down and the crowd was lively until almost 2am every night. Lively but enough to keep me awake. It was more like atmosphere. I know for a fact that I fell asleep with a smile on my face

NY – Doesn’t Smell Like Pee At All

New York City is dirty and eternally under construction. But I loved it.

We stayed in Manhattan, in the Lower East Side close to the Bowery. It was everything you imagine NYC could be. It was smelly and loud and the melting pot chaos that is America. It also had its unfortunate ugliness and tragedy, but that is part of the package – always has been.

We saw a lot of homelessness and some of it was extreme. One poor soul was sleeping or passed out on the sidewalk with no shoes and his bare ass hanging out with his pants at his knees. People were just walking by like it was nothing. He might as well have been a potted plant. But then, what are we to do? What is the correct response to that? I’m not sure. And therefore we didn’t do anything.

There were also several obviously stoned individuals wandering the streets. Most of the time I find them to be comical. Yes, it is sad and tragic that they got themselves into that situation, but looking in from the outside, it is funny. I think most of us have been that drunk at least once in our lives. When it becomes a daily occurrence, someone should step in and get them some help. That is the part society seems to have forgotten.

One thing that non-New Yorkers seem to consider a settled fact is that the subways and buses of New York are piss-covered and stinky. Most people think the same about any subway and city bus system. However, I have found the public transportation system clean and pleasant in every city I’ve been in. I like Chicago’s system the best, but New York’s was very nice if a bit more confusing. My wife and I never drive when we go to a city with a subway and bus system. That way we never have to worry about where to park or traffic or any other BS. We fly in, get on the train, and hit the town. We are downtown long before we could have driven there.

I’ve also never felt unsafe in a public transportation system. Not once. Big cities are big, but not necessarily the untamed wilds that they are portrayed to be. There is just a lot of people in a small area. But they are still just people.

So, all you Timid-Tina’s and fainting lambs out there that want to see the big city but are terrified of taking subways or buses should calm down and get on. It’s gonna be fun! Life is supposed to be an adventure, right?

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