We're Not In Ohio Anymore, Gini

No this is not Ohio. After a 36 hour respite we were able to catch our flight to Paris Tuesday evening, June 18. Gini was not a happy camper with the conditions in coach. A guy who probably plays defensive lineman kept his elbow in a key position to allow for discomfort most of the trip. Space seems to be more cramped than on previous trips.

However, thanks to a deal with American Express we were able to spend our five hour layover in Air France lounges. This provided breakfast, lunch, internet and couches. Had we wanted, a shower was also available.

And then…Venezia…

Of course there are differing opinions on this city but we drink the KoolAid on this one. We arrived at the airport, found an ATM, bought a phone card and contacted our host Andrea. We synchronized orologi and used our prepaid tickets to take the boat to Fondamente Nove in Cannareggio. He recognized us, as we did him, from pictures on AirBnB, our booking site. A true Italian (aka cabana boy) he grabbed Gini’s luggage and we were off. Within 50 meters we stopped at a waterfront restaurant and made reservations on his recommendation for that evening. That recommendation also resulted in a 10 percent discount.

We were led down a couple of typical Venetian alleys and brought through a courtyard gate.

This led to the courtyard and a wonderful sitting area:

It looked like we were in a good place from AirBnB. The kitchen was incredibly well supplied with cooking gear and also had some milk, juice, olive oil, etc. This is Italy, certo! The rest of the apartment was quite comfortable:

Mmmmm….a cute little love nest for our fortieth anniversary, e’ bellisimo.

We explored the neighborhood with some helpful directions from Andrea. Supplies were easily obtained from a local supermarket and nearby was a bakery. We really did not have a tourist agenda since we had been here many times before but we always enjoy ambling and rambling along the calle. Very soon we discovered that we were very near to the Church of the Miracles, a destination from previous visits. Many significant thoughts and concerns were meditated upon here, with Chip also:

We find this church architecturally interesting since it has slabs of marble on its outside walls usually seen in Firenze (Florence).

Another point of interest for us is the pier for the boat launch to the Hotel Cipriani:

This ride would lead us to where some of Chris’ Mom’s ashes were placed. Off in the background are the trees where they are at the base.

The Bienalle, an art festival, had opened and we did walk through San Marco along the water to get to it. However we balked at the 25 Euro apiece entry price and decided we would take a vaporetto ride instead to beat the heat.

There was an adventure involving the phone. One may have heard of the astronomical roaming charges that can accumulate when one is overseas. In preparation Chris had researched Italian SIM cards. At the Rialto Bridge the Vodafone store had completely sold out but we eventually found a TIM store. For 25 Euro a card could be purchased and inserted in the iPhone (previously unlocked through Verizon) that would suffice for three weeks use of voice, text and data. Except that the data portion did not work right away. A second visit the next morning was necessary as the iPhone was restarted and everything was ‘va bene’. We shall see when we get home when all the bills come to roost how brilliant this idea was.

The iPhone is a bit limited as a camera so we could not capture the Rialto Bridge on the canal at night very well:

Since we were coming back for a single night stay in a couple of weeks before heading home we thought we would make a reservation at a wonderful restaurant for that night ahead of time. In doing so we discovered that the restaurant would be closed that night…whoops! So we made an executive decision that one must scuttle the budget given these conditions and make do. We made a reservation for the next night. The Fiaschetteria Toscana is always a delight. Here is how we finished the meal:

Now some of our friends will be screaming at us since we still did not take a gondola ride after umpteen visits to this city. When we return we will attempt such a feat. Until then, arrivederci!