In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, the mythical Greek character Odysseus builds a raft and attempts to return to his home island of Ithaca. But Odysseus’ enemy, Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, unleashes a storm and the raft is destroyed. Half-drowned, Odysseus washes ashore on the island of Corfu. He staggers into an olive grove and collapses.

My arrival on Corfu was a slightly different experience. Poseidon must have been smiling for the seas were calm and shimmering. And my mode of transportation was the 360 feet long luxury sailing vessel the Star Clipper – whose Tropical Bar was always open.

The Star Clipper

Arriving on a sweltering summer day in Venice, the embarkation city for the Star Clipper, was similar to being at Disneyland on opening day. But who was I complain; after all I was a tourist too, and Venice demands a visit from each and everyone one of us. I took comfort in the shade at Piazza San Marco, the epicenter of Venice, complete with pigeons and musicians. A look at my map illustrated the enthralling journey before me. Soon, I was refreshed and on my way, but at a rather slow pace.

By the time I reached the Bridge of Sighs, the crowd before it had grown so thick that (ironically) I could barely look above their mandatory Venetian straw hats to get a glimpse of the famous window which prisoners would pass and take their final view of Venice before their descent into the darkness of the dungeons. A petite woman asked me to take a photo of the window with her camera; so she could actually see it later. Further along my walk I paid witness to the Doge’s Palace (home of the de facto ruler of Venice), took a Vaporetto cruise down the Grand Canal, and had a sampling of Venice’s famed seafood and risotto – which was different from the risotto I had consumed in Milan and Turino, who both claim its origin. Later in the afternoon, dressed rather inappropriately as a Yankee in shorts, I remembered that Harry’s Bar & Grill was one of Hemingway’s favorite stomping grounds and decided to stroll in for a cocktail. A giant hand abruptly stopped my entrance: “No shorts!” “You’d let Hemingway in wearing shorts,” I replied. “Yes, but you are obviously not him.”

Earlier, the water taxi ride from the airport to the stunning Molino Stucky Hilton proved to be a glorious introduction to Venice. The 45-minute journey glided through the shallow marsh lands with stops at numerous islands. It provoked thoughts of the era when Venice, due to its strategic position of waterways between east and west for trade, was one of the strongest and most affluent empires in the world.

But, I found a stop at another one of Venice’s connected islands particularly disturbing. Its former name Ghetto Vecchio (initially Ghèto) originated in Venice, from the copper foundry that existed on the island before the arrival of people of Jewish ancestry. By law, Venetian Jews were relegated to live within the gated and walled area to segregate them from the surrounding Christian population in Venice. Jewish life has been restricted throughout the world for centuries, but the first use of the disdainful name was declared in Venice.

At first, it seemed strange to me that I would be staying at a Hilton property in Venice, but that was before my eyes set on the palatial Molino Stucky Hilton, a former flour mill that has been painstakingly refurbished into a swank hotel, but still very much in the Venetian character. Luxuriating by the roof top pool, with Venice’s unforgettable city skyline in the distance, it occurred to me that I was experiencing something that even a Doge in all his glory would find unimaginable. Considered one of Venice’s newest landmarks, accommodations were both spacious and elegant. Trips to the Rialto Bar & Lounge offered complimentary regional snacks, coffee and the Venetian mainstays of spritz, grappa and Prosecco. It was a wonderful venue to relax and refresh after a return on the hotel’s free shuttle boat that takes guests to Venice’s major attractions.

MALI LOŠINJ, CROATIA

The Clipper departed for the first stop of my 11-day odyssey on the Croatian island of Mali Lošinj. The most low-key of all the ports, it was a good place to stretch your legs and take a swim in its waters among local Croat families and children. Simply siting on the water’s bedside and watching families frolic in a non-touristic area was what I most fondly remember.

HVAR, CROATIA

The idyllic island of Hvar is an oasis of lavender fields and ancient olive trees, once a getaway for the Romans. Lavender season is when the fields are covered in purple blossoms, and the air is filled with the exotic scent of the plant. There are two ports on the islands which both offer history as well as the culture of today. My guide informed me that it’s still popular for the rich and famous, with some American computer billionaire named Bill recently vacationing there in his yacht.

DUBROVNIK, CROATIA

George Bernard Shaw was so enamored by Dubrovnik’s Old Town, that he once said “Those who seek paradise on Earth should come to Dubrovnik and see Dubrovnik.” Layered with 1,400 years of history, walking the entire distance of the 10th century Old Town wall is mandatory. Dubrovnik suffered considerable damage in the 1991/2 war known as the Siege of Dubrovnik, fought between the Yugoslav People’s Army (Serbia and Montenegro) and Croatian forces in their quest for independence. The bombing of Old Town – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – led to international condemnation, and became a public relations disaster for Serbia and Montenegro, contributing to their diplomatic and economic isolation on the world stage. Upon my arrival the city had been restored to its former glory, but it was easy to notice that many of Old Town’s famous red terra cotta roof tiles were a little irregular due to 70% of their destruction during this war. When the sun came down, a countless number of friendly youths poured into the Old Town for fun and excitement, including women – some over 6 ft. tall, not counting their towering high heels. Now I know how Napoleon must have felt.

KOTOR, BOKA FJORD, MONTENEGRO

Charming villages rested along the shore as we sailed deep into the heart of Boka Fjord, the largest fjord of the Mediterranean Sea. Four hours was not enough for the medieval town of Kotor, but long enough to know that I will return.

CORFU, GREECE

In Corfu, the lushest of all the Greek Islands, rests the village Paleocastrit. In Homer’s the Odyssey, it is the setting where Odysseus was washed ashore after 20-years abroad. Homer was a traveling blind poet whose two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey, orally composed and conveyed around the late eighth or early seventh century BC, are considered the very foundation of ancient Greek literature. We were hungry for knowledge but our stomachs won out, choosing to enjoy the lofty site while sitting at a hillside café sipping Retsina and picking at small bites of spanakopita, xtapodi (octopus) and feta saganaki (pan fried feta cheese). My conversation with our photographer covered just how little we actually knew of Greek Mythology.

Yithion – Sparta – Mystras, GREECE

The next port of call was Yithion, once an ancient site and principal port of the Sparta. Now it’s a small town of about 5,000 citizens without any important touristic components. Our attempt at a better understanding of Greek Mythology told us it was where Helen of Troy; Helen, Queen of Sparta; the most beautiful woman in the world had been abducted by Paris of Troy, leading to the Trojan War. The bus ride was long from the port to the once dominant military city-state in ancient Greece, and was disappointed to find that Sparta was buried a mile underground, covered with the ashes of time.

Our final destination was the abandoned fortified town of Mystra for a look at Byzantine frescoes in 14th century churches. During its period of prosperity, the city attracted artists, architects and philosophers of the highest order.

SANTORINI, GREECE

With villages built on tall cliffs, complete with white-washed churches and cobblestone streets leading to tavernas, Santorini is the archetypical Greek picture postcard island. In 1500 BC, a volcanic eruption destroyed the center of the island, leaving a crescent shaped rim of cliffs around the harbor. Santorini is actually a group of islands consisting of Thira, Thirassia, Aspronissi, Palea and Nea Kameni in the southernmost part of the Cyclades. For over 4,000 years, poets have sung its praises. In Greek Mythology, the eternal rock continues to stand majestically above the sea, guarding the secrets of Atlantis.

MYKONOS, GREECE

Someone on the vessel had clearly upset Poseidon, for the trip to Mykonos was cancelled due to rough seas. Many were disappointed, but we had been warned that this was the price one might pay when sailing a smaller vessel. The good news: another day to spend with my new friends. I think I read where Odysseus made a few friends on his odyssey too.

Epilogue

That Was Venice Then and This is Venice Today

Overtourism, the result of having too many visitors arrive at a place at the same time, has become a major problem for popular destinations like Venice.

Cheaper international airfares, the growth of the cruise market, and the emergence of cheap accommodation options such as Airbnb are fueling the overtourism phenomenon. Venice, in particular, but not exclusively, is feeling the effects, struggling to cope with the huge influx of visitors. Venice’s city fathers have recently issued guidelines to reduce tourist overcrowding, but only time will tell.

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Welcome to UNTOURS, a wonderful well-kept secret that may change your concept of travel forever.  The program offers tourists a unique opportunity to not be tourists. Serving more than two dozen European countries, Untours inundates you with information, puts you up in unusual accommodations, provides whatever transportation is necessary to get around and voila! You are a local. (Yes, that works as well in Italian as it does in French…)

We were learning about our neighborhood, but on our terms. Rise early or sleep in. Sightsee or stroll around town. Cook in or eat out. And whatever the choice, we returned to our apartment, a much roomier and warmer ambiance than any hotel would provide. The orientation told us where to get the best produce, meat, fish, pastries, and of course, wine and gelato, the afore-mentioned shop which just coincidentally was directly next door to our apartment.

Our favorite local discovery? The Filler-Up Wine Shop. Bring in any empty bottle and fill it with the wine of your choice for $2.50-$4.00 a bottle – less than you would pay for a glass at a local trattoria. What a terrific way to recycle empty water bottles!

We stayed at a small but cozy 2-story apartment with a full kitchen, lovely balcony and wood-beam ceilings. First it just felt homey – then it was home.  The fact that it was built in the 1700’s was just a bonus. The building across the alley was so close I could reach across the balcony guard rail and tap on their window.

But then everything in Venice is in tight quarters. Venice is an old city – it looks old – sometimes very old. The water-logged foundations date back to the 11^th century; the newer building facades are as recent as the 15^th.  So many buildings stripped of paint and plaster on both sides of a small alleyway, I expected them to crumble before my eyes until I reminded myself they have looked pretty much the same for over 500 years.

Going from the crowded parking lot area with throngs of cars, buses and vans – the last vestiges of the auto industry I was to see for a week – I was transformed into another world filled instead with canals, gondolas, water buses, cobbled streets, alleyways, bridges and cafes.  Picture everything that makes any city run – buses, taxis, fire trucks, police cars, ambulances, postal services, Fedex deliveries, garbage pick-ups – but they’re all boats! And the city still runs.

Expect to get lost. And thank goodness because that is the best way to explore the city and find those gems that are not part of the major tourist itineraries.

Among those gems is Pinocchio Island, home to a local Geppetto whose real name is Roberto Comin, maker of magical marionettes. These brilliant little string creatures represented all aspects of Venetian historical and theatrical culture lovingly produced by Comin for 25 years in a workshop over 350 years old.  Requests now come in for characters from Shakespeare to Cleopatra and yes, a Johnny Depp look-alike that was given to the actor for his birthday. The costumes rival the intricacy and elegance of any Medici gown or regal accessory. Want a marionette dopple-ganger of yourself?  It’s doable but it’ll cost you about $600.

Another unusual find, especially surprising in such a Catholic city, home to well over 100 churches, is a small square that is actually referred to as Ghetto Campo de Nova where there are five synagogues, several kosher restaurants and residents sporting traditional Jewish skull caps known as yarmulkes. The kosher menus include antipasto and spaghetti as well as bagels and potato latkes. Talk about an ecumenical meal! With a little imagination, and a lot of Manischewitz wine, you could be in Israel!

Getting lost is a given – did I mention that?  People spend as much time looking up at the signs designating different sections, squares and churches of the city as they do looking down at maps, phones and GPS’s. My favorite response from a young street vendor: “Go right, over the next bridge, then ask someone else.” And then when you don’t think things can get any worse, you see the sign you’ve been searching for and it points in both directions. I thought about giving up and going home but I had no clue how to get there.

We wandered everywhere, sitting at cafes to eat or drink wine, always aware of how little English we heard – again reinforcing the idea of living like a local. And the more we wandered, the more enjoyable the discoveries: a delightful mask store, street musicians in jeans playing Vivaldi, an out-of-the-way Leonardo DaVinci Museum.

Not every stop in Venice is off-the-beaten-path. There’s  the de rigueur visit to Piazza San Marco, a World Heritage site and symbol of Venice. Like the Spanish Steps in Rome and the Uffizi in Florence, it’s the symbol of the city. So if you want to avoid tourists, don’t go there – especially not on a weekend. But part of the reason they’re there are the pigeons. Now in my unfiltered 19-year-old memory, the square was covered with them. Decades later, my first thought was, “Where are all the pigeons?” Then I saw them. “Oh yes, over there by that guy with all the bird food.”

As we took the vaporetto to the island of Murano, we left the canals behind and felt the freedom of open waters as we entered the lagoon surrounding the city. Murano, world famous for its glass figurines, jewelry and home décor since the 11^th Century, is a must destination if  you want to be absolutely sure you’re buying Murano glass  and not a knock-off. A visit to the factory offers insight into how the glass is made, the colors created, the intricacies of the designs and the skills of the master glass blowers. Makes you better appreciate the high prices you then encounter in the gift shops…sort of….

I was amazed at the intricate convoluted shapes in colors so vibrant and translucent that the light passing through intensifies the whole experience. I wanted to decorate my whole house with cups, vases, dishes and elaborately designed decorative pieces but I settled for a pair of earrings.

As we exited another vaporetto at Lido, the beachfront community, we were transported to another era. That of a modern beach town hawking flip flops, beach toys and sunglasses. And then I saw a bus! One with actual wheels. Dorothy, you’re not in Venice anymore!

Wide sand beach with crowded umbrellas and chaise lounges on one side and isolated blankets on the other. Large elegant hotels front the tree-laden boulevards with greenery everywhere, a color sorely lacking in the squares and alleyways of Venice.  It was a fun diversion but I was so happy to get back home, pick up some Branzini from the fish market in Santa Margherita Square plus a water bottle full of wine from the Filler-Up shop, and dine out on our balcony.

Perhaps, that’s the essence of the Untours experience. There’s something more special about discovering such treasures on your own than being herded there as part of a group, according to a pre-determined time schedule that dictates how long you can spend looking before it hurries you through because the bus – in this case, one on water – is leaving to go to the next stop.

It was so much nicer just to pick up some fresh fish, wave to shopkeepers we had befriended and return home to sit on our porch, sip yet another glass of wine and savor our most recent exploits. And feel reassured that no one has ever been irretrievably lost in Venice, but if so – how lucky for them. They’re still there!

For more information, visit www.untours.com.

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1. Question: What are some of the “things” or activities that the people of Venice do for fun?

Answer:

Venice is a city built on water, which offers a strong relationship with its citizens in their natural element. So, one of the main activities for a Venetian in their leisure time is to be close to water. Most local people own a boat, either a rowing boat or a motor boat. When the good season arrives, everybody takes out their boats. There are a lot of traditional rowing or sailing boats belonging to the local environment that can be considered as a sort of “piece of art” for the number of skills and knowledge needed for their design and construction. Besides the great  deal of rowing boats in Venice, the most famous one is the gondola, which are conducted in a standing position, something very unique of this city. Even the sailing boats have special shapes in both, the hull and the sail, to be able to cross shallow waters. To keep this tradition alive, there’s many local associations, along with the City of Venice, organizing various events in the lagoon such as regattas, races, parades, etc. Many of the most important traditional feats, still celebrated in the city – Festa del Redentore, Festa de la Sensa, the Historic Regatta – takes place on the water offering citizens and visitors sports and culture at the same time. In more recent years, there had been an important movement entitled, the Vogalonga, a non-competitive race which started as a local protest against motor wave movements. It has become a worldwide appointment for all sorts of rowing boats. Motor wave movement is still a great issue inside the lagoon of Venice because more and more people enjoy outdoor week-ends between the island of the lagoon and at the sea, using motor boats with speed engines that erode salt marshes and hurt the edges of the city.

Venice is built on an archipelago of 118 small islands, formed by 177 canals in a shallow lagoon, connected by 409 bridges. Venice remain the only functioning city in Europe in the 21st century where every form of transport is entirely on water or foot. Also the main public transportation means – motorized waterbuses (vaporetto) – which serve regular routes along the Grand Canal and between the city’s islands.

2. Question: What’s one thing the public probably does NOT know about Venice?

Answer:

Venice is Europe’s largest urban car-free area.  I would like to talk about the role that Venice have had in past as a maritime power of the sea.

“If you see the Grand Turk, talk to him in Venetian.”  This invitation, which today seems unusual to us, was a common motto in Istanbul during the sixteenth century, where not only Italian diplomats and interpreters could freely communicate with the Sultan in the language of Venice.  In short, the Venetian language was the English of the Mediterranean Sea. The reason is that between the Middle Ages and the modern age, the progressive affirmation of the ‘Serenissimo’ (Byzantine name for Venice) in the eastern Mediterranean had been responsible for an unprecedented spread of the Venetian language, which was understood, spoken and written not only in the colonies directly administered by Venice (like Zadar, the Ionian islands and Crete), but also in the surrounding territories, such as areas controlled by the Ottoman enemy. Throughout the Levant (geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean), Venetian circulated as an international language of navigation, commercial exchanges and even diplomacy. On the one hand, the numerous documents preserved in the Venice Archives and in many other archives of Mediterranean countries bear witness to this; on the other hand, the many words of Venetian origin passed to the Croatian, Albanian, Greek, Arabic and Turkish. In more recent times, one specific Venetian word, among others, was able to become a sort of international passepartout (providing a universal means of passage), globally understood. The word “ciao” derives from the Venetian phrase s-ciào vostro or s-ciào, literally meaning “I am your slave. This greeting is analogous to the medieval Latin Servus which is still used colloquially in parts of Central/Eastern Europe. The expression was not a literal statement of fact, but mostly it meant “at your service”. This greeting was eventually shortened to ciào, lost all its servile connotations and came to be used as an informal salutation by speakers of all classes. The Venetian ciao was adopted by Northern Italians during the late 19th and early 20th century. Later it became common elsewhere in Italy with the spelling ciao. It has since spread to many countries in Europe, along with other items of the Italian culture and later even in the Americas, largely by way of Italian immigrants.

3. Question: Share some aspect of what Venice has contributed to the world.

Answer:

Being a powerful maritime empire, Venice has contributed greatly in terms exchanges of knowledge and goods between East and West. In the Middle Ages, Marco Polo (1254–1324) voyaged to the Orient as a merchant, and his series of books, co-written by Rustichello da Pisa and titled Il Milione, provided important information of the lands east of Europe, from the Middle East to China, Japan, and Russia. Besides being a source of inspiration for authors, playwrights, and poets (from Shakespeare to Thomas Mann, from Henry James to Evelyn Waugh and Marcel Proust, just to mention a few), Venice has long been at the forefront of the technological development of printing and publishing. The city was the location of one of Italy’s earliest printing presses, established by Aldus Manutius (1449–1515). From this beginning Venice developed as an important typographic center and even as late as the 18th century was responsible for printing half of Italy’s published books. In this context, Venice was a good environment for cultural and social achievement. Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia (5 June 1646 – 26 July 1684), a Venetian philosopher of noble descent, was the first women in the world to receive an academic degree from a university and in 1678, received a Ph.D. degree. Elena was considered to be an expert musician. In addition to mastering the sciblis of her time, Elena mastered the harpsichord, the clavichord, the harp, and the violin. Her skills were shown by the music that she composed in her lifetime. She was a member of various academies and was esteemed throughout Europe for her attainments and virtues.

Even the complex system of government of the Republic of Venice, which lasted from 697 to 1797,  has been a model of governance and a reference to look at.  Resulted from numerous successive stratifications originating mainly in the XI-XIII centuries, the government of the Serenissima was in constant search of a balance and a mutual control between the various organs of the state. In 1784, the Republic of Venice was the first government to recognize the independence of the United States of America. In 1786, Thomas Jefferson arrived in Venice with a delegation composed of Thomas Moore and Benjamin Franklin to examine the laws of the Serenissima and later to adapt them, after appropriate modifications, to the Constitution of the United States.

Technology was also a very advanced aspect in Venice, in particular related to the maritime world. For example the Venetian Arsenal, heart of the Republic’s power, which occupies almost a fifth of the entire city area, is also an extraordinary example of ante litteram ‘factory’, understood in a modern sense, in regards the division of space and the organization of the work. A model for modern assembly lines, that are common methods of assembling complex items such as automobiles and other transportation equipment, household appliances and electronic goods.

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