Whenever my wife and I take a getaway trip, a familiar refrain is elicited. It goes something like this: “Now, just because you have a column due, don’t go getting all obsessive about taking notes and missing the fun.”
Actually, I cleaned that up a smidge.
But the reality is this: I do have a track record when it comes to note-taking, as opposed to just taking note. But I have altered my vacation-travel MO.
To wit: We recently returned from an interesting, albeit logistics-challenged trip that included Venice, the one in Italy, and Ljubljana, the one in Slovenia. Herein, a few observations well shy of a working-holiday travelogue.
* Venice is like being on a movie set. Here a Rialto Bridge and Doge’s Palace, there a Grand Canal and St. Mark’s Square. Architectural eye candy as far as the water taxi will take you. The place oozes celluloid charisma. It can be romantic or decadent or daring. From “Summertime” to “Casanova” to “Casino Royale.”
It takes you back in time, but it can also take you aback.
“Waterfront” has never been more redundant. Everything is via water. Police, fire, ambulance, sanitation, mail. Even calling a plumber or ordering out. I’ve seen a beer boat back into a canal-alley bar. The stuff you don’t think about when watching “The Merchant of Venice.”
And truly something to write home about: no graffiti.
But it’s not a place where residents work and live and carve out non service-sector careers. Locals seem outnumbered by selfie-stick peddlers, let alone inundating, holiday hordes, especially the nouveau-riche Chinese. Even in early, chilly March. There is no off-season.
Venice, you are constantly reminded, is a travelers’ bucket-list icon. You’re part of an ongoing, crowd-scene, casting call for a tourist mecca.
But there’s more to do than gawk, hire gondoliers, sip fine wine and duck selfie-sticks.
The nearby island of Murano in the Venetian Lagoon is worth the time if you have an eye for glassware or are enamored of all things Chihuly-esque.
It accommodates the chandelier as well as the wine-stopper crowd. It dates to the 1200s when the Venetian Republic, fearing the ultimate fire hazard, ordered glassworkers and their fiery foundries to hit the road, so to speak, and find another island.
Then there’s the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. It’s worth it even if you abhor the drip artistry of Jackson Pollock.
And I do.
*Ljubljana (Lube-yana), a city of nearly 300,000, is the capital of Slovenia and about 160 miles east of Venice. Until the last two decades, it was known mostly for its Austrian Empire past and more recent history as another Yugoslavian city with multiple silent letters.
In 1991, it morphed into the capital of newly independent Slovenia. In 2004, it became a major city in the European Union. In 2007, it began using the euro. In effect, Ljubljana has been fast-forwarding as a continental travel destination, as well as rapidly emerging as one of Europe’s greenest and most livable capitals.
It’s host to the Slovenian Philharmonic, a stock exchange and a 13,000-seat hockey arena. It was the site of the 2015 European Space Expo.
English–spoken and signage–is much in evidence. So, inexplicably, is dyed red hair. It’s a jolting fashion statement that ranges from teens to seniors. Dublin never seemed so hue-challenged.
It has postcard optics and charm–think Prague–that include an Alps backdrop, cathedrals, parks, public squares, statuary and a prominent, Gothic-Romanesque castle.
Incongruously, however, that Medieval architecture is marred by graffiti. It’s plentiful and hardly political. Self-indulgent punks know no ideology. Marshal Tito wouldn’t have countenanced it.
It also has a smattering of inevitable, contemporary design amid the Olde European ambiance. The contrast seems less eclectic than intrusive. Think Hyde Park.
But what catches the visitor eye first–and foremost–is the downtown riverfront that is spanned by numerous alabaster bridges. There’s a “Lights on Ljubljana”-like vibe along the (Ljubljana River) waterway. Comprised of cafes, wine bars, restaurants, shops and an open-air market, the waterfront is an energizing mix of visitors and locals, the latter reflecting a major university presence nearby.
It’s a reminder of a municipal rule of thumb: first-class cities typically have waterfronts and higher education in common. Whether in Slovenia–or Tampa Bay.
One other note: Wherever—literally—you’ve been, the return reality of Tampa International Airport never changes. It’s the best. The aesthetics, the logistics, the location. Reminders all that TIA’s first priority is passengers–not planes.