Venezia…Venice…Serenissima
This beautiful city was historically an independent nation, and during the Middle Ages and Renaissance it was a major maritime power and center of commerce. It was also a major player during the time of the Byzantine Empire, trading extensively with the Muslim world, something still reflected in the city’s astounding and decidedly “moorish” architecture. The City of Lights, which it is often called, is cited as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Having been there, even though briefly, I can vouch for that. It is a labyrinth of canals, cobblestone streets and passageways, surrounded by the Adriatic Sea.
The skyline is all domes and spires jutting up into the blue sky. Venice is literally built in the water of the lagoons that surround it. Making it a most interesting city in terms of its architecture, culture, and food, as all of these developed based on the city’s geography and status in the world for so many centuries.
We flew into Venice and stayed for just one night. We wanted to at least experience a little of what this mysterious city, shrouded in fog, has to offer. We took a public water taxi, the Vaporetto from the airport to the city. It was the cheapest way to get there, but it also offered us an extensive tour of the outskirts of Venice and the many islands out of the main city, like Murano. We stayed at a tiny hotel close to the Rialto Bridge. It was a great central location for us to explore the city’s main attraction – Piazza San Marco and the main tourist port where all the ferries and gondolas park.
We had taken an evening flight out of New York (after flying there from Orlando) and so by the time we got to Venice, it was about 10 AM local time. We had only gotten maybe 3 or 4 hours of very uncomfortable sleep on the plane, but I guess the adrenaline of being in such a beautiful place kept us going. After checking into the tiny hotel and having a much needed shower, we headed out in search of food. This was to be my first ever meal in Italy, and so we picked a nice outdoor cafe’ in a cute little square we found near our hotel. Since Venice is a seaside city, we both opted for seafood.
I had an awesome salad with tuna, and Roberto got a mixed seafood plate with an assortment of cold seafood salads.
Both were fantastic. We enjoyed it with a nice class of local wine and basked in the sunlight of the beautiful day. A good way to start our trip. After lunch we both had gelato on the brain. So we went in search of a place that looked really good. It didn’t take long to find one. Venice (as well as most Italian cities) are full of gelatarias.
There were a lot of flavors to chose from and many that I had not seen before. So I was asking Roberto if he knew what they were. He didn’t so he asked the girl behind the counter for a taste. Well, apparently you are not allowed to taste gelato in Venice and apparently you are supposed to know this, because after this innocent question, the girl got very impatient with us. She couldn’t get us our gelato fast enough.
She gave us our change on top of the gelato counter, and when Roberto slid the coins across, one fell through a little crack between the glass and a euro went into the chocolate gelato. This of course made the girl behind the counter really mad, and we just dashed out of there! But the gelato was worth it. Mine was full of hazelnuts and chocolate chunks. I am not sure what else was in it, but it was simply divine!
Next stop – Piazza San Marco – St. Mark’s Square. This is the place to be in Venice. People just go to the piazza to sit and enjoy the sights, feed the many pigeons, watch the people from all over the world and kiss their sweethearts. Dominating the piazza is the Palazzo Ducale di Venezia which is the Doge’s palace, constructed from 1309 to 1424. It is a marvel to behold in person. Such intricate design and details. You could spend literally hours seeing all the parts of this building and looking in awe at this incredible building that was built before modern technology. The craftsmanship and artistry is just unparalleled.
The piazza is also home to St. Mark’s Basilica and clock tower and from the piazza you have a straight view to the Grand Canal and there are several cafe’s.
It really is the center of Venetian life, and is a bustling place, full of tourists, street vendors, and flower pushers (different from actual flower vendors), which out of all the people selling things are the most annoying and unfortunately made appearances in every Italian city we went to on our trip.
Wandering around the piazza we saw an advertisement for a Vivaldi concert that night in a little building right off the piazza. They were going to be featuring Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Roberto and I are both huge fans of Vivaldi and his compositions, and since we were in the city of his birth, we decided this was something we needed to do in our lifetime. We got our tickets (which were VERY reasonable) and headed back to the hotel for a quick rest.
Before the concert we made a stop at Harry’s Bar for a world famous Bellini (which were NOT very reasonable, however, the experience was great) and headed off to the show. It was a wonderful evening, and a great way to spend our one night in Venice.
The next day, we were headed to Tuscany, but not before enjoying a typical Italian morning. Roberto has been telling me about breakfast in Italy for years now – about going to your local bar (what they call cafe’s in Italy) to get a cornetto or tramezzino and an espresso drink of some kind. So we got up fairly early and found a bustling pasticceria full of Venetians on their way to work.
Roberto gave me instructions, and I ordered myself a cornetto (like a croissant) filled with vanilla pastry cream and a cappuccino…in Italian! I was nervous, but it went fine, and I had an amazing breakfast! Roberto had a nutella filled cornetto and a succo di pera (pear juice). In Italy when you go to a bar for your breakfast, be prepared to stand at the counter and quickly eat your pastry and go. This is not a time for relaxing, people are in a hurry and on their way to work, and space is limited, so scarf it down and get moving!
If you are still hungry, walk a few more steps and you will likely come to another bar, and you can get something else – this is also a very Italian thing to do, apparently. So that is what we did, we went a few steps down and enjoyed a tramezzino, which is basically a triangle sandwich with a savory filling. We got ham and artichoke heart with a nice smear of mayo. The ham was sliced so thin that it literally melted in your mouth.
We spent the rest of the little time left we had in Venice walking the streets and taking photos of the canals, bridges and shops before the rest of the tourists got up. It was a wonderful way to see the real Venice and its people.
Cris - April 13, 2009 at 12:57 pm
You describe everything in such detail… it seems that we were there with you, beautiful post and pictures!
dawn - April 13, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Jenn, what a wonderful little write up you did. I loved reading it so much that I re-read it again just so I could go back to the gelato and the cornetto.
I loved that you two were able to experience the Vivaldi–I would have been in heaven seeing that. I bet that water taxi ride to the hotel was thrilling.
Bob - April 13, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Wow, great pictures. I’m wicked jealous, I would love to go to Venice.
girlichef - April 13, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Amazing! Love the gelato story, LOL…and the ham sliced so thin it practicaly melts in your mouth! Thanks for sharing all of this with us. I cannot wait until you get to Tuscany!
Sue - April 13, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Great title. Great post. Great pictures. You make me want to be there!
Sara - April 13, 2009 at 3:04 pm
I loved Venice when I was there, I remember eating a lot of those seafood salads, and of course gelato 🙂
erin :: the olive notes - April 13, 2009 at 3:17 pm
dang. venice needs to get with the program…can’t TASTE gelato??? That’s half the fun 😉
holler - April 13, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Gorgeous photos Jenn! I am quite jealous 🙂
Peter G - April 13, 2009 at 4:58 pm
How wonderful Jenn! I love the pictures..and you’ve described everything with great detail…more please!
Sam - April 13, 2009 at 5:23 pm
I wish I was in Venice right now, it sounds amazing!
Judy - April 13, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I want to go to Italy with Roberto and you! How cool to have someone who speaks the language in a foreign place! Are you going to post all these pics on FaceBook? Too bad about the nasty gelato girl!
zestycook - April 13, 2009 at 7:08 pm
WOW – Great pictures! It looks like you had a great time.
zesty
PeterMarcus - April 13, 2009 at 8:17 pm
That is one of our favorite cities. We spent 2-3 days there in June a couple years ago, and ambled from one cafe to another. The fresh seafood is just simple and wonderful, isn’t it? Man, those pictures bring back memories.
Sam Sotiropoulos - April 13, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Wonderful! Beautiful pictures and a nice description of your visit to such a beautiful and storied city. One question: how is the work proceeding on the special sea barrier at the mouth of the lagoon that is intended to prevent/mitigate the flooding effects of the rising Adriatic? It would be a true shame to lose such a wonderful city to the sea.
Scoop - April 13, 2009 at 11:55 pm
Was there any residual debris or hint of damage from the winter floods that hit Venice last December?
_ts of [eatingclub] vancouver - April 14, 2009 at 1:56 am
Hahaha, I love the gelateria story! =D
kat - April 14, 2009 at 1:59 am
what a great trip! I will make note about not asking for “a taste” at gelateria.
Hedonistic Hostess - April 14, 2009 at 7:56 am
What a fabulous travelogue of Venice. Have made a mental note to never ask for tastings.
Leslie - April 14, 2009 at 7:58 am
Sounds like a beautiful trip..and your photos tell a wonderful story
Peter - April 14, 2009 at 8:52 am
Again, welcome back, Jenn. I’m enjoying your postcards from Italia and I’m sure you’re already plotting your next visit…c’mon…say it’s so!
kat - April 14, 2009 at 9:33 am
Wow, what a wonderful visit. I would so love to go to Venice some day!
Bellini Valli - April 14, 2009 at 9:39 am
I remember getting lost within the labyrnth of the city of venice, but when exploring your are not really lost just enjoying. European Bellini’s are not the Milestone’s frozen slushy with Sangria kind but delicious anyway!!!
Sylvia - April 14, 2009 at 10:13 am
Nice pictures I see that you had a great time in Venice.The Italian gelato is very similar to our gelato, in fact is more a frozen cream , delicious !!!
I never sleep well in planes too,:(
Sandy - April 14, 2009 at 12:08 pm
haven’t been by in a long time, your pictures are so beautiful… I’ve always wanted to go to Venice, sounds like a lovely trip.
lo! - April 14, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Ah… that salad… those sites!
My dear, you look SO relaxed. Am glad you’re enjoying your vacaion 🙂 And I’m also glad that I can live vicariously through you for a bit. Thanks for sharing the wealth!
The Leftover Queen - April 14, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Thanks Everyone for your lovely comments. To answer Sam and Scoop, I really don’t know much/ didn’t see much about the sinking of Venice or damage from the flood…everything looked fine from my brief stay!
And YES Peter, of course we are going back!!! Probably to see some other areas, but yes, Roberto has spent far too many years away.
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie - April 14, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Sounds like you had an amazing time in Italy! Thanks for sharing the gorgeous photos and your wonderful experience!
Natashya - April 14, 2009 at 2:19 pm
What a lovely city! You are so fortunate to have travelled there, especially on the arm of your Italian man!
Rosa - April 14, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Thanks for the great post! It seems you had a wonderful time in Venice!
Cheers,
Rosa
pam - April 14, 2009 at 5:37 pm
I love looking at people’s travel pictures! It looks and sounds like you had such a good time!
Kirby! - April 14, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Cornettos and cappuccino…. I AM DYING OF JEALOUYSY!!!
maris - April 14, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Beautiful pictures! I would love to get to Venice, one of the most important factors to me in a vacation is that we’ll eat well!
Johanna - April 15, 2009 at 4:05 am
love your stories and photos – esp the gelato story – things you do for a good gelato! I remember loving gelato in Rome many years ago and would return just for gelato, but if I buy it in venice I must remember not to ask for a taste 🙂
Maryann - April 15, 2009 at 9:27 am
Great pics and story. Gotta love the gelato adventure! Thank you for sharing.
kellypea - April 15, 2009 at 1:02 pm
OMG — we had a run in with a cranky gelato lady in Florence! What is up with that? Thanks for sharing Venice — we opted for Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast instead sort of saving Venice for some day…maybe? Love all your photos, and the pastry, the Vivaldi. Ahhhh….Nice.
Venice Italy - April 20, 2009 at 5:13 am
Great pictures and story ! Thank you it really feels like make a visit…