Lights (High and Otherwise) of a Long Trip, 3

July 7

Now suddenly, on Mykonos, I feel again like I’m just holding it together rather than progressing. Or maybe it is just waking up from nap grogginess. Surprisingly cool here on this island, cool enough last night to put on the long-sleeve “Berkeley” T. Call it the return of Coumadin Guy. I’m liking the cruise, although not Royal Caribbean the last couple of days. Mykonos is the way one imagines Greek islands, whitewashed houses and shops lined up gentle hills. Both here and on Corfu two days ago I had the feeling that this was where Leonard Cohen lived for a time writing Beautiful Losers. Skipped today’s tour and walked into town, a deceptively long walk. I bought D. some earrings. The two days of tours before this, though, were excellent. First, Corfu where we bussed around the island, climbing up close to a couple thousand feet and winding along very narrow roads and then yesterday Athens, docked at the port of Piraeus, where we saw the location of the first Olympics and the Acropolis. So I have liked everything but Split, but haven’t taken a single good photo. No waiting at the Acropolis and not much heat either, although the iced fruit drinks we had before we headed back to the buses certainly tasted good. Were we younger, spending a chunk of time either at Corfu or Mykonos would be a fine thing to do. The narrow streets of Mykonos are very easy to get lost in and for a few minutes I was, but then found my way back to the sight of water. Both here and in Corfu I was struck by how much you don’t see the water, despite being on an island. Our daily ship news said that Mykonos is one of the smallest Greek Islands, with a full-time population of only five thousand, but total visitors of over900K. That must be on an annual basis for it’s hard to imagine how the area visible from the ship could ever hold that many people at the same time. There is an airport about four kilometers from the village center (passed the sign for it walking into town) and the incongruous sound of planes taking off periodically interrupts the peace, as is happening right now.


July 10

On the balcony of our hotel in Venice, where the ship docked this morning and where we made our way without to much ado. It is very hot here, just as it was last Saturday when we got on the cruise. Hydra was the island in Greece where Cohen wrote Beautiful Losers. I’ve given up trying to speak any Italian, although studying it might not be a bad idea, for I’d like to come back to Florence and – I can see already – here. I’ve also found some of the locations where Don’t Look Now was shot. It’s a crowded patchwork of roof tiles from the balcony here, and voices of the various neighbors. Yesterday we cruised all day, which is not at all a bad thing to do on the last day of a cruise. I finally went to a show because I wanted to compare the magician that performed the last night with SC. It was laughable – he did his sleight of hand on a darkened stage to the ridiculous accompanying sound of disco music. Even I might be able to pass for a magician under such circumstances. The last day’s excursion was to ancient Olympia and it was a lot of fun. We knelt on the still-existing marble starting blocks and had our pictures taken there. Then D. walked the length of the track, about 400 yards, while I sat on a hill in the shade. That was a day when I was feeling very unrecovered again. Today has been OK. It’s kind of amazing how weak I continue to be, can scarcely do 10 pushups. I think I will put an end to all the new follow-ups when I get back to NYC, and I would love to get off the anti-seizure medication. We came to the hotel in one of the vaporettos, practically all along the length of the Grand Canal. On my second try, for 2.50 Euro, I finally got a decent map of the city, so will be able to get around in explorations. With enough walking we might discover a Sam-type here in Venice for dogs seem to be a popular household addition. D. and I agreed a couple days ago that we were ready to get back to NYC. But I worry that when we get back there I will feel as if I sleepwalked through the vacation. We are right off Piazza San Marco and the pealing of the bells is frequent and long.

July 13

Somewhere over the Atlantic, arcing down from the Canadian maritime provinces and into New York. The flight attendants are handing out the second meal of the trip, some kind of snack. It’s a little bumpy. Dana Dee and I got up a bit before seven, one AM in NYC, and went for a last walk around St. Mark’s Square – we’ve now made landfall – and she fed the pigeons. Then we took an excellent fast water taxi ride out to the airport, where we found that mechanical problems had delayed the incoming flight out of New York and it would be more than three hours late. So we cooled our heels at the airport for just about seven hours. Scheduled to land at 6:13PM, only some 18 hours after we began the day. We are definitely ready to be home and see our kids, our apartment and our dog – though not necessarily in that order, at least as far as the apartment and the dog are concerned. The last two days in Venice were highlighted by a gondola ride, totally touristy, totally expensive and worth every euro, and a trip to the lace-making island of Burano where all the houses are pained in bright colors, a la La Boca in Buenos Aires