Italy Blog #5: Venice; The Beaked Doctor, a University and Dorsoduro

The Beaked Doctor, Tom and our guide, Matteo

In this 5th blog of our Italy trip we're taking you on a walking tour of the island of Dorsoduro where our hotel was located. When we came upon a mask shop (and there are a lot of them in Venice) we learned about the history of beaked doctor figure while Tom and our guide Matteo posed for a picture.



BTW - If you've read or want to read Dan Brown's newest book Inferno, it takes place part of the time in Venice, and the "Beaked Doctor" is an interesting part of the story.

WHAT IS THE BEAKED DOCTOR ABOUT? It's actually a long nose on a mask that appears like a large bird's beak. It was developed to help doctors in the 17th century treat plague victims. The entire outfit, mask and robes are called "The plague doctor's costume."  It was to protect doctors from inhaling airborne diseases. The costume, originating in the 17th century, consisted of an ankle length overcoat and a bird-like beak mask often filled with sweet or strong smelling substances (commonly lavender), along with gloves, boots, a brim hat, and an outer over-clothing garment

A street in Dorsoduro

This costume was also worn by plague doctors during the Plague of 1656, which killed 145,000 people in Rome and 300,000 in Naples. The costume terrified people because it was a sign of imminent death. Plague doctors wore these protective costumes in accordance with their agreements when they attended their plague patients.




WALKING THE STREETS OF DORSODURO
We walked through hidden streets and over many little bridges,as canals are the streets of each island. Dorsoduro is one of the six sestieri of Venice, in northern Italy. Dorsoduro includes the highest land areas of the city and also Giudecca island and Isola Sacca Fisola.

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The island was filed with small shops and restaurants. It was interesting to see that the water levels in the canals were right up to the doorways of many buildings.

Water levels are at doorstop height

UNIVERSITY STOP- 
We stopped at University Ca'Foscari Venezi, where Matteo explained erosion that has occurred and all of the restoration that has been ongoing throughout the city's structures for hundreds of years.

Since its foundation in 1868 it has been housed in the Venetian Gothic palace of Ca' Foscari, from which it takes its name. The palace stands on the Grand Canal. The institute became a university in 1968^. It currently has eight departments and almost 19,000 students

NEXT: THE ITALIAN JOB BOAT GARAGE AND THIS HISTORY OF CISTERNS

Italy Blog #4: A Boat Tour Through Venice's Grand Canal

View of the Grand Canal from our room

In this 4th blog about our trip to Italy,and we're taking you on a tour into the Grand Canal

WHAT IS THE GRAND CANAL? - The Grand Canal is a canal in Venice, Italy. It forms one of the major water-traffic corridors in the city. Public transport is provided by water buses and private water taxis, and many tourists explore the canal by gondola. It is 2 miles long.

A picturesque view of the Grand Canal

 One end of the canal leads into the lagoon near the Santa Lucia railway station and the other end leads into Saint Mark Basin; in between, it makes a large reverse-S shape through the central districts (sestieri) of Venice. It is 3.8 km long, and 30 to 90 m wide, with an average depth of five meters (16.5 ft).

The water comes to the level of the doors

VIDEO OF ONE OF OUR BOAT RIDES- When we first arrived at the hotel, we knew that a tour guide would be waiting for us in 4 hours. After a quick nap, we met our tour guide and he took us on a boat through the Grand Canal, and you can see the video below.

NEXT: A WALKING TOUR THROUGH VENICE'S ISLAND OF DOSODOURO & THE "BEAKED" DOCTOR

Check out our friend Beth's "My RX Coloring Book" for Cancer patients

Congratulations to our friend Beth Kaufman , author and comedienne who just published and an innovative and creative coloring book for those going through cancer treatment. You'll likely remember Beth from her amazing book "Make Mine a Double...Mastectomy, That is." It's her personal journey told with humor. It's also a Best-Seller on Amazon.com. 

Check out Beth's NEW Book:  

My RX Coloring Book Paperback  

JUST PUBLISHED– June 9, 2016 on AMAZON.COM 

by Beth Kaufman (Author)

It's just $6.99 

SUMMARY:
Can you think of any better prescription than laughing and being uplifted while coloring? This coloring book was designed for people who are currently going through cancer treatment It is filled with comic relief and inspirational sayings. I was sometimes so stressed out and bored while sitting in the chemo chair for so many hours that I wish I had had this kind of book to make me smile and at the same time uplift me.I personally guarantee you both will happen while coloring in your RX coloring book! p.s. It's okay to share with your chemo mates and visitors!

MUST WATCH Speech after the FL tragedy: Hillary in Cleveland (6-13-16)

Whether you like her or not - WATCH and LISTEN. See how a president should act. It's not often that a speech of 30 minutes will give me chills and make me so incredibly proud to support a candidate - but when I listened to Secretary Clinton's speech she gave in Ohio on Monday, it did just that. I brought tears to my eyes that she understands, she cares, she has plans to help (unlike her opponent who just wants to arm everyone).
  This woman must be our next president. She's intelligent, thoughtful, respectful of everyone's backgrounds, lives, race, religion or non-religion, sexuality, social status.  

Published on Jun 13, 2016

Speaking in Cleveland Monday, Hillary Clinton said the shooting early Sunday morning in Orlando was "mind-numbingly familiar." Clinton honored the victims and the first responders over the course of her speech. 

 VIDEO: https://youtu.be/3T7rXaeCTos

Italy Blog #3- Welcome to Venice! - An island map/Our Hotel

Palazzo Stern Hotel

Tom has been to Italy before, but I (Rob) have not. Although I'm 1/2 Italian, I never really paid much attention to Venice (other than seeing it in photos, movies, etc.). Initially I thought that Venice was part of the mainland with canals through it. I learned that it is in fact a large number of islands (several main islands) in a lagoon.

The room we had

The 3rd floor hotel hallway

 

 

 

 

Tom loved this window of the hotel

HOW IS VENICE LAID OUT? - Venice, capital of northern Italy’s Veneto region, is built on more than 100 small islands in a marshy lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. Its stone palaces seemingly rise out of the water. There are no cars or roadways, just canals and boats. The Grand Canal snakes through the city, which is filled with innumerable narrow, maze-like alleys and small squares.

Map of most of the islands of Venice

BRIDGES - There are some foot bridges that span the Grand Canal and take you to another island. There are a LOT of walking bridges everywhere as the "streets" are all waterways. 

We worked through a travel agent who arranged drivers, private tours, etc, so we never had to worry. That's the way to go. Tom can tell you who to go to. A driver from the airport took us to the lagoon, and a boat taxi took us to our hotel. (We had been awake for about 30 hours, so we were tired).

View of the Grand Canal from our room.

HOTEL PALAZZO STERN - This hotel, set along the Grand Canal in a stately 15th-century Moorish manor, lies 1.3 km from Piazza San Marco and Saint Mark's Basilica. There's a Vaporetto stop in front of the hotel. (That's for boat pick ups).  The elegant rooms feature traditional Venetian decor and Murano glass chandeliers, plus satellite TV, free Wi-Fi, minibars and tea and coffeemakers. Some rooms have canal views, exposed beams and/or whirlpool tubs, while the suites add living rooms. The hotel offers a free breakfast buffet.




*NOTE: Always ask for Early check in when traveling. We didn't**

QUICK VIDEO INSIDE THE HOTEL: Here's a quick video of the floor we stayed on in the Palazzo Stern Hotel . It was decorated like a former church and it was pretty elaborate.

NEXT: EXPLORING VENICE'S GRAND CANAL

Our Tribute to the 50 LGBT Victims of the Orlando Tragedy

This our my tribute to the 50 gay men and women who lost their lives in Orlando from the hate crime. 
Dolly Parton singing John Lennon's "Imagine." 
If you know a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender person, please put your religion aside, hug them today and let them know you love them. 
"Imagine all the people living their life in peace... nothing to kill or die for, and no religion, too. You may say that I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one."

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/_a41ehpGCgQ 

Italy Blog #2 - Airport Insanity

Welcome to the second blog of our trip to Italy!  We took the trip in May. This blog is about two of the airports we

Even Google appeared confused about the terminals!

flew through... that presented challenges: JFK in New York, and Charles DeGaul in Paris. This will give you a good idea about what to expect.

JFK AIRPORT - Fortunately, we had checked our bags all the way through. That helped because the JFK airport has limited signage and whatever signs there are, are poor. We flew into one terminal and struggled to find the International terminal and gate we needed to fly to Paris. Why? Because the terminals are NOT connected, and are not in order.
  For example, terminal one is not connected to terminal 2. You have to go OUTSIDE and follow a small sidewalk to get to the next terminal. Look on line and you'll see that terminal 6 of 9 isn't even listed.
  We couldn't find the way OUT of the terminal, as there were NO signs indicating "outside" or "downstairs" for Terminal X. We tried asking several people and they were rude or they just pointed and said "that way." We finally found an escalator down one level (unmarked) and went outside.
  We walked to the next terminal, which was the right one, and went through Security all over again.

ANOTHER ODDITY- When we got to Terminal 2 and we went to the gate listed, there was a line to go to a BUS on the tarmac outside. Turned out the bus took us to Terminal 4 for the flight. WHAAT??  The board said Terminal 2, and that gate. That was to get you to a shuttle from an airport gate. This was Bizarre. 


So, be warned. Next time you go to JFK, be aware that the signs and the employees likely won't help you find out where you need to go.

To keep this short, we got the same dis-service at the Charles DeGaul airport in Paris. No help, bad signage...and of course not sleeping on the plane didn't help. From there it was off to Venice!

NEXT: ARRIVAL IN VENICE - HOTEL AND VIEW

Italy Trip #1-Getting There: Check-in Confusion

Tom and Rob trying to figure out Delta's Ticketing system

Welcome to the first blog of our trip to Italy!  We took the trip in May and have been organizing pictures with the San Gimignano Montepulciano,Siena Sorrento, Rome, Pompeii and Naples. Several of the towns you likely never heard of were visited on the road driving between Florence and Rome.
  I (Rob) kept a journal as we toured around. 
   Getting there was an "adventure." First, I was on week #3 of sinusitis that wouldn't quit (and brought all the meds with me). I had a backpack of kleenex, decongestant, water bottle, saline rinse, inhaler and trash bag over the entire 11 day trip - and now I'm on week #7 of the same sinusitis.
   THE AIRPORT AND FLIGHTS - Our flights were through Delta to JFK airport in New York, then on Air France from NYC to Paris. Then from Paris to Venice.
   DELTA'S BIZARRE TICKETING - Upon check in, we had our confirmation numbers, passports and luggage - so we stood in the line and waited to check bags and get boarding passes. Once at the desk, the Delta employee said "You need to go back in the other line and check in at the kiosks far to my left and then go back in line and I'll check you in."    WHAAAT?!?!  She was about to let us NOT check in and go stand in 2 more lines when she realized we were Not Happy. So she gave in and issued our boarding passes and checked the luggage.     Apparently, you have to stand in TWO lines whenever you check in at Delta. How absolutely ridiculous. How inefficient.

NEXT: Airport Insanity

2 "Big Movies" We Couldn't Get Through

Over the last year, two movies that have received high praise and critical acclaim that we had not yet watched were "The Martian" and "Deadpool." Well, over the last month, we managed to watch them (Deadpool on the plane to Italy).
  As you can tell by the title of this blog, we just could not get through either of them. Why?

1) The Martian - We saw this one on DVD and were glad we did. 
The first hour was pretty good, but once the Mars' astronaut's base was blown apart, we had had enough. Yeah, we are both passionate about NASA, but this was about the movie... and although Matt Damon was really good, it grew tedious after the first hour. So, we turned it off and the next day fast-forwarded to the last 10 minutes. That's all we needed.

So, how to make it better?
One: it could have been a LOT shorter than 2 1/2 hours (although we didn't see the last 80 minutes).
Two: if Matt Damon decided to take his shirt off and walk around for most of the movie, we would have watched the entire thing. :) 

2) Deadpool - Tom wouldn't even watch this, and I'm glad he didn't.
I (Rob) love superhero movies - generally. Iove Ryan Reynolds (the star of the film) and think he's super hot. But neither worked here for me.
First, it was WAY too violent- That's why it was rated R (which in my opinion is foolish, since teenagers are buying and reading comics just as adults are reading them. On a related note -the producers were actually marketing it to kids (yes, and it's R-rated). Go figure.
Second, the character was all over the place. Of course, since I don't read Deadpool comics, maybe that's him. But he was happy, sad, neurotic, angry, laughing, murderous and just crazy. How can you relate to that?
 YES - I watched about 45 minutes of it and fast-forwarded the rest of it to the last 5 minutes. I was not impressed.

So, how to make it better?  
One: reduce the number of people being hacked to pieces and shot to smithereens.
Two - stop shooting police officers!  I HATE that in TV and movies.
Three - tone the craziness of the character down to make him somewhat relatable.
Four- the use of the two Xmen who guest starred seemed really goofy. 
Five - As in the case with Matt Damon in the Martian - here you have Ryan Reynolds, the hottest, most muscularly-toned hunky actor in the business. If he walked around sans shirt I would've watched at least all of those parts.

Just our two cents. .. of course I LOVED Batman Vs. Superman (Tom thought it okay). So, see that one again instead. 

 

It's Franklin Friday - and his post lumpectomy surgery update

Franklin home after surgery in his tee-shirt

It's Officially Franklin Friday! 
Franklin, our senior pup is 12 years old and yesterday he had 1 day surgery to get two small growths removed and his teeth cleaned. He had a little skin tag under his chin, and he had a lump on his side. We're waiting for the biopsy on the lump, but he was in great spirits when we picked him up at the vet. He tail was wagging at super-speed. 
  FRANKLIN CHARMS THE OFFICE - Our vet, Family Veterinary Clinic in Gambrills, MD is fantastic. The entire staff from the front reception to the vet techs to the doctors are all great. In fact, we were told that when 

a few stitches on his right side

Franklin shook off his anesthesia,he let them know he wanted to be held. So, Doctor Yates put Franklin in her lap and made her phone calls. How awesome is that? Two of the vet techs also made him a little support structure so he could watch Dr. Yates. 

Franklin headed home with Daddy Tom 

Wearing his tee shirt

  HOME PLEASE!  - He ate as soon as he came in, and took his meds like a good boy (of course, they were in peanut butter). He's being great about the wounds (and they're hard to reach) so we removed the huge Elizabethan collar and put one of his tee-shirts on (a good way to prevent dogs from licking a wound), so he can't reach the stitches on his back side. He's sleeping on our bed for a while until his stitches heal.
   Our other kids, Dolly and Tyler knew he was gone and moped around all day. They were so excited when we brought him home, they actually paid NO attention to us! We're glad Franklin did well  - no complications, no bad effects from the anesthesia and of course, a Dachshund-like hearty appetite!

How Gullible Are You: Clinton & Trump Email Stories

Welcome to another edition of "How Gullible Are You." Since the political race for President of the United States is heating up, there are a LOT of fake news stories coming out about the candidates. Many of them get sent to people via email, who just believe them without researching them.
   JUST KNOW -that if you DO get an email slamming one or the other candidate, or accusing them of something, it's likely FALSE.
   Take a look at these and see how you fared - while trying to figure out the truth. TRUE or FALSE is listed beneath each to see if you were gullible!


1) Hillary Clinton Disqualified by U.S. Code Title 18, Section 2071  A chain message claims that Hillary Clinton is disqualified from holding public office under U.S. Code Title 18, Section 2071.
FALSE
 

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2) Donald Trump Rejects Offer to Debate Bernie Sanders  The presumptive GOP nominee said of Sanders: “It seems inappropriate that I would debate the second-place finisher.” TRUE
 

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3) Anonymous Hacks IRS Database – Publishes Trump’s Tax Returns   FALSE -   A fake news article reported that Donald Trump's tax returns were posted online after Anonymous hacked the IRS database.


4) Obama Apologizes for Dropping Atomic Bomb on Japan?

While President Obama offered his sympathies for the loss of life during a visit to Hiroshima, he did not apologize for dropping the bomb.  FALSE.  (this is another right-wing nut lie) 

5) Hillary Clinton to be Indicted on Federal Racketeering Charges?  FALSE

A Huffington Post link circulating Facebook suggested Hillary Clinton would imminently face a racketeering (or RICO) indictment, but the item was unvetted.   

WHAT'S TRUE: Frank Huguenaud published an unvetted article on Huffington Post's Contributor platform claiming Hillary Clinton would be indicted on racketeering charges, an article that was soon removed from the site.
WHAT'S FALSE: No one else has reported on anything similar Huguenaud's claims, and his article provided no citations nor any credible information suggesting there was any truth to his claims.

6) Bernie Sanders' Lavish Private Jet Menu?

A menu from a Bernie Sanders charter flight is real, but the selections were standard fare for Delta charters and not an example of hypocritical excess. MOSTLY FALSE

WHAT'S TRUE: A widely-circulated photograph of a menu from a flight chartered by the Bernie Sanders campaign was authentic and unaltered.
WHAT'S FALSE: The menu was not any different from Delta's commercial and charter flight offerings for Spring 2016; Sanders didn't fly on a private jet; photos of the purported private jet did not depict part of the Delta fleet; Sanders selected from available charter menu offerings and didn't demand lobster or "corn-fed chicken"; Delta (not charter customers) is responsible for available menu choices on chartered flights.

 

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7) Bernie Sanders Naps at Memorial Day Event

A photograph that appears to show the Democratic presidential candidate napping at a Memorial Day event is unclear in context.UNPROVEN (he could have been bowing his head in respect...) 
Origin:On 30 May 2016, activist and military veteran Zoe Dunning published a photograph on Facebook purportedly showing Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders napping during a Memorial Day ceremony:

8) Photograph Shows 100,000 Bikers at Rally with Donald Trump

A years-old photograph was used to illustrate claims that thousands of bikers attended a Donald Trump rally in 2016. FALSE-  This Photo was Doctored and is YEARS OLD

  

Fun Paranormal Mystery: The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library

There's a paperback series that combines two of my interests: Mysteries and the Paranormal. It's written by
Alice Kimberely. I just finished reading " The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library" and went on line and ordered the others in the series.
   Penelope McClure helps solve mysteries with the assistance of the ghost of P.I. named Jack, that only she can hear in her head (as long as she keeps his buffalo nickel in her pocket).It's a great story, with twists and turns, and will keep you guessing who the murderer is. The characters are great, and all have distinct personalities.
  I highly recommend this book!
(Of course, being a medium, I can hear ghosts and spirits, too - so I could really relate to the characters.)  - Rob


SUMMARY: Bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure has just received an extremely rare collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s complete works. Rumor has it a secret code, trapped within the books’ leather-bound pages, leads to buried treasure. Well, it looks like they got the buried part right, because as Pen sells off the valuable volumes, everyone who buys…dies.Once these books go missing from their owners’ cold hands, Pen will need resident ghost and hard-boiled PI Jack Shepard to help crack the case. The police are skeptical that the deaths involved foul play—so it’s up to Pen and Jack to unravel these shocking endings…