Dad, you would be so proud (and happy that I am among Armenians :) Yes today I made the trip to the Armenian Church of San Lazzaro. Apparently, it is a Catholic church though the accompanying monastery is "independent" of any particular sect of Christianity. When I arrived to the requisite Vaporetto* stop a notice - in Italian, English AND Armenian - advised that for a tour of the Church, to please take the vaporetto leaving at 15:10... I knew I was at the right place.

I came back at the appointed time and realized that probably all the other Armenian tourists would be waiting for the same vaporetto at the same time. I looked around and recognized only one distinguishable young Armenian face...a young man who I came to know later as Hovig, of Persian-Armenian persuasian but born in Armenia who is a teacher of microbiology. When we finally boarded the vaporetto, it was I who approached him, with the congenial "Barev dzez!"

Well we arrived to the island and a small group of us got off and made our way toward the entrance. I realized later that these excursions were organized daily and we were each required to pay the 6 euro entrance fee. Our group walked along admiring the posted notices (in Italian) informing us of all things Armenian - language, religion, culture and history. I was beginning to feel this tour was not geared to us Armenians... and soon, I proved to be right...

We were greeted by a friendly priest who attempted to establish what languages the members of our ad-hoc group spoke. There was one family of 3 who were French, another woman - who turned out to be Armenian - and her son but who spoke French, 2 Italian women, an older English couple (what is it with the English?), Hovig and I. Well if there was ever a time where I was proud to be Armenian :) Hovig and I got special attention throughout the tour since we were Armenian (and all the assumptions that come with it, i.e. the priest asked me if I could read some Armenian script above a doorway and when he was going over Armenian history with our group, he often looked to Hovig and I for confirmation of important dates! :)

In any case, all in all I had a great time... I was glad to speak Armenian to someone for a short while and especially to exchange those "inside" jokes which mainly involve making fun of ourselves as Armenians :) and I was both happy and proud that I spoke (and understood) Armenian and that I knew most of the "beginner" Armenian history the priest spoke about. At the end of the tour, there was a stop at their local tourist shop filled with the requisite postcards, bookmarks and books (some of which I recognized in my parents' library :) ... it seems the tourist kitsch in Venice doesn't just end in San Marco... slightly disappointed; nonetheless, I purchased a book (written in Armenian) about San Lazzaro for me and my family... it was a good end to my visit in Venezia.

Tomorrow, I head for Bologna where I plan on staying over the weekend and then off to Florence...

*Note: a vaporetto is a public motorboat in Venice. Think public transportation such as a bus or subway car, but on a boat, gliding along the waters of Venezia...