Passport Ready

A Afternoon in Venice, Cicchetti, Wine and Gelato

By on Saturday, October 5, 2013
     We had to be at the Stansted airport before dawn for our flight to Venice. It was a cheap Ryanair flight. I think it came out to be about thirty American dollars. We packed up the cars in the brisk cold of England in February and made the drive out to the countryside and the little airport.

            When we flew over the Alps they were sparkling with fresh snow, completely white, so glittery and awe inspiring. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the snow capped peaks. I was so thankful that Dawn had given me the window seat. She flies jets for a living, and everyone else I was traveling with had flown over the Alps multiple times so I was the only one enthralled.
           Everyone else slept through it. ( No joke! They really did!)
            We landed at Venice’s Marco Polo Airport and made our way through passport control. I took off my hat, so that we would not have another scene like last time I went through passport control and was yelled at by the customs guys.
      Luckily without my woolly winter hat I did not pass for a terrorist and yea! The customs agents let me enter Italy!
     Grazie!   We made the long walk to the boat we would take to Venice, hauling our massive luggage along with us. It was about forty degrees and sunny; the day felt majestic with expectations, and we were all so happy to be in the bright sunshine even if technically it was still a chilly winter day. We were still bundled up in coats, sweaters and scarves but the sunshine and the vitamin D reflecting off our skin felt amazing. We climbed aboard the water taxi and made the short trip across calm seas to take in the beauty of Venice for the first time. As we pulled into the dock waves gently rocked the boat; we couldn’t wait to start our Venice Vacation!


Hotel lobby with Dawn

            This city is known as the loveliest city built by man and I would soon find out exactly why. Venice stretches across 117 small islands built over lagoons. All of the buildings sit atop of wood pilings brought over from the mainland. The pilings do not rot, as they are petrified by the mineral rich water running through them.. The pilings come from Slovenia across the sea, and are somehow still intact after centuries of being underwater; it is so unbelievable!
           Venice has a big problem with flooding, called Acqua Alta or high waters. We could clearly see the remains of recent flooding, some water still standing in great big puddles all around the Piazza. Wooden walkways were still in place everywhere. Luckily we got there a few days after a big flood, and the stone roads were dry in most places at that point. 


St Marks Square, Photo by John Cramer








 
             Our hotel was a modest Best Western, but it was very nice. The staff spoke a little English and was so nice we felt like we had checked into a small B & B!  Our hotel was located just off of St Marks Square, or Piazza San Marco, in Italian.  Our hotel was located in a very central area, right in the heart of Venice down a calli (alleyway), sandwiched between delicious restaurants.

Photo by John Cramer

            We hastily unpacked the essentials, and then met in the lobby to start exploring. We were planning to go to the masquerade Carnevale Ball at one of the local hotels later in the week. Most everyone we were traveling with needed to rent a costume for the ball. I was doing Venice on a budget so I had borrowed an old prom dress from Mimi, and bought a cape to go over it. My costume cost $30 compared to renting for $200. The Masquerade Ball was not cheap. Just admission was over two hundred Euros. Lobster better be involved because I can eat two hundred Euros worth of lobster.





Alps in back ground, photo by John Cramer



            One of the first things we had to do was find costumes for everyone and get them fitted.  But first… Were in Italy! Gelato time! I had never even had gelato before, but that first Hazelnut Gelato I licked had me hooked. We sat on the leftover walkways from the receding flood waters and had our gelato in silence, so good we were speechless.



great friends in Venice



shopping, photo by John Cramer



            Invigorated with Italian sugar, we headed towards the rental places. While everyone was trying on vintage looking dresses I window shopped in a few little stores, checking out the various Carnevale masks, jewel encrusted and covered in feathers. They were stunning. 


Church of St Mark

 After an early evening of dress shopping we were starving, and ready for our first Italian meal. Can I just say now I do not like Italian food at all! Despite this every single thing I tried in Venice was beyond amazing. All the guidebooks say don’t go to restaurants with menu’s written in English, because they cater to tourists, but traveling with so many Americans it was easier to go somewhere with a menu we could all read. Actually the minimal amount of Spanish that I know really helped me out with the language when we were in Venice.

Our meal started with fresh bread and amazing Italian olive oil. It didn’t even taste like the olive oil you get in the states. I felt like I could drink it, it was that good. I ordered a pizza with Gorgonzola cheese and it was phenomenal. The crust was chewy and thin, the sauce perfectly tart balancing out the salty cheese. One of the best pizzas I’ve ever had. This was a place that catered to tourist and it was amazing! I couldn’t wait to try some place authentic!
We spent the evening hours wandering the calli’s, snapping pictures, stopping into little bars for cicchetti (Venice Tapas like snacks) and glasses of wine, making jokes about falling drunk into canals. The moonlight reflected off of the calm ocean waters as we crossed at the Rialto Bridge, Venice was just so perfect!








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