Our First Week in Sottomarina

 September 30 at 7:30 pm was our scheduled departure date.  At 2 pm that afternoon we received a call from our friend Lisa whose mother had offered to let us stay in her apartment.  With great trepidation, Lisa told us that her mother had called and said that we couldn’t stay in the apartment because the reconstruction was in a phase where there was no heat or water.  I immediately began scrambling to find a hotel in Venice, but Lisa saved the day, calling back an hour later to say her grandmother had an apartment in Sottomarina (basically part of Chioggia but across a lagoon) we could rent for a few months.  Good news because the only vacancies I had found so far in Venice cost as much for 3 days as the apartment cost per month.  That settled, we headed for the airport where, of course, the flight was delayed but only for enough time for me to watch the first two episodes of the new season of Downton Abbey.  Nothing good to say about the Condor flight so we skip ahead to being met at the airport by the charming Valentina who gave us a ride to the B&B Onda (wave) in Mestre where we booked a room, figuring a long bus ride to Chioggia after the flight would be a mistake.  Mestre is nobody’s idea of a vacation spot but it is minutes from Marco Polo airport (my all time favorite airport name), and the room was inexpensive and charming, like staying in a relative’s guest room if the relative lived in Italy and liked to decorate with disturbing photographs of somber children.   The bus to piazzale Roma, where apparently every bus in the Veneto congregates, was only 50 metres away and we easily found the piazzale, bought tickets, and made our way to Sottomarina.

Lisa's nonno, Angelo, met us at the bus stop in his brand new car (only 1 day old) and brought us to his home, which is the apartment above the one we would be staying in.  Franca, Lisa's nonna, and Angelo prepared our first lunch in Italy (pasta, maiale, vino) and got us set up in the apartment with dishes, blankets, sheets and towels.  They could not have been kinder or more helpful, and we got to practice speaking and listening to Italian the entire time.  Franca is an artist and their apartment is full of beautiful artwork (including some work by 2 year old artist Lisa).  Here are pictures of the apartment building, a lizard sculpture by Franca, and the tiles in our bathroom which Franca painted:

The bathroom has a shower and a tub!

View from our window

Our apartment is the lower left.  It is quite large with two bedrooms, a kitchen bigger than our kitchen at home, living room, storage closet, and french doors (do they call them that here?) to a little concrete patio where Angelo's boat is stored at the moment.  Also comes with use of the neighbor's cat Sylvie and Angelo & Franca's dog, Suzie, who visit regularly.  Tom already bought a package of treats to lure them in to be petted.

Most of our time since arriving has been spent getting over jet lag, learning the area, and buying necessities.  We have also adopted the practice of siesta after lunch since everything is closed from 1-3 (or 12:30-3:30, it depends).  We went to the Thursday market in Chioggia to buy some necessary items like towls, an ipod charger, and miscellaneous toiletries.  It was great--after 4 days of heavy rain, there was brilliant sunshine.  The entire length of the main street, Corso di Popolo, was lined with booths and thronged with people.  Some less than artistic shots of the market follow, including a picture of my Spritz and the little snacks served free with it, which we enjoyed after walking the length of the market.

 It is very flat here and a lot of people ride bikes

Tom enjoying a drink on the piazaa

On another day we took a long walk along the Adriatica, where most of the beaches are private and covered with play equipment, concessions stands and odd mini-golf type figures and constructions. We did find the public access and enjoy some time next to the water.

It's hard to read a kindle in the bright sunlight.  First world problem, definitely!

The Saturday after we arrived, Franca and Angelo took us to the police station for our permessos.  Luisa, Lisa's mom, is a police captain and used to work at the Chioggia station.  She called a friend to help us out, but as it turned out, the Chioggia station can't issue a permesso for a year, which is what we want.  We ultimately went to the post office and mailed in the forms along with a hefty payment, and now have appointments to go back to the questura (police station) for fingerprinting and interviewing on October 24.  Hopefully we will get the permessos, then we can apply for the codice fiscale (a tax  number) and then open a bank account without having to open the type of account for  non-residents which charges ridiculously high fees--cheaper to get cash from an ATM than have one of those.  After the police station, we went to see Franca sing at the local public elementary school with a folk group.  There was also a little band (Garfield has nothing to worry about there) and the kids (6-7 years old) were adorable, especially a little trouble maker in the front row.  Franca is hird from the left in the third picture below.  

The girls wear a uniform of a long white smock over their clothes

Franca is in the middle, next to the white haired lady.

Angelo is retired so we see him around the yard often.  One day  he brought us some delicious grapes from his garden.

In addition to his new car, he travels via scooter and bicycle.

Angelo and bike at the entry gate

We also see Suzy and Sylvie quite often, both in the yard and the apartment!

Chioggia is called Little Venice because it has canals.  It is very picturesque and very lively.

Tom with fish for dinner

Statue by Franca, at harbor