Just this once...

 

In May, I finally had a ride in a gondola on the canals of Venice. Truth is, I'd considered a gondola ride on two previous visits, and backed away feeling embarassed at being 'such a tourist'  and awkward at using a fellow human being as a means of transport (I feel the same about rickshaws and the like.) 

Despite the rich history of the gondola in the city, I felt, watching tourists being lined up and handed like cargo into the delicate rocking craft, that the whole venture felt a bit like donkey rides at the beach.

Gondolas are so photogenic it's difficult not to keep taking photos - reflections on the water, the incomparable background of picturesque architecture and sky, the craft themselves. The traffic jams. And the invitation to drift back in time to an age where this is how one got around town. 

But Mike our obliging tour manager wrangled some gondoliers for a 2pm booking and we floated away in convivial groups. And after the chatting, and photographing and bobbing - and traffic jams - nice memories - today I am drawn to the history. 

First I learn that the plural of gondola is 'gondole' - and plural definitely applies as I learn there were 8 to 10 thousand of them during the 17th and 19th century, down to around 400 for the tourists now. 

They're all black, had you noticed? They've been around since the 11th century. Lots of other stuff in The Gondolas of Venice - the history and traditions, the  regulations, construction, the gondoliers.  Fascinating stuff, so go look.

I'm glad I had a ride in a gondola. But just this once. I prefer walking, striding off down calles, in pursuit of a bit of architecture, getting lost and found again. The canals are crowded, a bit claustrophobic. I did my best to follow Rick Steves' advice, to put down the phone and just let the experience wash over me. But once in a while, that urge to capture a beautiful thing overcame me. Just this once.