Venezia!

Venice

November 3-6

First of all, I cannot believe that our little blog-writing rotation had Aaron writing about Florence and not me! However, this might be for the best as my entry could very well have been a lot of sappy “I love and miss Florence so much it hurts” language that no one really wants to read besides me. However, let it be known that I am now begging Aaron to find a job in Tuscany so I can move back there forever and ever.*

*Note: To all parents reading this: Since Aaron and I do not know Italian, this will probably never happen, so breathe a sigh of relief.

Ok, Venice. When we left you last, Aaron explained how the city was flooding thanks to Aqua Alta and we had decided to brave the city anyway.  So, on the train we went (after a farewell hot chocolate from Gilli) and we were pleasantly surprised to find the day only overcast—no rain or flooding!

Aaron had found us a little Bed and Breakfast close to the train station, but also kind of hidden away. When I say this place was “somewhere” in Venice, that is probably the most accurate description of its location. I kid you not, in order to get there, we had to go through this very low-ceilinged alleyway:

And then literally squeeze between two buildings:

On various maps of Venice, both of these are labeled as streets.

We were both pretty amazed that we fit through that space after taking into account all the pasta and pizza we had been eating for the past week. But we did it! Horray!

The B&B is run by a funny little man who says “okey-dokey” a lot, and his wife who likes to make funny little breakfasts. Here is Aaron in our funny little room:

Also, in this house, many of the door frames were very low that I didn't notice. Aaron did notice. Here is Aaron hitting his head on the door frame leading into our funny little room:

Poor the Aaron. By the end of our trip, he would get sympathy pain in his head every time he walked through a doorway without ducking. 

By the time we were all checked in, it was 3pm and we were starving. The funny little man recommended a restaurant nearby, which we obediently went to and (after some haggling with the waitress who really wanted us each to order a full Italian meal –primi, secundi, and contorni) ordered a pasta dish to share. This dish has been around since the Middle Ages and was developed when cocoa first made it to Venice. Apparently, when Italians first encountered cocoa, they went, “A new spice? We’ll put it in a sauce!” This just goes to show you that Italians have not changed since the Middle Ages. Anyway, it’s a cocoa and olive oil sauce with chopped octopus and prawns over linguine  It was pretty good, but I don’t think I’ll be looking up the recipe any time soon. Here is Aaron eating it:

After lunch, we did our normal wander-around-the-city-and-see-what-we-find bit and discovered (thanks to ample signage) the Rialto Bridge and San Marco Square. Here are some obligatory touristy pictures of all that:

San Marco is pretty amazing. The Turkish influence in the architecture is just beautiful, and seeing it at night was pretty magical.

When looking for a place to have dinner, we stumbled upon an Indian restaurant. Gleeful, we bounded in! Pasta is my favorite thing to eat, but it turns out even I need a change after a while. Now, I know what you’re wondering: Is Indian food in Venice any good? After all, it was a significant trading port for hundreds of years. The answer to this question is this: No. No, Venice does not have good Indian food. No matter how tempted you are, no matter how much you want some chicken tikka masala and chai, do not go in. Resist! Resist! The chai wasn't even good. We were served lightly flavored milk. GIANT SAD FACE. But it was nice to have a change of pace.

The next day, Aaron, who had been ignoring feeling sick up until this point, felt pretty darn sick. It was also a rainy, gloomy day, so I thought I'd let him sleep in. This is when we learned that at our particular B&B that sleeping past 9:30am, skipping breakfast, and staying in the B&B past 10am are not allowed. The funny little woman and I had a conversation that went something like this in varying degrees of broken Italian and English:

Funny little woman: *knocks* Excuse me!

kk: *quietly slips outside the room* I'm sorry, my husband is sick so he's going to sleep and we won't be having breakfast.

FLW: Well, that's too bad, but I already put out plates for you, so you must have breakfast.

kk: Oh. Ok. 

So, Aaron wakes up and we have breakfast and learn that FLW is not a very good cook. Then:

kk: Is there a Pharmacy close by?

FLW: Yes, but they are all closed because it is Sunday. You can go to the train station though and get some medicine out of the vending machine. This is good because you have to leave so I can clean your room.

kk: Oh you don't have to do that! Aaron is going to sleep.

FLW: Yes, you must go.

So Aaron and I go and I officially do not like this woman who is making my husband get up when he is sick.

However, Aaron seems to rally after 30 minutes and some more medication and we decide to escape the rain by going to the Guggenheim Museum. This is very hard to find and in the process we get to see what this "Aqua Alta" is all about. Here I am on one of the many raised walkways the Venetians put in when the city floods. You can see the water hitting the bottom edge of the walkway:

And here you can see a bit of the flooding:

 It also takes us most of the day to find the Guggenheim, so imagine a lot of damp sloshing about with wet feet and breaks for wine or pizza in the middle. The rain also caused us to keep our cameras tucked away in our slightly less damp pockets, so we don't have many pictures. We also managed to lose and find our umbrella no fewer than four times during this period of time. But, the Guggenheim was wicked cool and housed in her old house with tons of Calder, Picasso, Pollock, and Dali. I highly recommend coming here if you are ever in Venice.

That evening, we had a dinner date with our old Florentine friends Manesh and Tanvi! They were staying at the Stuchy Hilton, which is literally on its own island that you can only reach via boat and after our experience at the B&B that morning, (and, admittedly seeing a mother and daughter walking out of the spa in their bathrobes) I was ready to switch, no matter the cost! 

Here we are! Hi Manesh and Tanvi!

We first went for drinks at the hotel's rooftop bar where I had my first Aperol Spritz. I liked it so much, I had one per meal until we left! Then we had an amazing dinner at the hotel's restaurant. Everything was delicious and the company was great. All in all, a good time!

The next day, after a breakfast of burnt coffee and bread with bologna, Aaron and I just wandered. It wasn't as rainy although we still had the Aqua Alta to deal with (see Aaron on the platform below):

and I think the constant touring had started to exhaust us. So we walked over bridges and stopped for lunch by a canal. Here is Aaron apparently trying to smoke his pen like a cigarette. I think we have been in Europe too long!

The next day was AARON'S BIRTHDAY and ELECTION DAY and also THE DAY WE FLY TO DUBLIN! We tried to sneak out before FLW could catch us but it didn't work. She gave us our burnt coffee (telling us we would be "rude" to skip breakfast), and we left. 

Final thought: If you are going to Venice during Aqua Alta, buy galoshes when you get there. You can get some for as little as 15 euro and then your feet will be dry the whole time!

Next stop: Aaron's birthday and Dublin extravaganza! 

Teaser: Beer is involved :)