Saturday, March 6, 2010

The Note on the Bow

I've seen these all over Venice - small pieces of paper tucked under the edge of the canon or other bow fixture.

The first time I saw one, there was no gondolier around, so I thought maybe he'd left a note for someone in case they showed up before he returned.

Then I saw more of them.

I thought "wow, there sure are a lot of gondoliers leaving notes for people".

After a while I started to see some uniformity and began to consider other possibilities.

Insurance papers?

Vessel registration?

Release of liability if a guy proposes on board and his lady rejects him?

Nereo Zane sent me this photo, and after some inspection, it appears to be a price list.

The way these are posted faithfully, I'd guess that they are required, or at least strongly encouraged.
Have any of my readers read one?
Thus far I haven't plucked one off a guy's bow to get a closer look.

I've thought about grabbing one, but then I get this look:

I can just hear him now:
"What are you lookin' at!"

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