While visiting Sunset Gondola today, I took another long look at one of their gondolas.Tim recently published a blog post on gondolier Marco Pavan, who rows from Santa Sophia tragheto.
Tim and Tyson bought one of their gondolas from Marco.
When they cracked open the container that Spring day in a California shipyard last year, I think I was the first one to climb up and take a good look.
Looking was only part of the experience though;
touching and smelling the boats rounded-out the experience, making it truly unforgettable.
Thank you Tim and Tyson, for a great memory created that day.
One of the gondolas had noticeable carvings, and I wasn't surprised when I later learned that the father of the original owner was a carver.
This afternoon, Tim laid out the portela and pointed out a few interesting things about the carvings on the gondola they call "Nellie".
One of Nellie's cavalli.
Red cushions artfully stacked.I like the bright and unusual floor scheme.
The "MP" stands for "Marco Pavan". I don't know about the crest as of yet, although with a Doge's hat on top, it's most likely the crest of a family that produced at least one Doge. Any of my Venetian friends know more about this?
The crest is flanked on either side by flags: one Italian, the other Cuban. Rumor has it that the gondolier dated a Cuban girl at one point.
To visit Tim's blog (he goes by Bepi), go to:
2 comments:
Whoever can afford to visit Italy this year should do so! Today's earthquake was a really major one, with tremendous destruction, already over 40 people are confirmed dead.
This will definitely hurt tourism and the country is already in economic crisis, so they do need foreign visitors' money.
One must wonder if those brightly coloured side carvings complete with dolphins and whatnot were "street legal" in Venice?
I mean the vessel is supposed to be pitch black, except for the crest area and the rule to was created to address the excess of decorations some 500 years ago.
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