Venice is less an island than a labrynth. Veer off the main "route" thru the island, and you're likely to find a nestled cafe or another arm of a minor canal - a Venitian's version of off-street gondolas parking. You'll find more doll-house bridges than imaginable pizza toppings (so, a lot). Adventure incarnate, with plenty of paths leading to gondola piers, empty squares, or church realty. This is my idea of a Spaghetti Island, the various alleys and roads criss-crossing and just about as thick as a noodle. And to boot, Gelato at every intersection. [Thanks to the large population of Italian immigrants in Germany, B's blessed with the possibility of Gelato almost everywhere in Stuttgart, too.] What, never heard of Spaghetti Ice Cream? Life doesn't get any better.
Most of our adventures are lightly vailed fronts for splurging on great food. This trip cost us a whopping 44 euro round trip (total; taxes incl.), which left a welcome remainder in our budget for incidentals. B does a great job of locating friendly and waaaaaaaay helpful places to stay each place we visit. Combined with online reviews and a general consideration of guide books, we've a killer Trifecta for sniffing out the right places to go. One of high esteem is a restaurant named BANCOGIRO, located on Piaza San Marco. We grabbed a few plates of Ciccheti (Italy's version of Tapas), a glass of local vino, and relaxed at a quiet table along the major Canal. It was awesome.
If it's not on Piaza San Marco, your guidebook probably won't help you much here, which gives you the green for poking about at your own pace. Don't follow the crowds (there weren't any for us), and take the time to walk the spaghetti trail of Venice to sights like Rialto Bridge and the ecclectic area of Accademia. It's imperative that you carve out time to tour the Doge's Palace and certainly Basilica San Marco. Seeing the gold ceiling mosaic of Judas hanging from the tree brought me one step closer to God, even if I was motivated out of fear. Since moving to Europe I thought my palace cum museum quotient was about to explode, but both of these were oustanding. Print out RS' self-tour for a surprisingly interesting history lesson.
By roaming around we discovered a tiny church displaying an artist's small-scale reproduction of 30 or so of Leonardo da Vinci mechanical and wartime inventions. A bicycle with a wooden "chain", an automatron suit of armor, and an integrated mechanical system for pushing offensive ladders from the walls of cities / castles. I'm a huge fan of s'odraneoL imagination and creations, so it was surprising when B was essentially dragging *me* into the church. For the record I didn't want to pay the 12 euro entrance fee for something I'm already an expert on.. having a wild imagination and a knack for natural systems. heh, heh. We couldn't get enough of the attack ship with mammoth scythe mounted on the front, btw. Just classic. It deserves both captions.
It's all fun and games until someone pulls out a Scythe. And cuts a hole into your ship.
Warning: south park reference. Awesom-O never had a chance.Break from the big sights and use any remaining energy to dip into the many local shops. We visited just after the close of Carnival, and mask shops were still packed with warez galore. In typical fashion I picked out the most under-rated item in the shop, a sexy circa-20's veiled ladyface framed by feathers, which B quickly decided was her best find ever. :) After an artful bargain with the maker it found its way back to our home. I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge that this mask will scare the living hell out of any child, which is either the real reason I bought it or a very solid plus. I'm looking forward to mounting it in my future quiet place.
Last but not least, we were lucky to spend one night around town with our friends Marilee and Adam, soon to be Legislative Masters of the Universe. The fact that we both found ourselves in Venice at the same time completely by chance just proves how small this rock really is. Until next time.....
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