Day of the Gatti We must have been exhausted, because we slept in until nearly 11am this morning. After breakfasting on what was left in the refrigerator (salami and cheese for M, delicious greek yogurt for me) we walked up to the Fondamente Nuove for our now customary cappucinos and then boarded the boarded the #42 vaporetto which took us way out into the lagoon where we soaked in the scenery, sunshine, fresh air and the chop, chop sounds of the vaporetto skirting across the waves.

We got off the vaporetto at Sant' Elena and walked through a peaceful little park and rested for a bit on a bench with a view looking across the water at Piazza San Marco which was, I am certain, bustling with tourists but we felt a million miles away from all of that. Because of our skimpy breakfast we were quite hungry by that time and so we ate lunch at a parkside cafe called Cafe Molinari. Michael had tortellini with cream and proscuitto, and I had tagliatella alla bolgnese. The pasta was simply prepared and the taste was pure and exquisite at the same time. Best of all, our bill came to under 20 Euro, which is rather inexpensive for pricey Venice.

Happy and satiated, we then wandered through the Quartiere Sant'Elena, and often we were the only people on some of the calles and certainly, the only tourists. As we walked though this sestiere, with it's sun-colored buildings and hanging laundry of all colors of the rainbow, we came across several cats with varying levels of friendliness. Fortunately for me, there were three or four who were quite willing to let me stroke their chins and scratch their ears. I got some fantastic pictures and Michael captured some embarrassing video of me making a fuss over them. I can't help it - I've always been a cat person and know I always will be. I've always preferred the quiet intelligence and subtle charms of the cat to the more obvious nature of dogs. Here are a couple of my favorite gatti and a shot of quiet, beautiful Sant Elena sestiere:







It took some effort to tear me away from the gatti, but Michael eventually convinced me that we really should take that gondola ride before it was dark, and so we wandered through the Castello sestiere (too touristy for my taste, but interesting window shopping) and hired a gondolier who took us through some of the quieter canals, past Marco Polo's house, and briefly into the Grand Canal. After about an hour, he dropped us off at our traghetto stop and we walked home to rest a bit before dinner.

Based upon the recommendation I had read on the Slow Travel site, we went to a nearby restaurant called Trattoria da Bepi for what was yet another memorable meal - I had gnocchi stuffed with spinach and potato in a light sauce and Michael had spaghetti in garlic chili oil for our primi. For secondi, I had the most delicious roasted chicken skewers and Michael had a beef steak which was very thin and served with a fresh tomato basil sauce. As was the case with Osteria da Alberto, very simply prepared yet incredibly delicious food. Unfortunately, this was an expensive meal - nearly 80 Euro - but I think they put some kind of drug in the food that made me not care as much about the money. It was *that* good.

After dinner, we strolled around the neighborhood briefly and made it an early night - we had to pack up and head to Florence the next morning. Another long and satisfying day.  ¶ 3:01 PM 0 comments

  Walking, walking, walking, and walking ... followed by more walking.

Day 3 in Venice, which is really our second full day.

After feasting on strawberries, kiwis, and some delicious formaggi, we left our apartment shortly after 9am for "due cappucino" at "our" cafe on the Strada Nova. We then decided to try taking a traghetto across the Grand Canal to visit the fruit and veg markets on the other side.

The traghettos look almost exactly like gondolas, except these are part of the public transportation system. Traghettos transport native Venetians and visitors alike across the Grand Canal, since there are apparently not enough bridges to accomodate the traffic.

After disembarking from the traghetto, we were still reeling a bit and took a slow stroll through the fruit and veg markets. I bought a container of raspberries and savored them as we worked our way through the narrow streets of the sestiere of San Polo for what came to be known as "The Great Campo Tour". Using a detailed map as our guide, we would seek out as many campos (squares) as we could, delighting in each one's unique personality - San Polo and Santa Margherita were favorites of mine. We then worked our way down through the Dorsoduro sestiere, which is home to at least one university and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection was amazing, as Michael and I were able to indulge our love for modern art. Chock full of works by Pollock, Chagall, Dali, and numerous others, a beautiful sculpture garden, and perhaps the biggest highlight of all - the sweeping view of the Grand Canal from the back of the museum - it was well worth the time, money, and sore legs.

After our museum visit, we continued on to the Church of Santa Maria della Salute - one of the most famous buildings in all of Venice and one which I'm sure you've all seen in paintings or photographs. There was actually a mass going on when we visited, and as long as we didn't use a flash, they allowed photography and videotaping. I didn't expect to find it all that interesting but it was actually one of the highlights of a trip brimming with memorable moments. Tired from miles of walking, we popped over to the other side of the Dorsoduro and watched art students doing pencil drawings of San Giogio Maggiore and then took the vaporetto home where we rested a bit before dinner.

After resting up a bit we headed out for dinner at a cozy osteria called Osteria da Alberto. We arrived "early" (about 7:15pm) without a reservation but they said they could accomodate us if we could finish by 8:45pm. We laughed and said that would be plenty of time. We ordered a 1/2 litre of the house white wine (which was excellent, which means for us we didn't hate it), and then split a primi (the best spaghetti with pesto either one of us has ever head), and secondi (incredibly tender and flavorful steak served with lightly sauteed baby tomatoes, perfectly in season). The entire bill including tip came to about 40 Euros. Although it wasn't a large meal
(by American portion standards, at least) it was absolutely delicious and the simple
preparation did great justice to the quality of the raw ingredients.

Still high from our first truly great meal in Italy, we wandered the sestiere of San Marco, bought a "cono" of gelato each, and went back to Piazza San Marco to take some photographs of the square all light up at night. The Piazza was not at all crowded and with the lights and the sounds of the orchestra playing, I felt like I was in some alternate universe. Pure magic. It was hard to leave but it was getting cold and the lure of a warm bed was calling us home. The vaporetto carried us safely to our stop at Ca D'Oro and we limped home and curled up for a long sand satisfying sleep.  ¶ 12:46 PM 0 comments

  Catching my breath Yesterday was such a packed and busy day, that by the time we got home last night I was too exhausted to post. I'll post an update tonight, but will break it into two posts probably as there is a lot to cover. The sky is bright and blue today so we're off for more exploration.

C&M  ¶ 1:58 AM 0 comments