Alarm going off at 6AM while on “vacation” seems wrong. But today we were going to Venice so it was all very right. The usual shower and breakfast; check to make sure our bags were packed “light”, and onto the bus at 9AM. We drove straight to Venice with only two stops. First one simply a bathroom break, and the second was lunch on the Autostrada (European freeway). High end truck stop for sure…but the food was good and the restrooms were clean. The cans of Pringle’s were huge!
Because it’s supposed to rain tomorrow, Sara switched our gondola ride from tomorrow night to this afternoon. As she’s telling us this on the bus, I start crying. I was so bummed because I thought we weren’t going to get to do the gondola ride because of the rain (apparently even the gondola drivers have their limits). So Sara stopped talking for a moment and came right to my seat to make sure I was ok. I had to reassure her it was a happy cry. For those of you who know me well, I cry a lot. Happy cry, relieved cry, mad cry, sad cry; I’ve got them all. I told her I was so relieved I couldn’t help it. Venice is the pinnacle of this trip for me. I have ancestors who walked these streets, lived this life. A piece of my history is here.
Before we get to Venice, we have to stop so our driver can pay the visitor “fee” (tax). 360 euro please! Averaged out to about 13 euro per person. Every visitor must pay this fee. Sauro then parked the bus and we grabbed our “light” bags (for Mom and me it’s my roller bag (carryon) and the matching backpack. Which you have to wear on your front, not your back to deter pickpockets. I felt like I was geared up like a SWAT team member.
We dragged our gear to the vappareto station to get on the equivalent of a water bus. It was packed! We did get seats which was nice. It was about a 25 minute ride from the station to our stop, Acedemia. It was about a 15 minute walk to the hotel from there. Over a few bridges and over thousands of stone square pavers. The sound of the carry on rolling across places where people have walked for hundreds of years still rings in my ears this evening.
We got our room key and wanderer our way to our room. It’s on the second floor, but you have to travel down hallways and up stairs to find it. Our view is a grey building with a small waterway between us. The room is L shaped and small…but we are not complaining. Well, Mom is a bit miffed there were no slippers here like the other hotels. And our light fixture hanging from the ceiling…it’s fantastic! Pretty sure it’s blown glass in red, blue, green and yellow.
We met back up with the group around 4:15PM. Sara walked us over to the Piazza to help us get the lay of the land, and then we were off to take a gondola ride. Yes, it does seem totally cheesy. But it was fun and the gondoliers work very hard to move those thin long boats thru the water (and around lots of other boats). One of our boats had a musician and a singer. One of the songs he sang was “Volare”. The ride was about 25 minutes long. Of course, I couldn’t stop the tears from running down my cheeks for about half the time. And I was seated in the front facing everyone else. I tried to hold it together but the emotions were running so high today.
Getting off the boat was easy, just a step up and you are back on dry land. There are steps and landings all over Venice. We met back up with Sara who led us to the restaurant for dinner.
Arrived there around 6:45, which is TOO early for most Italians to have dinner. They must have made an exception for us. This was probably the most food I’ve seen yet on this trip.
Our first course was Caprese salad. I ate about 2/3 of it, including the tomatoes. I did drench in a vinaigrette which helped some, but not all. The tomato texture is not something I enjoy.
The second course was spaghetti with a sauce of your choosing. I chose Bolognese because the other two were seafood in origin. Mom also chose the Bolognese. One of the choices was a Venice specialty, Black Squid Ink pasta. And it was black! I took a bite, and it had a seafood taste to it, plus the sauce turned your lips and tongue black.
The server came to take our plates but left our knives. I thought that was strange because wasn’t dessert next? Oh, no it wasn’t. Here comes course number 3, fillets of some type of fish. Mom had a bit of it, and I tried a bite as well. I still don’t like fish. But like I’ve said before: I’m here…I’m going to try things.
Round 4 is a bowl of lettuce, beets, shredded carrots and tomatoes. And more bread. We each take a small bit of salad and comment: “Now. This must be it.”.
Nope! Course #5 is a huge plate of chunks of cooked beef and thinly sliced Parmesan cheese on top. By now we are just praying for the madness to stop as we are getting so full (and beef is so heavy!).
Course #6 was different fried seafoods. I didn’t ask what was in there, but I did see a few shrimps with faces still intact. NOPE! Mom trying battered squid and thought it was tasty. I saw what I hoped was an onion ring, but alas, no it was not.
Are we there yet? Almost to the finish line! The servers clear the tables one more time and bring out plates of tiramisu. Lucky #7. Surprisingly, we could all still eat that! And it was the best one yet I’ve had on this trip.
The server comes back with Limoncello and Grappa. We each have the option of what to try.
Five out of the six of us had the Limonchello. #6 had water. It was a perfect little drink to finish the meal. We toasted to our good health and over abundance of food. Sipped our drinks and then slowly got up and started leaving. It can take a few minutes for 27 people to clear a restaurant.
Sara got us back to the Piazza where she left us to listen to a quartet playing music outside a cafe. A few of the couples in our group started dancing. It was seems so unreal, but also just right. The music stopped and we resumed our stroll back to the hotel. Not sure I would have made it back without being led. This city is like a maze. A wonderful old, amazing maze.
Mom and I got back to the room and got ready for bed. I have the AC running as it’s humid and I’m overheated today. I might have to turn it off soon so Mom doesn’t turn into a popsicle. I was able to Facetime my dear husband a short time ago and catch up on home life. It sounds like all is well at home, although it really hit me tonight about being away and missing my man. So yes, one more time there were tears.
More from Venice tomorrow! Hoping for a tear-free day!
You almost had me crying, Volare is one of my all time favorite songs. I wonder if Nona ever road in one of the gondolas, before she came to America.