Tag / Italy

V

Venice still holds a special place in my heart. Little canals like this one offer a quiet escape from the busy streets. And yet they are far from lifeless.

We awoke with a slight sense of trepidation. Knowing the possibility of morning rain, a midday Acqua Alta, and the reality that our car was a half hour walk away, we peered out the window at a scattered cloudy sky. Our host Ettore offered us a free lift to our car in his sturdy-but-tiny boat. No time like the present to get ahead of the rain.


We stowed our luggage and sat low in the tiny outboard craft. Exiting our local canal beneath a low brick bridge, we headed out into the choppy water of the Giudecca Canal. As we zipped along the Zattere fondamente, Ettore shared tales of the ups and downs of life in Venice. We dodged vapporettos and taxis, turning into a narrow canal near the train station and car park. We said our goodbyes–both with our new friend Ettore and with a city that we sincerely feel connected with–hopped on the people mover to the Tronchetto car park…and the rain came.


As we paid our parking and reached our tiny grey car, we looked out across the island and could barely make out the iconic towers through the downpour. We felt relief that we were moving on to new adventures.


We crossed the long causeway bridge to the mainland, keeping pace with a departing train and we both watched Venice fade in the rear view window. We will return…Venice is too special.


Through industrial Mestre and onto the wet autostrade. We headed straight for the Slovenian border just beyond Trieste. Entering Slovenia’s narrow strip of Adriatic coastline, we attempted to stop in Piran, a picturesque town that hugs the coast. Unfortunately, The storm that hastened our departure from Venice was beating down heavily on Piran…so we moved on…to Croatia.


Through dual border crossings, we left the EU and entered Croatia with barely a glance. As we exited the highway and joined slower local roads, the beauty of Croatia revealed itself in all it’s sopping-wet glory. Deep red soil bursting with grape vines. Rows of olive trees. And off in the distance, the occasional glance of the Adriatic.


We dipped down into the Istrian peninsula, rich with layers of human history dating to the Iron Age.


We arrived in tiny Rovinj and checked into our hotel…the Arupnium…a new boutique hotel that blends modern design into the surrounding trees. The hotel greeted us with a complimentary beverage and we were immediately unwinding from the drive.


The seaside town of Rovinj is postcard ready. The historic old town sits on a tiny bump of land with narrow cobblestone lanes that wind up to a steepled-church. The main harbor is jam-packed with boats, moored together in the patchwork mesh. The old town is surrounded by rocky cliffs, popular in warmer weather with swimmers. Stair steps are carved into the cliffs, and gleaming metal handrails provide swimmers a safe way to pull out of the water.


We grabbed a cliff-side table at Puntalina Restaurant, ordered a glass of local wine, and watched the setting sun play dramatically with storm clouds in the horizon. Seagulls soared up and down the cliffs. One dropped a present on our table…we ordered fresh glasses of wine. We went inside for dinner…Puntalina had enclosed seats perched cliff-top. Dramatic sounds of surf and occasional rain accompanied dinner. We tried bountiful dishes with scampi and crab, olive crusted fish, and more wonderful red wine. Tiramisu and cappuccinos capped off a special meal to welcome us to Croaitia.


We took the long coastal walk back to the hotel, enjoying the smells of the sea and a dramatic full moon.

“Squirrel!!” Yep. That’s how we woke up today. Our last day in Venice. Jeff was attacked by a squirrel in some odd, gelato-induced hallucination. Kinda set the pace for the day 🙂


We set out this morning for another walking day…hitting some sections of the city we like best or hadn’t spent much time in.


We haven’t visited the Ca’ Rezzonico since our first trip together to Venice in 2002 with Curt and Cheryl. After buying our ticket (7€), we ascending the grand staircase to be transported back into 18th century Venice. The enfilade on the piano nobile is quite impressive. The palazzo was redecorated back in the 1930’s when the museum was formed to highlight Venetian 18th century decorative arts. Intermixed within the grand rooms, small touches of contemporary art installations have been added. These give a touch of whimsy and unexpected surprise…an engineered mid-century wood desk, feather mobiles dangling from the ceiling, and giant red-orbed, glass light fixtures in the central hall. A large murano glass chandelier in translucent glass with flower motifs in bright primary colors fooled the eye as a modern piece until we read it was vintage circa 1750’s. It just goes to show that if you wait long enough, everything comes back into fashion. The upper floors showcased the large 18th century painting collection amassed at this museum. The second floor hung them in situ among the private family quarters of the once grand home. The third floor is setup as a modern museum setting. The only thing breaking up the walls were two panaramic windows offering stunning views out to the rooftops and canals below. After taking in our fill of art, we took advantage of a cozy terrace on the Grand Canal in front of the museum to enjoy a little refreshment…two double cappuccinos please!! A quick stop at the bookstore to add to our growing travel guide book collection. An even quicker stroll thru the back garden, and we moved on to walking the bustling midday streets of Venice.


We also spent some time today checking out some of the artisan shops we had scoped out over the past few days. Color printed paper. Iridescent painted porcelain. Evocative drawings of Venice. A whimsical doctor of the plague marionette. Objects that for us, reflect the deep artistic roots of this amazing city.


For dinner, we happened upon a restaurant–Rosa Rosa–that we had visited on our first few trips to Venice. We barely recognized the place…they had re-modeled and gone a bit up-scale. But we knew Rosa Rosa as a pizzeria, and they didn’t disappoint in that department. My pizza inferno with spicy salami and onions packed a nice punch. And Jeff’s pizza with ham, mushroom, and artichoke was quite amazing. We washed these down with a couple of refreshing beers.


As we were settling up our bill, we spotted a couple at the next table putting on high rubber waders. We chuckled, thinking that this seemed an odd precaution to a forecast for light showers. Haha we were quite mistaken.


The Acqua Alta is the term the Venetians use for the extreme high tides that occasionally flood the lower portions of the city. These typically occur in the winter, when strong storms in the Adriatic cause extreme tides. The classic black and white shots of this phenomenon are stereotypical of Venice.


We had never experienced Acqua Alta in any of our previous visits, and there was no indication that one was imminent. But an odd concurrence of high tide, full moon, and nearby storms caused a surge that caught is by surprise. (A city-wide siren earlier in the evening was apparently an Acqua Alta alert.)


As we left Rosa Rosa, we attempted to leave by the front door that we had entered by, but the door was blocked by ankle deep water up the entire street. So we were directed through the back door, which was dry.


With an unusual sense of urgency tinged with slight panic, we tried different routes to return to the apartment, but all led to flooded streets at some point.


So, we took off our shoes, rolled up our pants to our knees, and stepped in. The water was cool but not cold. It covered our ankles in most places. But then a few steps later, we were walking on dry stones, smooth from the millions of feet that had come before.


Once we had taken the plunge, the nervousness was gone, and we set out to explore this odd phenomenon. We passed people eating as the water rose up under their tables. Locals walked briskly by in proper waders, while cluess visitors (like us) either went barefoot or wrapped plastic bags around their legs.


But the mood was strangely routine. The true sight was when we reached San Marco, which is the lowest point in the city at 80cm altitude. (We learned later that the high water point that evening was around 110cm.) San Marco had become a shallow sea, lit up by hundreds of tiny lights from the surrounding buildings, and full of visitors enjoying themselves. A couple kayaked by. A woman pushed her baby stroller by, it’s wheels under water. A quartet played on like the Titanic was going down. Ironically, a light drizzle fell to wet our other ends.


By the time we headed back to the apartment, the tide had peaked and was withdrawing. The Dosoduro was free of flooding, but we saw wet patches where water had been just minutes ago.


What an unexpected way to cap off our trip to Venice. A new and wholly Venitien experience.


Ciao.

When you’re in a magical place, retracing your steps…some fond repetition…is not such a bad thing. So we began another walking day with a stroll to Santa Maria della Salute…its white marble brilliant in the morning light. (Still my favorite Salute factoid: this enormous structure is built on one million wood pilings!!)


For the first time in our multiple visits, we were able to walk around the end of the point that Salute is adjacent to. Recently re-furnished, the point juts right out into the lagoon across from Piazza San Marco. It was sunny and breezy and a perfect panorama of the well-lit city…as well as the zillion boats criss-crossing the choppy blue water: vapporettos, gondolas, taxis, laden delivery boats.


We set our sights on a new (for us) museum: the Museo di Palazzo Grimani. Wove our way across the Dorsoduro through the sun-lit arcades of San Marco, reaching the Castello neighborhood with few missteps. The palazzo has only been opened as a museum for a few years, and it highlights the architectural detail and ornate decorations of the dozen-plus rooms on the main floor. It’s really a beautiful building with rooms bathed in light from an interior courtyard. Marble, stucco, and wood are used to create visually distinctive rooms. The most interesting room was the cupola-topped tribune which was built as a mini-museum to showcase prized possessions. Jeff picked up a book on the extensive (and ongoing) restoration process.


After a warm panini and a Coca-Cola Light to re-build energy, we headed to our second museum for the day…the immensely popular Academia which houses some of the most important Venetian paintings. The paintings are mostly enormous, and yet the display is oddly intimate, since you can view these towering creations up close…providing a glimpse of tiny details in dark corners of the canvas. In addition to the spectacular collection, the building itself shines, with several ornate wooden ceilings painted with fantastic detail. Unlike its paintings, the museum is not overwhelmingly large and we were able to soak it all in in a couple of hours and still get out to enjoy more of the late afternoon light.


With cameras in tow, we again rounded the Punta (point) near Salute in reverse of this morning to capture the same scenes in even better lighting. The setting sun makes all Italian building paint hues glow.


Dinner was a return to Impronta, frankly because I wanted to get the carbonara dish Jeff had the other night. It was fantastic. Once again, the place was packed. Tonight, Jeff tried the pesto (yum) and we shared a chicken cutlet with wonderful roasted potatoes. The waitress wisely recommended a decadent chocolate cake with a molten center and a creamy, roasted banana to accompany…such a fantastic blend of texture and flavor. More yummy mojitos to tie the meal together.


Finished the evening much as it had began at midnight…casually wandering…looking for new streets to explore. The tide was quite high…And we found occasional wet patches when heavy boats caused wake. Gondolas covered tightly in deep blue canvas bobbed in the chop. The Rialto rose hauntingly over the Grand Canal. The moon–nearing full–lit up a quiet campo.


We well into bed with tired legs.

Nearby church bells stirred us at 7:30, and then again at 8:00…a helpful snooze alarm. This is how Venice wakes up. Birds calling. Windows being opened to bring in the cool morning air. Clicking heels of a Venetian woman walking by. A workman beginning repair work on the street below. The low hum of delivery boats on the Grand Canal. Even a car-less city builds up quite a cacophony of lively noise.


Our apartment is in the perfect place to launch the day. We began with a proper visit to Santa Maria dela Salute. The interior had significant portions under renovation (something is ALWAYS under renovation), but the interior still stirred us as it does every visit.


We wandered the main route through the Dorsoduro neighborhood, past galleries and shops. Colorful paper-clad boxes. Intricately costumed marionettes. Prints and painting from the scenic to the abstract to the erotic. Murano glass formed into every shape. Anchored by the popular and influential Peggy Guggenheim Museum, the Dorsoduro is a prime area in the upcoming Biennial which starts June 1. A beautiful peaceful neighborhood. Far from the throngs of San Marco.


We brunched at a quick spot near the Academia. Simple but delish sandwiches with ham and egg (Jeff) or tomato (John). And of course a cappuccino to start the day right.


Today we walked. And walked. A lot.


Venice is a comfortable place for both of us. Jeff has been here six times, and for me, five visits. So Venice is the old friend that you can talk with for hours on end even if it has been several years.


We set out (sort of) destination at the other end of Venice…the Biennial park to be precise…and just winged it in between. We criss-crossed the city hitting major and minor neighborhoods. We fought throngs of tourists on some narrow streets, while others were deserted. We passed major sites like the Friari and the Arsenale, and tiny dead-end alleys. Canals, bridges, and gelato at every turn. A sad graffiti clown…discovered again.


The streets leading to the Biennial park are all primped out for this impressive celebration of the arts, music, and culture. But nothing open yet…not even a bookstore. So we had a sandwich and a beer and watched boats bob in the late afternoon sun.


Our return route to the hotel ran right along the wide fondamente that runs all the way to San Marco. As you would expect, the throngs pick up substantially with each step in the direction of San Marco. But people watching is all part of the experience, Rusty, so we trudged on past the pop-up trinket stands, through Piazza San Marco–which is impressive with crowds or not–and back towards the Accademia bridge.


Dinner was at the impressive Osteria – Enoteca Ai Artisti. A wonder bottle of wine from the local Veneto region. Fresh mozzarella and tomatoes. And two subtle fish dishes…so very good. And of course we needed some tiramisu to finish. A very fine meal indeed.


Mojitos at Improntu to finish the evening. And a quiet walk back to the apartment…with a quick detour to Salute…so haunting at midnight. A strong cool breeze picked up, adding a notable chop to the canals.