VENICE
MARCH 15-22, 2003
SUNDAY

Gondolas waiting

Clearing Marco Polo airport in Venice was lightning fast. The airport is on the mainland, while Venice proper is a network of islands in the Adriatric Sea. You can take a ferry to Piazza San Marco for 10€ ($11 each), which takes an hour and a half, including waiting in line outside for the ferry to arrive, and then walk 5 minutes to the hotel, or you can take a private water taxi, and enclosed speedboat, directly to the hotel for 80€ ($90). We opted for the latter, as our luggage weighed a ton, and we wanted to conserve energy.

Rialto bridge from water taxi

We arrived at the Hotel Bonvechiatti at 12:30 PM. We were a bit apprehensive, because the package price was so cheap, and some of the amateur reviews on the web of the hotel were not at all favorable. But it's a gorgeous hotel, with a luxurious lobby. Farklempt had written ahead to the Direttore Commerciale of the hotel, enclosing his business card from The Farklempt Page, asking for a particular room that had been mentioned in Fodor's. We got the very room we requested, a huge room on the top floor (there is a lift) with a king-size bed, minibar/fridge, a safe, a bath and shower, and windows looking out on the Basilica di San Marco and the Campanile. It was cold, in the low 40's, I think, but there was plenty of heat. We might as well have been staying at the Hotel Cipriani. The sign on the door said that the room went for 430€/night. Of course, breakfast is included.

Hotel...Room

View from room..Front desk

Chandelier in lobby..Otello statue in lobby

We unpacked and set right out for Piazza San Marco, 5 minutes away. We turned a corner and entered the sun-drenched plaza. I know I gasped, and then tears started rolling down my face. The music of Verdi's Otello filled my head: "Viva il leone di San Marco!!"

Piazza San Marco..Piazza San Marco

Piazza San Marco

The plaza is enormous, dominated at one end by the Basilica (where the bones of St. Mark are kept), and the Campanile, a monumental bell tower. But the surrounding Napoleonic buildings that form the plaza, along with the tourists feeding the pigeons in the middle, the duelling orchestras and cafés on the side make it seem quite intimate. Even though it was cold (low 50's, I'd say), it was warmer in the sunshine, and the blessing was that there weren't that many tourists in town.

Feeding pigeons

We began at the Correr Museum at the far end of the plaza. This is a museum of the history of Venice. Boooooring. But we had a nice bite to eat at a table facing the Basilica at the other end. Carol knew her customer, and we zipped right through, stopping in only 3 rooms. You buy a 10-museum ticket for 20€ at the Correr, where there is no waiting, telling them that you are 65. The salesperson was a cutie. She said the senior discount applied only to European Union countries, then looked at us quizically and said, "You must be English?" "God save the Queen!" I told her.

We crossed the plaza and took the elevator to the top of the Campanile. It has breathtaking views of the city and islands, and the wind was blowing right through us, but we stayed up to hear the massive brass carillon go off.

View from Campanile..Island of San Michele Maggiore

clapper..Saracen bell ringers

The Campanile groaned mightily at the turn of the 20th Century, and people fled from the cafés, as the building crashed to the square below. It was rebuilt, hopefully to last another several centuries. The Basilica next door was closed for a funeral, so we just walked through the lobby. The building is built in three parts, the first dating back to the 800's.

Basilica..Basilica

We returned to the hotel for a short nap, and took a bath in the sumptuous marble bathroom with wonderful soaps, huge thick towels, and luxurious terry bathrobes. We took a long walk

VerdeDoorbell of the local psychiatrist, Dr. Joseph Green (upper right)

to our restaurant, recommended by Andy and Neal: Il Sole Sulla Vecia Cavana. It is a rehabilitated garage for gondolas that is low key, mildly upscale. As always, Andy knows where and how to eat. We had sardi en saor (sweet and sour marinated sardines with onions), a finocchio soufflé with cheese sauce Carol had turbot encrusted in potato and parmeggiano, and I had a Venetian specialty, fegato alla venexiese. This turned out to be liver and onions, just the way it tastes in any Greek diner on Route 1 anywhere. Nothing special. The wine was a 2001 Morellino di Scansano, hard to get in the US, but cheap when you can find it. It is rich and flavorful, extremely smooth. A great wine value. They charged 27€, more than it should have been, but it was good. Dinner came to 100€.

Back in the room, my feet really hurt, and I got the cramps that I usually get with the post-polio business I am getting. But a hot bath helped a lot, and we got a full night's sleep.

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