[The Life of Shaun #573] La Serenissima

When to visit Venice was something I'd thought about since moving to London in 2005.  Back then I said I would visit either when I was older or in a couple, as it's not a swinging singles kind of city.  As tourism morphed into hyper-tourism, that when became more of a whether to visit Venice.  Of all the world's destinations that are drowning in their own success, Venice is possibly the worst impacted of all.  I've been to enough overrun hotspots to know that, whatever the inherent charms, they are difficult to see behind a wall of fanny packs and selfie sticks.

This is something that's become a bit of a challenge for me; when a place is "hot", I dread going there.  I know that it's hypocritical to travel and then bemoan  "too many" others doing the same.  When I was growing up in Las Vegas, all I wanted to do was get out and travel, and that's been a huge part of what's made me the person I am.  How could I be against the same opportunities for anyone else to see what's out there and where they belong?  But logic couldn't stop the horror I felt when I saw the changes in Barcelona or Berlin between visits several years apart.  There's a difference between increased tourism, and tourism on the scale that obliterates what was there to begin with.  It's a fine line, but when a city no longer feels like it's for its residents, it's been crossed.

I am a fan of Bhutan's tourism policy: "high value with low impact".  You have to spend a minimum of $200-290 per person per day in the country, depending on season/party size, which prevents low-value/high-volume tourists, and ensures the country isn't overrun with mobs bouncing from one Instagrammable spot to the next.  Yes, this means many people, including me, will likely never be able to afford to visit, but that is of lesser concern than preserving the place for the people who live there.  The Bhutanese model couldn't be copied exactly in cities like Venice, but changes in the same spirit could help stem the tide: higher hotel taxes, limiting the number of hotel rooms, licensing AirBnB rentals and limiting them to 30 days/year, and above all, banning cruise ships.  Every decision has winners and losers, but weight should be given to who benefits - residents or corporate interests - not just the monetary value.  Just as houses should be homes, not investments, cities should be for living in, not for profit.

All that being said, with covid-19 hammering tourism, we decided now was the time to go to Venice, when it was relatively empty.  And what a joy this version of Venice is!  The city is popular for a reason, and its popularity well-deserved.  It's in a league with only Paris and Prague as far as architectural beauty, and the total absence of cars is a dream.  We were able to walk up and eat/drink anywhere, getting prime tables with canal views, no reservations required.  The city has a few "must-sees", but the real joy lies in aimlessly wandering the streets away from the tourist hubs and just seeing what you come across.  I was pleasantly surprised to walk through some rather gritty, local-feeling areas.  But nothing could hide the damage that tourism has done to Venice as a place to live.  Almost everyone we heard on the streets was speaking German or French; the city was sparse, but did not "feel Italian".  It's going to take more than one Summer of pandemic to right the wrongs done to Venice.

Arrivederci,

Shaun

Ponte dell'Accademia from our room, one of four bridges spanning the Grand Canal.

Piazza San Marco, the spiritual heart of Venice.

A canal...somewhere.

My favourite scene during our visit: a beautiful, elegant Italian lady arriving at a friend's for dinner or the like, going about her life while the tourists scutter around her.  It seemed an apt metaphor.

Ponte di Rialto, the most elegant bridge on the Grand Canal, and Insta-Central.  My photo was taken from a public transport boat.  #genx

The Grand Canal.

A gondola returning in front of the Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti.

Sushil and me sporting the latest Italian fashion.

San Giacomo dell'Orio, my favourite neighbourhood we explored.

Backstreet Venice at night.

Shaun H. Coley ~ Islington ~ London N1 ~ UK ~ shaunism.blogspot.co.uk

[The Life of Shaun #572] No pain? All gain.

Six weeks ago, as I sat down at my computer to work on some essays, I felt a deep, localised pain in my right shoulder.  It died down to soreness pretty quickly, eventually merging up with my neck, and just kind of sat there.

Two weeks ago, I was awoken at 04:00 by piercing pain in my upper right arm, which kept me awake for hours trying to find some contorted position that reduced the pain to throbbing, so I could doze lightly back off.  In the morning, I booked an appointment with my GP, who referred me to an orthopaedic, who gave me an Xray and MRI.  The result: inflammation in my right shoulder, which he believes is exacerbating the slipped disc he found in my neck.  I've now been referred to a spinal specialist, who I will see today and, hopefully, will start me on the path to recovery.

I remember visiting my friend Mike McGirr in Atlanta, shortly after he had back issues, and him telling me 'I'm not afraid of death anymore, I'm afraid of pain.'  While my brush with chronic pain is not in the same league that he, my cousin, or countless others experienced, after a few days into it, I was able to begin to relate.  Sitting awake again at 04:00 in the morning, trying to wedge myself into a tolerable position, I thought that if this were going to be my life forevermore, I could understand how the will to keep going could fade away.

Through trial and painful error, I've landed on a regime (400 mg of ibuprofen, every five hours, day and night) that is ameliorative enough I can stay in bed rather than migrating to the couch, but cured I ain't.  Whoever said 40 is the new 30 obviously never had a pinched nerve.

Be kind to your joints, folks.  You'll miss them when they're gone.

Shaun

Shaun H. Coley ~ Islington ~ London N1 ~ UK ~ shaunism.blogspot.co.uk