Venice

Torcello: the exterior of the Basilica Maria Asunta

We arrived by train from Milan on Monday around 2 pm. The station did open onto the Grand Canal, but you had to walk past lots of shops first! And there was an advertising mural on the bridge. It seemed far more commercial than I’d remembered it. JD decided we could walk to our hotel. There seemed to be hordes of people everywhere, most of them wheeling large suitcases, and not especially polite. We walked and walked and then caught a water ferry to the Rialto. This was very crowded, and there was nothing to hold on to. Then we walked some more and reached our beautiful hotel. The man on the desk was very helpful.

Our room is on the third floor, a large room with a window that opens onto a courtyard. There’s also a fine bathroom with shower over bath and a bidet, and proper soap too. And it also has a window that opens!

I had just taken my shoes off when JD decided he wanted to walk to the nearest laundrette, about 15 minutes. To our surprise, the guest laundry advertised in the hotel brochure does not exist.

We reach the self-service coin operated laundry, but spurn the gluten free pizza and tofu offered locally. Instead I buy a gelato nearby. It comes in a cone, a scoop of coffee -flavoured and one of chocolate , with a spoon. And this is piccolo! I had intended to buy two cones, but one is huge and is plenty for us both! I go back to the laundrette to share it with JD, but sadly I spill some onto my blouse and jersey: ironically, since we’re at the laundrette, but I wouldn’t wash them here.

The shops are very interesting, well, most of them, anyway!  The streets are just lanes, really, but everything is very clean and there are no bikes or scooters to be avoided. Just  other people! But there aren’t crowds everywhere we go. These wee streets remind me of Thomas Mann’s novella, Death in Venice. What a sad story that turned out to be.

Then we walked back, buying a flower-decorated resin dish to take home to New Zealand. It’s charming to look at the lovely shops along the way.

Once back, we set out to a nearby restaurant for dinner.  Annoyingly, we were seated near an Australian couple.  I had veal scallopini with lemon sauce and fried potatoes – delicious. I love the way they do the fried potatoes! For dessert I chose cannoli, something I’d always wanted to try but hadn’t as yet. Actually I didn’t like the filling, although I can’t say just what it was.

During the meal I was given a beautiful red rose! I kept it in our bedroom for the next few days. Afterwards we were given wee glasses of limon cello and a plate of biscuits!

This is a truly beautiful four star hotel, but the bed let’s it down – it’s the most uncomfortable bed I’ve slept on in our entire trip! Still, the other facilities make up for that. The lift is really slow, but there’s a beautiful entrance foyer when you come in.

We had a wonderful breakfast in the morning: JD could have cereal; I made toast (easy!) and spread it with butter for my delicious scrambled eggs.  I also had a croissant con crema, and some fresh fruit, as well as coffee. The breakfast room backs onto a small canal, and you can see gondolas going past. It’s a real treat as long as you aren’t sitting next to someone annoying! 

After breakfast we made our way to St Mark’s square, a few minutes’ walk from our hotel. How beautiful it is! We went up in the campanile – lift only, and admired the wonderful view from the viewing platform, although it was very cold.

Then we went through the Doge’s Palace. We saw the room celebrating the Battle of Lepanto, which I remembered from our previous visit, and we went through the prison, still very scary. The “Noli me tangere” sign is still scratched on a cell wall.

Afterwards we lingered in the shop, buying books about the Palazzo Ducale, and about Canaletto. I would have liked to buy T-shirts for our grandchildren, but they were very expensive. Actually most things for sale in Venice are very expensive. What a surprise.

Then we walked back to the hotel before changing onto warmer clothing and setting out for our gondola trip. That went well, although it wasn’t quite what I expected! It was surprisingly hard to get on and off the boat. We sailed beneath the famous Bridge of Sighs. Michael, our gondolier, wasn’t a professional singer but he sang beautifully, just the same.

Then it was time for coffee and cake. It was too cold to sit outside, so we went to Caffe Florian. Wow! I had Caffe con crema, far more whipped cream than coffee; JD had affogato, and we shared a ricotta cheesecake that was decorated with berries. Everything was delicious, and we were served quite quickly. Everything came on a tray, beautifully presented, with water too.

On the way back to our hotel we looked at jewellery shops. JD bought me a most unusual necklace with green beads. I wasn’t going to say no, now, was I?

The next day (Wednesday) I had booked for us to take a boat tour to Murano, Torcello and Burano at 11:30 am. We were supposed to pick up our tickets first, from the ticket office in St Mark’s Square, and when I googled it the night before it looked fine. But although we set off early, JD wanted to get some cash first. We went to a local ATM, and waited to use it. But both machines were out of order. Then we walked to a Deutsche Bank one, but it didn’t have the Cirrus sign. Then we walked to San Marco, but there were crowds of people, and we had trouble finding the right ticket office. After being misdirected a couple of times, we were told to walk towards the Gardens, a long way away. We got there, and bought our tickets, but just missed our boat! Never mind, there’d be another boat in an hour, and we could catch that. So we went to a fine caféand had coffee, a croissant with apricot jam, and warmed apple strudel with custard.

Then we caught our boat. First stop was the island of Murano, where we watched a very impressive glass making exhibition. Then we spent quite a while in the shop. Everything was very expensive, but we did get a locket for my daughter’s birthday.  They don’t make the trademark Murano glass like we bought in 1974, and which can be found in antique shops today. It’s amazing to think we still have those six beautiful glasses.

Then it was on to the island of Torcello. I knew this was a must-see place, and so it was, although we had a 10 minute walk to the Basilica.  It was a flat, sunny, beautifully paved walk there, and it was well worth seeing. Hardly anyone goes to the famous basilica, but of course they have a shop there! Afterwards I bought a book and a picture of the famous last Judgment in the Basilica of Santa Maria Asunta. Then we walked quickly back to the boat, buying a cake to eat for lunch on the way. It wasn’t very nice, but I finished my apricot croissant that I’d kept from morning tea.

Then we stopped at the island of Burano, which specializes in lace-making. There were more beautiful shops, of course, and tempting things to buy. Much of the lacework reminded me of my mother’s generation, with their embroidered, lacy tablecloths and napkins. We bought a mask, a fan, a key ring, and a bib for our new granddaughter, and resisted the urge to buy other things. Then it was back to wait for the boat back to Venice, and find somewhere to sit down.  Then we sailed back to Venice, and watched a beautiful sunset as we went. I would have loved to spend more time on Torcello and less on the other two islands, but I was so pleased that we’d visited these beautiful islands, particularly Torcello. They are all different from Venice itself.

That night we ate at Noemi Restaurant. JD left his woollen cap there, but we picked it up the next day. I had sole meunière, and we shared a salad. The sole was nice – rather like flounder. I think I managed to eat it correctly, and avoided bones for the most part.

One visit we did was to a Taiwanese exhibition, which was free, but very confronting.

On our last night we had dinner at restaurant with a menu in Russian: I had crumbed veal with those amazing fried potatoes: JD had chicken. The veal is pale, and delicious, with a slice of lemon; I think anywhere else you’d be offered chutney or sauce with it. We did not have dessert there, but stopped at a bar to have whisky and gingerina (very orange!), tiramisu gelato (not great, they didn’t have coffee-flavoured ice cream) and a lemon tart. It all had a “Subway” kind of aftertaste.

On our walk back to our hotel we stopped on the famous Rialto Bridge. I think of “The Merchant of Venice”, again. 

That morning (Thursday) we queued up, not for long, to see inside San Marco Basilica. I don’t think we’ve seen it before! It was just amazing. We paid extra to see the Palo D’Oro too. I wondered why we hadn’t seen it before, but when we came in January 1974 is was very cold, and many things were closed.

Then there was time to spare, so we got tickets to the Archaeological Museum, now separate from the Ducal Palace Museum.  JD asked about maps, and was told no; there was lots about Antonio Canova, and there were globes and then there were maps!

Then we went back to the hotel and retrieved our luggage. JD asked the way to the railway station (Ferrovia), and was directed to Rialto station for the vaporetto. But sadly, we went the wrong way! Never mind, there was plenty of time.

We crossed a small bridge (awkward, with the luggage), and caught another vaporetto, this time taking the correct route.  It was very busy. JD’s luggage got swamped by other people’s, although we had tried to keep it nearby for a quick get-off.  There was a young woman with two cats in separate carriers.

Then we walked to a nearby restaurant to have lunch. We both had omelettes, mine with fried potatoes but this time it really was potato chips. We then shared a chocolate tart with berries, and had coffee.

We went back to the railway station, still way too early, and sat outside to watch the Grand Canal in the sunshine. It was actually quite cold and windy.

Going to Venice was one of the highlights of our trip. We did all the things I really wanted to do here except visit the Basilica Santa Maria Salute.  It beckons across the water, and I really wanted to see it, but perhaps there’ll be another time.

Slava Ukraini! Nga mihi nui.