At (or Below) Sea Level

One of the joys of traveling the way we’ve chosen to – by train as much as possible – is the pleasure of arrival. No sterile airport many miles outside the city. No waiting for baggage, or struggling with how to find transportation into the city. You simply walk off the train, typically into a grand station from another era, and step into the heart of the city. Exiting the train station in Venice is the ultimate “OH WOW” moment. The Grand Canal stretches out in front of you, water taxis, gondolas, and water buses churn the water, church domes gleam in the background. It’s breathtaking, and something I suspect never loses its charm.  We looked at each other with big smiles on our faces and said, nearly in unison, “We’re in Venice!” 

A Mistake That Can Be Fixed

We hopped onto a bus (aka boat) and after a few stops along the Grand Canal, we arrived at our hotel. It was mid-afternoon, so we dropped our bags and walked along the canals and narrow alleyways, over a couple of bridges, and through some lovely piazzas to have lunch at a charming (and delicious) restaurant. As we ate lunch we discussed our obvious mistake: planning just two days in Venice. Fortunately, this is an easy mistake to correct. From Valencia, it’s just a 1.5 hour flight to Pisa and then a 4 hour train ride to Venice. We started planning our return trip over dessert.

This is a Problem

As we walked along the canals, Ed kept pointing out the fact that the water was very nearly at the level of the sidewalk, slopping onto stoops, and lapping up against the sides of buildings. He’d look at this situation and mutter, “this is a problem.” I lost track of how many time he repeated this sing-song phrase. I told him to relax and teased him a bit about the anxiety he seemed to be feeling. “It’s not your problem. There’s nothing you can do to fix it. We’ll be fine. I’m sure it will all be fine.” 

It’s the Moon’s Fault

We pushed our dinner reservation, at a starred restaurant on St. Mark’s Square, back to 8:30 so we’d have time to wander about and take in the beauty of the Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica. When we arrived at the restaurant we climbed two flights of stairs to the dining room where we enjoyed a leisurely meal overlooking the square accompanied by plenty of wine. We got up from the table about 11PM, and as we approached the stairs, one of the restaurant staff appeared to escort us down.

“My apologies, Madam,” he said. “There is some water in the restaurant.” 

“What? In the restaurant?” I asked in alarm.

“Yes, Madam. It happens sometimes.” 

Behind me, I heard a mumbled “this is a problem.”

“We can offer you some boots to put over the shoes,” he suggested helpfully.

“How much water?”

“Just a little. Maybe six centimeters.”

Of course, I didn’t want to appear to be some kind of newbie tourist, right? And really, how bad could it be? I declined the offer. As we stepped outside, I realized my error. There was about 3-4 inches of water on Piazza San Marco. By the time we got back to our hotel, my socks, shoes, and bottoms of my pant legs were completely soaked. We squeaked our way across the lobby to pick up our room key and when I explained about our wet feet to the concierge, he explained helpfully, “it’s because of the moon.” Okay. Maybe, this is a problem.

Some research was in order. It turns out, it was sort of a perfect storm situation. Piazza San Marco is the lowest part of the island. High tide was a 11PM that night. It was an extra high tide because the moon happened to be very close to the earth during our stay in Venice. Note to self: when in Venice, check the tide schedules and the current phase of the moon.

Dinner Party Research

The next morning we started with a stand-up cappuccino and then met our walking food tour guide. For the next three hours, we wandered about the city sampling traditional Venetian street foods such as fried mozzarella, cynar (an artichoke liquor) spritz, gelato, fried fish and calamari. One of the unfamiliar dishes that we really enjoyed was Scampi Saor, a traditional Venetian appetizer. Saor refers to the technique of marinating fish or seafood in a mixture of finely sliced onions, pine nuts, raisins, olive oil and vinegar. We made a note to include this delicious dish on the menu for our next dinner party featuring Italian cuisine.

Where words fail, music speaks –

Hans Christian Anderson

Without music, life would be a mistake –

Fredrick Nietzche

Our final evening in Venice was delightful. After dinner, we strolled through the darkened narrow streets, over canal bridges, and across small piazzas to the San Vidal Church for a performance of Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. The great Baroque composer spent forty years of his life in Venice and composed his most significant pieces there. It was thrilling to hear these masterpieces passionately performed, by virtuoso musicians, on instruments from the the era (including a wonderful clavichord). We were transported to another time by the beautiful baroque interior and the music came alive in the acoustic environment it was written for.  What a wonderful way to wrap up our introduction to Venezia!

On to Milano . . .