We flew to Paris the Thurs night prior to Labor Day. Air France flight was great, the agent at
check in neglected to charge us the $300 fee for taking two bicycles. Flight left on time and had individual screens
on which you could watch your choice of film. No films in Italian though so I
watched one Argentinean and one Brazilian film.
Patrick chose action flick. Wine
was enjoyed as well.
Top food of the day: very aromatic and quite tasty mushroom
pasta airplane food
Paris airport was top notch and the waiting area smelled of perfume
and chocolate from the shops below.
It
was full on color for a very early morning – the ladies room had floor to
ceiling pink and red doors in a heavy glossy material – the place was
immaculate.
I saw a group of African ladies
there put together amazing well with well coiffed hair and bright print dresses.
I accepted that I might never achieve that
level of pulled together – and never after an overnight flight.
Enjoyed reading El Pais newspaper in the
glass covered (and shaped like a wing) terminal before jet lag set in.
Highlight of the flight to Venice was the
peek at the window at the Alps and a decent look at the topography we would be
shortly cycling across.
Our bicycles
arrived in good shape and we enjoyed a low key and pleasant ride from the
airport to our hotel in Maestre.
unpacking the bike in the airport, wearing my quick dry clothes
We were
very happy to see that Maestre is small and a good portion of our route was on
a bike path.
We headed into Venice via
short train trip for the evening.
My
friend Danielle had warned me that Venice would be crowded this weekend.
She was right.
Our first impression of the city was dirty,
crowded, and heavily touristed train station.
The crowd thinned as we headed into narrow alleys, past shops packed
with masks, crumbling churches, and little dogs out for walks.
The streets are amazingly quiet once the sun
sets.
On some of the quiet streets, with
views of canals and churches, I got the impression of a glorious decay.
Dinner was mediocre and overpriced squid ink
pasta.
Top food of the day: lemon gelato
Wonderful Saturday morning watching the city wake up from
the water shuttle (like a bus, but a boat).
Determined to not eat overpriced tourist food,
we bought meat, bread, cheese and milk at a grocery and ate breakfast on the
steps of a bridge.
Then bought cherry tomatoes
from a produce vendor on a boat and ate those on a pier in front of the glass museum,
enjoying the light playing on the water while we waited for the museum to
open.
We loved the glass museum at
Murano
http://museovetro.visitmuve.it/en/home/!
In particular we loved a room with bright,
bold, colorful vases in cases lit with natural light.
You could see the reflection of a canal
through the window in one of them.
The
room also had 3 large and spectacular chandeliers of Murano glass in fanciful
shapes.
After that delightful morning,
we visited three churches.
One in Murano
had an amazing tiled floor of many colors.
One was made of marble and the third was just huge.
Venice was crazy busy and full sun with powerboat
noise in the afternoon – we escaped after a few hours by taking a long ride on
the water shuttle to another island known for lace– too long perhaps as we
returned to our hotel feeling worn down and not connecting with Venice.
The view of lights on the water at night is
nice.
view of bicycles from a canal
peaceful evening respite from crowds
Couples place these locks to show their commitment
Top food of the day: anise meringue – a very large solid
sugar affair of which I took about 2 bites and had to save the rest for the
cycling trip
Thoroughly enjoyed our hotel room Sunday morning and didn’t
venture out into Venice again until lunch time.
We headed for Gam Gam, an Israeli restaurant recommended by Patrick’s
friend Sarah.
Yum Yum!!
Assortment of aps was great as was wine, bread,
and Turkish coffee.
Main dish was a
bonus.
Off to wind through the maze of
alleys from Gam Gam to Basilica San Marco.
The church was incredible – really a sight inside and out.
Patrick was wowed with the gold and bejeweled
images of saints behind the altar.
I
loved the intricate tile floor.
We also
saw an incredible collection of chalices.
The cups were made in the East and the metal base and stem were
Italian.
All were bejeweled.
The richness of this place sparks the
imagination.
Along with the chalices in
the “treasure” of the church is a gruesome collection of relics.
Skulls, bones, and bone fragments.
We escaped the crowds and afternoon sun for a bit in a museum
where we wandered among portraits of wealthy Venetians and scenes of life in
Venice in the old days.
Plenty of people
watching opportunities to be had in the plazas and narrow streets.
Patrick noted women’s tourist fashions – very
short frilly shorts, see through dresses, and fancy clothes.
We had good views of the buildings on the
grand canal and we also watched a regatta.
Teams of young people raced in the Grand Canal and there were also
racing gondolas.
It was festive and fun
to watch.
After the solid lunch, we had
planned for a light dinner, but stumbled upon a street food scene on our walk
back to the train.
The food and beer
appeared to be hosted by the communist party.
We enjoyed sausages, polenta, fried seafood, grilled vegetables, cod
spread, and some beers.
Finished the day
with hazelnut gelato and view of lights on the water.
Top food of the day: Tomatoes with oil and basil
