Then & There - a vintage travel podcast Ceridwen E McKenna

Smith has a love of those young men, does he not?  Our author in 1898 Venice brings us along the Riva in the second half of day, admiring all the sights, from the lithe and happy character without a discernable job, to the one horse that seems to change color and size.  Descriptions are lush as the sunset that has been painted countless times because of its beauty!

Staying the course of the most beautiful city in the book author's memory, we pick up the day in the middle with F. Hopkinson Smith and Espero "his" gondolier in 1898. Smith can't help himself from describing everything from the oldest crockery in Italy to the prettiest ladies of the evening (presumed). Sensory enjoyment for the calm nervous system.I'll let him tell it. This mess of an episode on my part barely made it through the inner "board of competent recording" process. And if I apologized for every time I meant to get an episode out and was delayed by the necessities of earning a living...well.  This is why we all need a little Venice! 

What could be more awe-inspiring than waking up in Venice in 1898 and having all day to float?  Come relish the canals in the gondola with our author of Gondola Days, as he waxes lyrical on all things Venetian, from sunshine to the skyline full of spires and domes, and including his beloved gondolier, Espero G.! As our beloved current-day Venice is struggling with the high water, let's not forget her powerful history. The invitation is there to look up some of the names and events mentioned. In Victorian days, there were so many pre-Italy events that were not-so-long-ago to F. Hopkinson Smith, but that we have not remembered. 

Welcome to Venice, site of ancient, watery dreams of gold, purple, song, oleander! Follow F. Hopkinson Smith as he (Francis) takes us via rail to the Venice that greets you as you arrive.  This book, Gondola Days is a delight for the senses, and far more evocative than our fella who led us through Belgium and Holland. First a description of the book itself--because what's a vintage travel narrative without the feel of the paper, the details of the illustrations? A teaser of what's to come, via the Tables of Contents and Illustrations, and then smacko! - right into the Venice of the Victorian Era.  Sit back and let the Gondola deliver you through these time-worn canals.

In our final quick trip around the Netherlands, "Come With Me" author Schoonmaker breezes through much of South Holland, Zeeland and Friesland provinces. He gives us his definitive recommendations about what to see with comparative amounts of time, and even 'disses' a couple of towns and makes a typically misogynistic observation or two.  Opinions given are not my own--this was 1928, and he was an art/architecture snob after all. [That opinion is mine.] A small excerpt finishes this episode from a surprise book. It's Mies Bouhuys' collection of black & white photographs, titled simply "Holland", 1971.  The book was found on the sidewalk in a box, but is too moldy to share at length, and it also is probably not in the public domain. I remember seeing such books, written in three languages, only in Europe, before Taschen books were popular. As always, apologies for my accent in pronouncing Dutch and French names. 

In 1928, art lover Frank Schoonmaker describes his methods in touring the small and large towns in North and South Holland, including Utrecht, Rotterdam and many museums in the Hague. Tolerate my pronunciations and feel free to laugh, as I relay the recommendation to enjoy the beach at Scheveningen--the litmus test for native Dutch speakers versus vreemden (strangers).