venezia: a tragedy in one act

scene 1: firenze, santa maria novella train station, 8.00

after rising at 7.00 with only six hours of sleep, clare and rebecca, running on the anticipation of seeing one of the most beautiful cities in the world, arrive at the train station ready to purchase their tickets and spend a lovely spring day in venice.  unfortunately, they discover that the 8.30 train is sold out as well as the 9.30.  the 10.30 train will arrive in a station they don't recognize so they decide to ask where the station is located in relation to the center of the city.  in those five minutes in which they hesitate the 10.30 train sells out and their only choice is to buy tickets for the 11.30 train.  they are severely disappointed in the reduction of their already short time in venice. little do they know, this will be only the first of their best laid schemes gone awry.

scene 2: venezia, santa lucia train station, 13.30

after returning shamefully home and napping for two hours, clare and rebecca board the 11.30 train and arrive in venice around 13.30.  unfortunately, the train ride has rendered clare rather nauseous.  thinking ahead, clare and rebecca decide to buy their return tickets now to avoid their earlier mishap and risk sleeping in the streets of venice.  they approach the ticket counter and successively inquire in italian when the last train for florence departs.  the response is 19.30 (even though they totally had later trains when i checked the schedule online!! a;kdhfiuesdfjh) and they have no other choice but to purchase the tickets and resign themselves to the fact that their day trip to venice is now a 6-hour trip to venice. they decide to make the best of it and board a water bus to san marco. this does nothing for clare's dizziness.

scene 3: venezia, ristorante near piazza san marco, 14.45

clare and rebecca manage to scarf down some pizza due to their extreme hunger even though it is by far the worst pizza they've have in italy.

scene 4:  venezia, shops, 16.00

the only real success story of the day is shopping.  typical.  purchases include: gifts, earrings, necklace, and parasol. so necessary as clare failed to bring her other parasol to italy.

scene 5: venezia, basilica san marco, 17.00

clare and rebecca are denied entry because rebecca is wearing shorts even though she is wearing tights underneath.

scene 6:  venezia, ponte di sospiri, 17.30

the famous bridge of sighs is under construction, and thus covered in scaffolding.  clare and rebecca console themselves with gelato, which is not even good.

scene 7: venezia, the grand canal, 18.15

just when rebecca and clare think that nothing else can go wrong, their water bus collides with a rogue motorboat driven by a drunk tourist and begins to sink rapidly.  there might have been hope if they had been able to get a spot in the open air part but alas! they were trapped in the enclosed seats and amid the mass hysteria they are unable to free themselves. as the polluted water closes over her and her lungs are about to explode, the final duet of verdi's la traviata plays and clare thinks of the french expression "voir venise et mourir." oh irony! oh cruel fate!

alternate ending - scene 7: firenze, la nostra casa, 22.00

after googling 'how to open champagne' and following the 7-step instructions, clare and rebecca pop open their czech champagne (which they bought in prague when they needed to get rid of their czech crowns) and rise their glasses to venice because it is, after all, a beautiful city that they hope to return to someday when they can spend more than 6 hours there, when they can actually go inside the basilica san marco, when the bridge of sighs is not covered in scaffolding, when they can afford to take an 80 euro gondola ride, maybe even with the love of their lives because in reality this trip was only meant to be a taste (because one cannot spend a semester in florence and not go to venice) - a preview during which one can imagine the rest of the plot: the art in the palazzo ducale, getting lost in the narrow, labyrinthine streets free of the noise of cars and motorini, the sunset behind santa maria delle salute, the kiss under the bridge of sighs.  here's to the future.  cheers.

FINE.