Europe, Travel

Voyage to Venice

The two months leading up to our trip to Italy sucked.  It started with a call from Mrs. G.  I was two hours out of town picking up my boss’s boss at the airport.  We were scheduled to meet with the company’s largest client.  Mrs. G. was car number seven in an eight car pile-up on the highway.   Thank God she emerged from the accident unscathed.  Her Jetta didn’t fare as well and was deemed a total loss by our insurance carrier.  We were all of a sudden car shopping.

Venice, Italy - Piazza San Marco and Palazzo Ducale

Venice, Italy – Piazza San Marco and Palazzo Ducale

A month out from the trip, Mrs. G. scheduled two elective eye surgeries.  The first went smooth but the second involved a recovery that was a bit longer than anticipated.  Her mother visited to help with the care-taking.  Even with the motive of assistance, family visits come with a time commitment.  You have to entertain them.  Normal life is always disrupted.

Lunch on Piazza San Marco

Lunch on Piazza San Marco

Two weeks before departure the bastards at State Farm decided to raise our auto insurance from a thousand a year to thirty six hundred a year (good neighbors my ass), and we were insurance shopping.  A week before departure, my parents spent the weekend with us.  At the same time, Mrs. G. was experiencing a major transition in her company that left uncertainty in a role she worked hard to develop.  I was experiencing a similar transition at work as teams and departments were realigned and nobody knew where they would land or how they would get paid.

Our Doge Priced Sandwiches at Cafe Florian

Our Doge Priced Sandwiches at Cafe Florian

A week before departure I found myself in the doctors examining room with some sort of rash.  I feared bed bugs as I travel frequently for work and started to add up the extermination costs on top of the new car, eye surgery, and increased insurance premiums.  The prognosis was a stress rash which I’m not sure is better or worse.  Apparently all these events turned me into a nutcase as I prepared for a trip I had planned and dreamed about for a lifetime.  Would I even enjoy the trip or would I just be a walking haze of worry not living in the moment?  Would I be able to experience the romance of Venice, the flavor of Tuscany, the awe of Rome?

A Bridge and Groom Joyfully Pausing for Pictures

A Bridge and Groom Joyfully Pausing for Pictures

Luckily, the voyage to Venice was flawless unlike the mayhem to Munich last year.  We arrived early and caught the Alilaguna from the airport to Piazza San Marco.  I breathed in the sea breeze as the ferry carried us across the Mediterranean to Venice.  The rays of the afternoon sun heated my black t-shirt and my soul, and told me vacation had begun.

The Background Music of Piazza San Marco

The Background Music at Cafe Florian

After catching a quick a shower and an hour nap, we ventured back to Piazza San Marco for a late lunch at Cafe Florian.  While the guidebooks all said any meal consumed on Piazza San Marco would involve a second mortgage on the house, the view and the atmosphere would be worth it.  The books were right.  We sat in a perfect Venetian moment savoring each bite of our doge priced finger sandwiches and cappuccinos overlooking the sundrenched stones of the piazza.  People meandered back and forth.  Pigeons frolicked.  A couple next to us toasted over a bottle of Prosecco.  An orchestra played in the background.  A bride and groom paused for pictures.  It was like a scene from a movie.  This was why we came to Venice.

Basilica San Marco - Sadly No pictures were permitted inside

Basilica San Marco – Sadly no pictures were permitted inside

After a lunch that involved more sitting and being than actual eating, we toured Basilica San Marco.  The majesty of the gold and the mosaics was mesmerizing.  How could such works of art be made by little tiles?  From a distance, they looked like paintings, but up close from the rafters of the church, the texture of the mosaics could be seen.

Getting Lost Amongst the Canals of Venice

Getting Lost Amongst the Canals of Venice

We then aimlessly wandered the alleyways and footpaths north of Piazza San Marco. with no destination in mind, simply getting lost amongst the narrow lanes, bridges, and canals.  Humorously, some bridges literally dead-ended after crossing a canal and we had to double back.  The walking eventually worked up a thirst and we stumbled upon a risotteria advertising glasses of Prosecco for 3 euro.  We stopped in for a few rounds over a cheese pastry cichetti.

Dining Al Fresco at La Corte

Dining Al Fresco at La Corte

There was more lost, more canals, more piazzas, the Rialto bridge, more tiny lanes and bridges until we finally landed in a rather large, but desolate square.  A lone restaurant stood in the far corner with a lively crowd.  This would be dinner.  Over a craft of house red wine, we enjoyed our first Italian pasta dishes.  Mrs. G ordered buccatini with a tomato based sauce and I dined on homemade cavatelli with a pistachio, zucchini, and prawn sauce.  The sauce had a delightful grain and earthiness from the pistachio and sea flavor from the prawns.  And of course, the texture of homemade cavatelli can never be beat.

Cavatelli with a Pistachio, Zucchini, and Prawn Sauce

Cavatelli with a Pistachio, Zucchini, and Prawn Sauce

On our way back to the hotel we once again passed over the Rialta Bridge.  This time after dark.  We paused for a moment and once again breathed in Venice.  Our vacation had begun.