Today I want to show you our neighborhood.  Venice is made up of small shops and small shop owners.  There aren’t large department stores or malls here.  Most people live in small apartments.  And, because there are no cars, everyone walks or takes a vaparetto (boat) to get where they need to go.

We rented a 2 bedroom apartment.  I can show you a picture of our kitchen, where we spend most of our time.  We haven’t had the TV on since we left the U.S.  Everything here is smaller and more compact.  Because it’s been chilly, we’ve used the heat, but it’s subtle heat, not the blowing kind Americans are accustomed to.

The bedrooms are very small.  In fact, there isn’t enough space in the one I’m staying in to get a picture of it.

We do have a washing machine in the closet of one of the bathrooms.  However, it will only hold what you’re wearing and takes about an hour to launder it.  I don’t think most people have dryers, but they do have clothes lines.  Here are my clothes hanging outside. Our shower is barely large enough to turn around in.

We are about a 5 minute walk from Campo Santa Margarieta.  I love the square.  This is where we have our morning cappuccino.  There are also  2 vegetable markets, 2 or 3 fresh fish markets, a couple of restaurants and the usual place to buy Italian newspapers, gum and tourist stuff.  Today, for the first time, there was a vendor selling men’s and women’s clothing.  I bought an Italian cashmere sweater for 38e.  We also bought fresh salmon for dinner tonight.  We both thought it was absolutely delicious!

Not far away, we have bakeries, gelato, hardware, herbalist and most anything else that is necessary.  Our square is always busy…we’re very near a university and the students tend to congregate in the square.

Internet service doesn’t always seem to be reliable, but we Americans are spoiled.  Even though this is a very different way of life, I’m enjoying the change.  There is a peacefulness that comes with no cars and no TV.  I find I’m doing more reading.  We enjoy hearing the church bells throughout the day.   I love the walking and I love getting to know the workers in the small shops. The Venetians seem to accent the beauty in everything they do.  Tomorrow we plan on going to the island of Burano, famous for its lace.  See you there!