Wednesday 5-25-04 Venice

I let the kids sleep in though I would have liked to be up and out earlier. Yesterday was traumatic enough. We set out about 10:30, with no particular plan or itinerary. We stopped and got some big thick chocolate chip cookie/biscuits and followed the signs to San Marco.

We came out of a small dark alley right at a gondola stop. I didn't know it at the time but we were pretty close to the Rialto Bridge. Of course we are approached for a gondola ride and the kids want to do it, might as well do it now. But I know I'm going to get hosed when he says "200 E for long ride" "Okay, 100 E for shorter ride" I take the 100E ride. I knew it was going to be pricey but I was hoping 100 E would get us a longer ride.

It is a short ride but we went under the Rialto Bridge, we saw Marco Polo's house, Casanova, and some other palaces. We got to go down some quiet canals and people above us on bridges took our pictures. It was over in about 25 minutes. That was the only disappointing part of it. But how can you take your kids to Venice and not have a gondola ride?
We continued over the Rialto Bridge.

Along the way I saw a shop that sold the most beautiful cameos and I saw one pendant with a woman wearing a small diamond. It was soo pretty and 200 E. I've never spent that kind of money on jewelry for myself. I thought of the advice that if you see something you like, buy it right then because you may not find it again, but I kept walking. I was immediately sorry because I could not imagine how we would ever find it again in this maze like path of ours. Oh well, it wasn't meant to be, I said to myself.

Eventually we found our way to San Marco. Isaac bought some food to feed the pigeons while Sarah complained that they were filthy diseased creatures that no one should go near. I couldn't resist and took some food and let a few land on my hand. I would have liked to have gone inside the Basilica, but it looked like at least an hour line. We'd all pretty much had enough of art, museums and churches so we just walked around.

It was time for lunch so we walked a little away from the main tours spots and found "Trattoria Canonica" Isaac had his favorite pizza prosciutto which he proclaimed one of the best. Sarah and I shared a pepperoni pizza. Of course the waiter had to warn us that pepperoni was a vegetable. What confusion that must cause among tourists.

The prices on the menu were very cheap so with only 2 pizzas I expected a much lower bill than 43E. The coperto was 7.74 and 12% servizo.

I saw no need to leave a tip. 12% turned out to be pretty common servizo charge in Venice but that was the highest coperto I ever paid. But the food was very good and I guess that's still pretty reasonable for Venice. The address is 30124 Venezia, San Marco.

Sarah and I wanted to shop and Isaac wanted to feed the pigeons so we left him at the square with some Euro and Sarah and I wondered around, buying little inexpensive masks as gifts to bring home.

After we found Isaac again we took the #1 vaopretto to St. Paulo, got off and got on another one back to San Marco. I bought a 24 hour pass with a discount for the kids. Everyone says this is such a charming ride. Well, maybe when it is less crowded. It was so crowded, we couldn't sit by the window, Isaac found a seat outside but there were so many people standing around him he couldn't see anything.

Isaac did have an interesting experience while he was playing his gameboy on the boat. A couple of Italian kids came up to him with their gameboys and noticed they were playing the same game. They managed to communicate somehow. Oh the international language of video games.

On the whole however, we found the vaporettos to be about as charming as any other crowded bus, and a little more nauseating.

We could have gotten off at our St. Toma stop but Sarah wanted to see if we could find our way back from San Marco. She also wanted to find that shop so I could get that cameo.

Amazingingly we took the exact same route back and found the shop. So I bought the pendant. It really is very lovely. She did the paperwork so I could have the tax refunded, I did get it stamped at the airport, but never found a place to mail it in.

I cannot believe how easily we found our way back to the apartment, without even looking at a map. In every other city we got lost constantly. In the city you are supposed to get lost, we didn't. At least not today.

We came home, climbed the four flights of steps and rested before setting out for dinner at 8. We decided to try a nearby trattoria recommended both in Chow Venice and Great Eats in Italy, Trattoria San Toma. It was very easy to find in camp S. Toma.

We ate outside and as it was almost the end of our trip and I still had $$ in my account we decided to go for it. I had prosciutto and melon--the melon was very sweet. Isaac had prosciutto pizza and Sarah Sausage and pepperoni. The sausage turned out to be very much like American pepperoni. I had gnocchi ragoo and grilled vegetables. The gnocchi was wonderful. I'd had gnocchi somewhere in Sorrento that was nowhere near as good.

Then we had dolce and she invited us to come inside to pick what we wanted. Sarah and I had some kind of chocolate cake and Isaac had some kind of cherry torte. It was all very good. Then we had café (Americano for me, I can't handle espresso) and cioccolata for the kids.

We stayed and talked and enjoyed the parade of people passing by. The total bill was 95 E and we decided it was just as much a Venetian experience as the gondola but cheaper and lasted longer!

Sarah wondered if they'd ever be content to eat at Applebee's again. I know I'll never stomach another Pizza Hut pizza.