Venice: Italy Part 6
Our fourth day in Italy had an early start as we had planned to be at the train station by 7:45 for an 8:15 train to Venice. Having barely made it on time for the train to Naples, we overcompensated and got to the station by 7:30, but that gave us time to grab some breakfast. We were thrilled to discover that the heat had given way to cooler temperatures! Soon, we were on our way. The high speed trains get you there in 3 hrs. 45 min. We did not complain about spending the morning sitting after having walked nearly 25 miles over the three previous days. We all dozed a little.
We did something a little unusual here - we kept our room in Rome, but booked a BnB close to the train station in Venice for just one night. This allowed us to have enough time in Venice to see the things we wanted to see without having to rush back on the train. It also allowed us to just bring small overnight bags. Since neither room was very expensive, it meant that one night of our trip cost what it might have if we'd booked more luxurious accommodations.
We were immediately charmed by Venice's antique architecture and picturesque canals! Our BnB, Aquavenice, was just a short walk in a straight shot from the train station, and that neighborhood is a good area to stay in rather than one closer to St. Mark's square. Not that there aren't plenty of tourists - just fewer. Remember, there are no cars allowed in Venice, so however you arrive, train or plane, a car is not going to get you to your hotel. Another reason to stay near the train station.
Aquavenice is a lovely BnB in an 18th century building. We had the quadruple room which is right on the front. The casements open onto a wide street that runs parallel to the big canal. You could easily take a vaporetto or water taxi from here (expensive, but possible). With all the shops and restaurants right outside our windows, I was a little worried that we would be bothered by noise at night, but we weren't. Unlike our hotel in Rome, there were no USB ports for charging phones on the outlet, so be sure to take adapters. The room was plenty large, again, unusually so by European standards. The bathroom was tiny - about the size of an RV bathroom, proving that the Italians can squeeze a bidet in anywhere. There was one bottle of stuff in the shower called Crema Corpe along with some bar soap and lotion. We decided Crema Corpe was body wash, although the translation suggested lotion. It lathered. So, I washed my hair with it the next morning 'cause that's all I had. There was a blow dryer on the wall, but after I turned it on once, I laughed and left it alone. It would have been as effective if Kevin had stood next to me and blown on my hair. Meh. I just put my hair up. I mean, I had washed it with body wash, after all. It's a lovely little place, and we liked it. Just take some shampoo and a blow dryer.
By the time we had checked in, it was time to set out walking to reach the glass studio of Mauro Vianello. I knew we would not have time to visit the island of Murano to see the glass shops, so I searched online ahead of time for a glass artist in Venice. I found Mauro and saw that he did private demos, so I sent him an email and we set an appointment. We loved this experience! First of all, just the trek to find his shop took us away from the heavy tourist areas and into a rabbit warren of alleyways, probably a more authentic view of Venice than we would have seen otherwise.
We did something a little unusual here - we kept our room in Rome, but booked a BnB close to the train station in Venice for just one night. This allowed us to have enough time in Venice to see the things we wanted to see without having to rush back on the train. It also allowed us to just bring small overnight bags. Since neither room was very expensive, it meant that one night of our trip cost what it might have if we'd booked more luxurious accommodations.
We were immediately charmed by Venice's antique architecture and picturesque canals! Our BnB, Aquavenice, was just a short walk in a straight shot from the train station, and that neighborhood is a good area to stay in rather than one closer to St. Mark's square. Not that there aren't plenty of tourists - just fewer. Remember, there are no cars allowed in Venice, so however you arrive, train or plane, a car is not going to get you to your hotel. Another reason to stay near the train station.
If you stay here, make sure you know the house number, because there's no sign!
Aquavenice is a lovely BnB in an 18th century building. We had the quadruple room which is right on the front. The casements open onto a wide street that runs parallel to the big canal. You could easily take a vaporetto or water taxi from here (expensive, but possible). With all the shops and restaurants right outside our windows, I was a little worried that we would be bothered by noise at night, but we weren't. Unlike our hotel in Rome, there were no USB ports for charging phones on the outlet, so be sure to take adapters. The room was plenty large, again, unusually so by European standards. The bathroom was tiny - about the size of an RV bathroom, proving that the Italians can squeeze a bidet in anywhere. There was one bottle of stuff in the shower called Crema Corpe along with some bar soap and lotion. We decided Crema Corpe was body wash, although the translation suggested lotion. It lathered. So, I washed my hair with it the next morning 'cause that's all I had. There was a blow dryer on the wall, but after I turned it on once, I laughed and left it alone. It would have been as effective if Kevin had stood next to me and blown on my hair. Meh. I just put my hair up. I mean, I had washed it with body wash, after all. It's a lovely little place, and we liked it. Just take some shampoo and a blow dryer.
By the time we had checked in, it was time to set out walking to reach the glass studio of Mauro Vianello. I knew we would not have time to visit the island of Murano to see the glass shops, so I searched online ahead of time for a glass artist in Venice. I found Mauro and saw that he did private demos, so I sent him an email and we set an appointment. We loved this experience! First of all, just the trek to find his shop took us away from the heavy tourist areas and into a rabbit warren of alleyways, probably a more authentic view of Venice than we would have seen otherwise.
Following your GPS will be a challenge, but if you just use it as a map rather than a direction-giving device, it works better. We were rather impressed with our teenager's navigational abilities. On several occasions, I just handed her my phone and said, "Get us there." She did. Every time.
Mauro himself was engaging and personable, and obviously very passionate about his art. We loved watching a blob of glass become something beautiful! We couldn't choose to take the fish he made while we watched because it needed to sit in the kiln for more hours than we had, but we bought one that was similar. I'm so happy that we have such a special piece to help us remember our day in Venice! If you are into glass-making, Mauro comes to the states to teach at the Pittsburgh Glass Center and the Corning Museum of Glass in NY.
Next, we made our way to St. Mark's square to tour St. Mark's Basilica, of course. I'm a professional classical musician, and to come this close to St. Mark's without paying homage to the Gabrielis, two musicians who had a profound effect on music history, would be sacrilege!
As we made our way closer to the square, we started seeing the touristy Venice. I felt like we were in a crowded modern shopping mall - but set in a Renaissance and Baroque setting. With gondolas. I had to keep reminding myself that the buildings really were old, and not a set created by Disney. This was another reason I was glad we stayed out near the train station.
We had a little time before our scheduled tour, so of course, we did a little shopping. MB and I discovered an Italian cosmetic line from Milan called Kiko. MB can spend a LONG time shopping for makeup, and fortunately this line is reasonably priced.
We couldn't shop too long because we had skip the line tickets for St. Mark's that were at a set time. Here's another thing to be aware of. When you buy these online, you're only buying the privilege of skipping the line, not entrance into the church. We still had to stand in a line to get tickets, but it wasn't as long as the line that stretched around the block. Surprise...again.
St. Mark's is just beautiful inside. Every inch of every surface is covered in painting or mosaics. Many of the mosaics are gilded. But, what I wanted to see were the balconies. The musicians of St. Mark's in the early baroque utilized those balconies to create the first stereophonic performances with musical forces singing and playing across the space of the church, both in echoes and harmony. I'm refraining, with effort, to write a whole essay on the effects this had on the development of new musical styles, but this isn't a paper for school! If you're interested, look up Adrian Willaert, Andrea Gabrieli, and especially Giovanni Gabrieli to learn about the three foremost musicians who established the Venetian style. Alas, we could not take pictures in St. Mark's. So, you will just have to go and visit and see it for yourself.
We hung out in the square, had some more gelato, shopped, took lots of photos, and finally headed back to our hotel just as some rain was starting to threaten. Earlier, we had tried to make reservations at a restaurant recommended to me by a friend, but they were so popular that they were already full for the evening. So, we consulted Trip Advisor again and found Ostaria Da Rioba just around the corner from our hotel on a side street down a canal. They offer outdoor seating, but since it was starting to rain, that wasn't possible. We didn't make reservations, but just showed up right as they were opening and got lucky.
This might have been my favorite food of the trip. We had a starter that consisted of shaved asparagus with a soft poached egg and a light Parmesan sauce. Even MB, who thought she didn't like asparagus, said it was good. I don't remember what everybody else had, but I had monkfish crusted with some sort of nut over a bed of baby spinach with sundried tomatoes and a very light vinaigrette. My goodness, it was good. We ordered a bottle of white wine, and the waiter poured it - for all 3 of us. So, we let it stand, and at 16, MB had her first glass of wine. If she were European, she'd have probably had one long before.
I think I had the best night's sleep of the trip in Venice. It rained. The air conditioner was sufficient. We were SO tired, even though we'd only walked 6.9 miles. Only.
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Part 7
Mauro himself was engaging and personable, and obviously very passionate about his art. We loved watching a blob of glass become something beautiful! We couldn't choose to take the fish he made while we watched because it needed to sit in the kiln for more hours than we had, but we bought one that was similar. I'm so happy that we have such a special piece to help us remember our day in Venice! If you are into glass-making, Mauro comes to the states to teach at the Pittsburgh Glass Center and the Corning Museum of Glass in NY.
Next, we made our way to St. Mark's square to tour St. Mark's Basilica, of course. I'm a professional classical musician, and to come this close to St. Mark's without paying homage to the Gabrielis, two musicians who had a profound effect on music history, would be sacrilege!
As we made our way closer to the square, we started seeing the touristy Venice. I felt like we were in a crowded modern shopping mall - but set in a Renaissance and Baroque setting. With gondolas. I had to keep reminding myself that the buildings really were old, and not a set created by Disney. This was another reason I was glad we stayed out near the train station.
We had a little time before our scheduled tour, so of course, we did a little shopping. MB and I discovered an Italian cosmetic line from Milan called Kiko. MB can spend a LONG time shopping for makeup, and fortunately this line is reasonably priced.
We couldn't shop too long because we had skip the line tickets for St. Mark's that were at a set time. Here's another thing to be aware of. When you buy these online, you're only buying the privilege of skipping the line, not entrance into the church. We still had to stand in a line to get tickets, but it wasn't as long as the line that stretched around the block. Surprise...again.
St. Mark's is just beautiful inside. Every inch of every surface is covered in painting or mosaics. Many of the mosaics are gilded. But, what I wanted to see were the balconies. The musicians of St. Mark's in the early baroque utilized those balconies to create the first stereophonic performances with musical forces singing and playing across the space of the church, both in echoes and harmony. I'm refraining, with effort, to write a whole essay on the effects this had on the development of new musical styles, but this isn't a paper for school! If you're interested, look up Adrian Willaert, Andrea Gabrieli, and especially Giovanni Gabrieli to learn about the three foremost musicians who established the Venetian style. Alas, we could not take pictures in St. Mark's. So, you will just have to go and visit and see it for yourself.
We hung out in the square, had some more gelato, shopped, took lots of photos, and finally headed back to our hotel just as some rain was starting to threaten. Earlier, we had tried to make reservations at a restaurant recommended to me by a friend, but they were so popular that they were already full for the evening. So, we consulted Trip Advisor again and found Ostaria Da Rioba just around the corner from our hotel on a side street down a canal. They offer outdoor seating, but since it was starting to rain, that wasn't possible. We didn't make reservations, but just showed up right as they were opening and got lucky.
This might have been my favorite food of the trip. We had a starter that consisted of shaved asparagus with a soft poached egg and a light Parmesan sauce. Even MB, who thought she didn't like asparagus, said it was good. I don't remember what everybody else had, but I had monkfish crusted with some sort of nut over a bed of baby spinach with sundried tomatoes and a very light vinaigrette. My goodness, it was good. We ordered a bottle of white wine, and the waiter poured it - for all 3 of us. So, we let it stand, and at 16, MB had her first glass of wine. If she were European, she'd have probably had one long before.
I think I had the best night's sleep of the trip in Venice. It rained. The air conditioner was sufficient. We were SO tired, even though we'd only walked 6.9 miles. Only.
Back to the index
Part 7
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