After a 5-hour layover in Dusseldorf, we had less than a 90-minute flight to Venice and, again, no customs to go through. Out of the airport,
we turned left and walked, pulling our luggage behind us, to the dock to board the
orange-line vaporetto (water taxi). The taxi took us to our stop to meet the manager of our
apartment in the Dorsoduro sestiere (neighborhood), a quiet area except when the bells from the church
tower, close (really close) by the apartment, rang.
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| Arriving in Venice |
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| Waiting at Ca' Rezzonico vaporetto stop |
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| The view from our apartment in Venice |
September 11 (Thursday) - We slept well after our long journey. The morning was cool and drizzly but the sun came out and it was a gorgeous
day. We went out for breakfast, coffee and croissants. (The Italians do not eat
large breakfasts. No eggs, bacon and toast!) Then, we walked around, taking
pictures and seeing the sights. We had to go to a cell phone store to get a SIM
card for the phone we were going to use in Italy. We had lunch at a cicchetti (pronounced
chikettee and means small plates) with an ombra (small glass of local wine)
standing outside by the canal. Then we went to the grocery store to get
tortellini with prosciutto crudo and fresh pesto and salad, to prepare for our
dinner, as well as orange juice, milk, cereal, rolls, soap and paper products.
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| A lunch of cicchetti and wine |
Venice was a maze of canals. No roads entered or ran through this
historical city of waterways. Everything moved on the water – deliveries of
produce, beer, ice cream, packages/mail, construction materials, even cement
mixers; ambulances, police, fire boats; taxis. You name it, it moved via the
water – unless you were on pedi power. We walked miles and miles up and over
bridges and back and forth on the stone paths – sometimes running alongside the canals
and sometimes squeezed between buildings.
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| The Grand Canal |
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| A smaller canal |
September 12 (Friday) – Ken discovered the telephone forwarding he
had set up from home to our Italian cell phone was not working which kept him
occupied last night and this morning.
We finally got out, wanting soup for lunch but couldn't find any
at a reasonable price. We went to a Mediterranean place and had a late lunch,
staying close to the apartment because of the weather. After lunch, we stopped
for lattes and came home for a while. About 7:00 PM we went out for dinner (Italians
don’t come out for dinner until 8:00 or 9:00 PM) and shared a meat/cheese antipasto
plate. It was cool and misty all day.
September 13 (Saturday) – Italy has a fantastic rail system. There
were five cruise ships scheduled to come into Venice today so we took the regular
2nd-class train from the Santa Lucia station to Bologna, passing through
agricultural land.
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| Bolonga |
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| Bolonga Flower festival |
In Bologna, we took a city bus tour, walked through the food market,
and stopped at a street-side cafe for a 'spritz', the Italian national drink. Strolling around the city, we came upon a beautiful flower festival. Later, we ate pasta with, what else, Bolognese sauce then caught the last train home.
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| Our introduction to the "Spritz" |
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| Tagliatelle pasta with Bolognese sauce |
September 14 (Sunday) – This was a very special day and we were in
very special place to celebrate our 30
th wedding anniversary. It’s
amore! We took a gondola ride in the evening during sunset. Our gondolier did not
sing, but we passed by others who were serenading their passengers. There are
433 gondolas in Venice.
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Celebrating our 30th anniversary
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| Dinner at Locanda Montin |
There are 118 islands and 421 bridges in Venice and I think we
walked over and through most of them!
Italians drink a lot of wine because: 1) It's good for you, and 2) it's inexpensive! In Venice, there are wine shops that sell locally-produced wines, in bulk. They sell you a refillable glass or plastic bottle and when you finish the contents, you return to the store and they will refill it! Did I mention that it's inexpensive?
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| Wine store in Venice |
September 15 (Monday) – Venice is also divided into districts.
Today, we walked to Cannaregio, the Jewish district and toured three of the five synagogues – built
by the Germans, French, and Italian. There were reported to have been 1000 Jews
in Venice. Most escaped during the Nazi invasion; however 485+/- were taken to
concentration camps. Only 8 returned. No one knows what happened to the
remaining people.
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| One of the synagogues in the Jewish Ghetto |
During the occupation, Jews were actually needed. They were the
only ones who could lend money, be doctors or sell second-hand clothes.
Christians were not allowed to do these things.
Did you know that it was actually a Pope who decreed the Jews had
to wear the yellow star? Also, at first, the word ghetto was
pronounced jetto? Because the Germans could not say the 'j' sound, the term
ghetto was used.
Because we were in the Jewish district, we had lunch at a kosher
Jewish restaurant. Jamey had Masabacha (hummus) with eggplant.
September 16 (Tuesday) – We took a boat tour to some of the
islands - Murano, Burano, and Torcello. Murano was famous for its glass and we
saw some beautiful and very expensive pieces and a demonstration of glass
blowing. Torcello was known for an old church built in the 15th century. Burano
women made beautiful lace and there are tablecloths, clothing and many other
items available made with their interesting handiwork; Burano was a fishing
village with many colorful houses and a leaning bell tower. The Bussola
Butanello cookies come from here. We couldn’t leave without buying some.
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| Sculpting glass in Murano |
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| Lacemaker in Burano |
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| The colorful town of Burano |
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| Pomegranate tree in Torcello |
September 17 (Wednesday) - We have been in Venice one week. We walked
to the Rialto Market and back this morning and then went out for lunch.
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| Rialto Market |
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| All types of fresh produce |
September 18 (Thursday) Once again, we took the train. This time to Verona, site of many Roman ruins. We found a restaurant for lunch and made use of
the free toilet. This was a surprise! The toilet was unisex, which wasn’t
unusual in Italy, but instead of a bowl you would sit on, there was a porcelain
bowl set flush in the floor with a place on each side for your feet. Women had to squat.
Thank goodness for strong quads!
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| Verona |
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| Roman amphitheatre built in 1st century |
September 19 (Friday) – Planning ahead for relocation to Lucca next Wednesday, we walked to the train station
to buy tickets. Then we walked through the maze
of paths (getting lost even though we had a map and were using GPS on Ken's
phone) to a mask-maker's shop to purchase our souvenir - a mask replicating the one's doctor’s wore during the plague. The doctor would stuff the long beak with herbs and
straw to filter out the bad air.
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| Maskmaker at La Bottega dei Mascareri |
September 20 (Saturday) – To get to the train station next Wednesday with all our luggage, we opted to take a Vaporetto (water
taxi). We had to go to the train station to purchase the Vaporetto tickets. Then we walked around a
part of Venice where we had not been and which was much quieter.
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| Clotheslines are everywhere in Venice |
September 21 (Sunday) - B86, I107, B92. No, we were not playing
bingo. These were ticket numbers to get Information and buy train tickets from
an agent. First, you get a ticket and wait until you’re called to get information on
trains available. Then you get another ticket and wait on the agent to call your
number to purchase your ticket. Ticket, ticket, who has the ticket? You can also
buy your train tickets from a vending machine if you have cash or a 'chip and pin'
credit card. Our chipped card required a signature so it could not be used.
We got an early morning start to the train station to buy tickets
to Bassano del Grappa. After wading through the mass of walkers in Venice for
the Nordic Walk, we went in the station, but our number, B86, was way down the
list. Ken purchased our tickets with cash (Euros) from a vending machine.
Looking at the electronic sign, track-side, for which platform to board our train, we saw that it was canceled. Oh smack!
We had to go back inside the station and get another ticket and wait once again
for an agent. Due to a scheduled strike, there were no regular trains running
today. We were able to get our money back and would have to start all over
again tomorrow.
The day was not wasted though. We actually found Sant' Elena Park at the far eastern end of Venice,
a beautiful place with grass and trees and very few people.
