An entry in the TFS Travel Journal.
An uneventful morning preparing for our departure - packing and reading up on Venice, Italy. The storm had left the atmosphere so crystal clear, though, that the white hillside towns looked like we could reach out and touch them! The weather was odd: out on the terrace the sun was nice and hot, but when the breeze came it was too cool to sit comfortably outside.
We went to the Hotel’s poolside restaurant and, as we were a bit early, we had a lengthy discussion on life and male-female relationships with Lorenzo, the well-traveled senior restauranteur from Ravello. Lunch was fabulous! Starters were a white bean/tuna/tomato salad with a vinegarette and crusty whole-wheat bread (a dish that will surely be making appearances upstate!), and a delicious thin-crust pizza with ham, mushrooms, artichokes. Then spaghetti with octopus and a sort of sweet red sauce, and a plate of 5 giant, juicy, grilled langostines. We spoke with a lovely English couple (he’s opening Cadwallider’s London office, she’s 33 weeks pregnant) as we waited the usual interminable wait for the check.
Drove the winding road across the mountains to the cute, little Naples airport. (geez, this city’s got a few million people and their airport’s smaller than Tucson’s) We felt so European - just an 80 minute flight and we’re in Venice! That airport is equally small, and at both one gets from the gate to the plane (and vice-versa) by riding a bus for a distance of about 100 feet. The Venice airport is a kick — out one door is the usual fleet of taxis, and out the other door is a series of docks and a fleet of water taxis. We took one of the latter, which was fast, fun, and expensive. We docked at our hotel and unloaded our bags. The view from our second floor windows is great, as we’re right on the grand canal.
We’d seen a concert advertised in the hotel lobby upon checking in that looked interesting, so we unpacked then set off for Ca’ Rezzonica via the vaporetto (public transit boat). The concert was grand, almost as grand as the concert hall. The hall turned out to be Venice’s foremost ballroom, and virtually every inch of its enourmous walls and ceilings was painted with the most unbelievable detail, ornateness and grandeur. The performance was two concerti of Vivaldi, two by Bach and one by Handel. We struck up a conversation with a honeymooning couple from NYC who were sitting in front of us, though Wendy had to deal with the nutty woman to her right. We walked the couple back to their hotel, dispensing Italy advice, then we walked over to the vaporetto stand for the ride home.
After 30 minutes with no boats going our way, we learned that the station we were sitting at was closed for the night, so we went a few stops the other way, then boarded a boat that took us to St. Stae, our stop. What a magical, moonlit, midnight ride! We motored along the grand canal in the silence of night, having an experience that was truly from another era.
What new can one say about Venice? Unquestionably the most magical, romantic, wonder-filled city on earth. . . And just the place to celebrate our anniversary.