Well, not the most comfortable of nights. I woke up feeling very cold. My sleeping bag and groundsheet were wet with dew, and there was even a light frost on my backpack. I let my things dry for about an hour in the sunshine and then headed back to the autostrada. I did not realise at the time that this was Easter Sunday.
I was fortunate to get a lift fairly quickly with Mario, an architect taking an Easter break. We headed for Venezia and arrived there in the early afternoon after a couple of stops for coffee and a picnic lunch.
Venezia was very hot and amazingly busy. I saw the famous square of San Marco with the spectacular St Mark’s Basilica. Many of the sculptures and other adornments were stripped from major churches and public buildings in Constantinople when it was plundered during the Fourth Crusade.
Venezia offered many sights and sounds (the gondolas, the gondoliers in their blue suits and straw hats, and street artists) as well as the rather unpleasant smell of the canals in some of the “backstreet” areas as they flowed past old crumbling buildings. The Grand Canal and Rialto Bridge offered a stark contrast. I saw the Bridge of Sighs, dating from 1600 – so-called because convicts crossing into the prison had their final view of the beautiful city from the bridge before their incarceration or execution.
And while on darker topics, I am reminded of one of my favourite films – Don’t Look Now (1973) set in Venice and starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. It was based on a short story by Daphne Du Maurier. I can’t remember if I read the story first or saw the film – either way, it was after my trip. I remember reading the collection of short stories when I was doing night duty as a student nurse. I was alone in a ward of men with severe learning disabilities. I was reading by the lamp in the nursing office and the ward cat came to the doorway and, in the way of cats, didn’t look at me but looked over my shoulder. I felt a bit spooked at the time – it was a Victorian asylum with many a ghostly tale.
It took a long time to get out of the city because of all the crowds and traffic. There was a true cacophony of car horns that filled the air. We drove towards Trieste and stopped for a meal and a couple of glasses of wine. Later, we parked up near the toll booths of the autostrada (where there was more light and less risk of falling prey to thieves), and slept. Not luxurious, but certainly a bit warmer than last night.
Where will I be laying my head tomorrow night?
Clues: A town on the Pivka River in southwestern Slovenia, famous for its caves.
Psychologist on the Move 