Maggie's Farm

I'll post some pics from Venice and the Veneto over the next week, where Mrs. BD and I have been for 10 days. I think of Venice as a Disney-type place because it feels unreal, almost designed for tourism. Crowds all day and most of the night. Most lovely at night, hiking through the darkish alleys until you come across a campo with cafes and some trees, and kids playing soccer in the dark until their Moms call them for supper at 8.

Venice itself has only a 50,000 population, but 4.5 million tourists/year. Here's Piazza San Marco last week. Interesting point: that bell tower, the Campanile, was build in 1912. Yes, 1912, as a replacement for previous towers. Venice has tons of towers, most of them leaning because it's all built on a swamp. Most of Venice is 16th and 17th C - it was indeed a Magic Kingdom (but a very wealthy Republic with its own Mediterranean empire) for over 500 years.