Our living situation in Venice is a lot different than that in Paris. So I thought I would give a few tips to anyone thinking of renting an apartment abroad.

The apartment in France was the second we have rented in Paris. Both apartments were owned by relatively young people who had completely redone them as their own residences, but then decided to rent them out to tourists "part time". They were beautiful, and had all the little touches that you need to feel "at home." Our apartment in Venice was furnished as a "rental" – and although they claim it is full of "art and antiques," – well, cheap old stuff is still cheap stuff. And a lot of the touches of home are completely missing (like a living room sofa – there is just a twin bed they pretend is a "daybed.")

But after a visit to the "Dogie’s Palace," I decided it was all attitude. That in fact, we are livin’ like the Dogies (my spelling and pronunciation)!!

It first occurred to me when I saw they have the same Venetian terrazzo floor that we do (small marble chips set in concrete). This is common, and highly prized as a "genuine Venetian floor." (You never see hardwood – it must rot in the humidity.)

They have fine art. We have fine art.

They have a balcony. We have a balcony.

They have a view of a canal. We have a view of a canal.

They have gondolas at their beck and call. We have our own gondolier parked under our window.

They have a beautiful courtyard. We have a beautiful courtyard.

Their courtyard is full of art. Our courtyard is full of art.

Seriously, we love the building and our little balcony, and our courtyard. It is very typical of the construction in Venice – brick and mortar covered by a layer of plaster. Most of this plaster has faded into a soft wash of warm colors – sienna, ochre and rose. But much of the plaster has washed off the walls, leaving the underlying bricks exposed. Many of these bricks are starting to wash away, too, and you often see an entire building listing to the side or held together by cables.

But back to the apartment. Venice has been surprisingly inexpensive (the exchange rate helps). Our apartment is huge – the hallway alone has as much square footage as our entire place on the Ile St. Louis. And renting is cheap – we are paying less per night than our friend Keith who got a room at the Hotel Orion.

This was positioned as a "small, family run hotel two blocks from San Marco." It was indeed. Keith’s "shower" stuck out from the bathroom wall – so he had to hide the toilet paper before he used it. And the door separating the bathroom/shower combination was broken off its hinges. A quick trip to the front desk, confirmed that, yes, the door is broken. But Keith survived, and we had a great time.

If you look at the crowd of people passing under the Hotel Orion, you will see the difference between the area around San Marco and our neighborhood.

We love our neighborhood, and we spend most evenings in the little Campo (square), watching all the regulars. Most of the churches, museums and shops close between noon and 3:00, so we eat long, lazy lunches and take a lot of naps. We haven’t befriended the food vendors, because eating out is our main activity, and costs less than cooking in. We spend hours drinking beer in the sunshine.

Much of this time is spent in our own Campo. We recognize the various children, and know who the best soccer players are. And the dogs! One male dachshund was swaggering by a three year old girl as she pushed her doll in its little stroller. When the doll got out, the dachshund climbed in – sitting up on his hind quarters (I didn’t know this was physically possible). When the girl’s mother decided it was time to go home, she tried to put the doll back in the stroller, and the dachshund wrestled with her for control of the stroller– he kept wheedling his way back in!!!

And then there is Briski – the Dogeressa of the Campo.

Her owners have a small restaurant – Capitan Uncino’s (no sign – the tables under the umbrellas in the Campo photo are part of the restaurant) – that has been open since 1930. Briski watches all the comings and goings in the Campo, and is not shy about charging full speed into the middle of the Campo and barking her displeasure at trespassers (both canine and human). We also watch her go on "missions" – she purposefully marches off somewhere, and won’t let anyone deflect her from her path. When she is done, she returns.

Briski’s owner is the most taciturn man we have met. We go there a lot, and he usually waits on us himself. He will not smile, and often refuses to let us order our first choice. One night he let us sit for almost a half an hour before he decided we deserved our after dinner drinks. He is not rude to us – he just runs a tight ship. I was happy when Briski let me hold her on my lap, but last night Capitan Uncino actually gave us a huge smile and shook our hands as we left. We rejoiced that we were finally "in."

On a sad note, we were reminded that the "real world" continues back in the states without us. My beloved little cat Bronx died – just a couple of days after his 14^th birthday. He had not been sick – it was a sudden attack of a very aggressive form of bone cancer. I bottled raised Bronx, and he was devoted to me. Not always the friendliest to my friends (ok, he was downright hostile). I miss him now, and know that coming home won’t be the same without him. I owe a tremendous debt to my mother (aka "Friend of Beasts") who nursed him through his last days.

Last Sunday was "First Communion Sunday" at the neighborhood church in the Campo. The dozen children were all wearing white and gold vestments. The priest looked just like Marlon Brando in the Godfather (pre- his extra 200 pounds). He lectured them sternly, and smiled broadly.

I love seeing the churches actually "used." They follow the same method of construction as the houses here – brick and mortar covered by stucco. My favorite s the Gothic church of the Frari – they painted the stucco covering the bricks to look like bricks!

But I am stealing Dan’s thunder. Stay tuned for his article on the differences between churches in Italy and France.

BACK TO THE GRAND TOUR HOMEPAGE!!!