Day 13: Views of Venice

As luck would have it, we had a clear sunny day AGAIN in Venice.  After breakfast (conveniently included with our hotel stay), we ventured out on a vaporetta to the San Marco area.  Our quiet, non-touristic island of Giudecca is such a contrast to the San Marco plaza!  However, we were able to visit a number of the “must-sees” of the area.  The plaza is over run by large groups of tourists, gondolas lined up down multiple canals and there are multitudes of merchandise stands. 

Piazza San Marco

We waited in line to get to the top of the tower at Piazza San Marco, which promised some of the most picturesque views of Venice.  The aerial views were indeed remarkable, but also COLD.  

Brisk winds from the seaside whipped through the open-air windows of the tower, so I quickly captured memorable views and then we high-tailed it back to the warmth of a less windy environment down below.

Aerial view

One of the helpful books I purchased in Chicago named a brewery as one of the top 10 lunch spots.  It was our sheer determination to find the brewery that also led us to cross the Grand Canal Bridge and discover other sights along the way.

On top of Grand Canal Bridge

Birraria was off the beaten path and we were more than thrilled to find this tranquil spot, away from the mobs of tourists.

Joe on left hand side of image, walking up to Birraria

Insalate

The salad (insalate) we shared was remarkable: paper- thin sliced sheep’s milk cheese  curls drizzled with honey and truffle oil, served over a bed of arugula.

This was the remote courtyard we looked out over during lunch. 

We had to pick beers blindly and both enjoyed our choices!  Each of us picked a  wafer-thin crust pizza and were overcome with flavorful sensations.  My pizza had mozzarella, brie, tomato sauce and a combo of chicory mushrooms.  Joe’s toppings were: wild boar salami, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella and a thin red sauce.

Joe's pizza

Jenne's pizza

After stuffing ourselves with our favorite meal of our Venice trip, we maneuvered through the maze of alleys, bridges and shopping markets.  

Gondolas for hire

Later, we jumped on a vaporetta for a leisurely boat ride, with no real destination.  This gave us the chance to see more of the city without having to actually navigate the mostly confusing, massive map we had.

The water fountains in Venice are some of the most unique looking I’ve laid eyes on.  The water is definitely safe to drink and there is always some type of pail to catch the dripping water beneath.  The spigot where the water is dispensed has an animal head; you have to lean over to catch the stream spewing from the “head”.  Joe demonstrates how one would drink from the fountain and then also…well, what can I say:  Boys Will Be Boys.

We are planning to go to a local restaurant on Giudecca for a late dinner (they don’t open until 7pm) and then we are calling it a night.  We have to rise around 6:30am in order to catch a vaporetta back to the train station so we can hop our train to Rome.  It’s one of the longest train rides we have had on the trip, nearly 4 hours.  Until the next blog, CIAO!