Venice Day 2

After a good night’s sleep at Ca’ Guardi, I got up in time to meet Francesco and take care of paying for our stay there.  I tried to find a place to get a carry-out coffee, but after about 20 minutes of walking through the alleyways of Venice and coming upon the same campo from two different directions, I gave up and headed back to our apartment.  We got a slow start due to the lingering effects of our long travel days, but hit the streets hoping to make it to San Marco and visit Doge’s Palace.  We wound up taking the number 1 vaporetto, which is slow and hits pretty much every stop along the Grand Canal. 

 We did have the pleasure of sitting next to a pair of cute young girls from Quebec who were on their way to catch the train to Rome with their dad who was in the Canadian Air Force and they only got to see for short period of times due to his service in Afghanistan.  Concerned that our sixty minute pass would run out before we could get to San Marco, we got off the number 1 at Ferrovia, the train station and quickly got on the number 2 vaporetto that actually left the canal and took us on an interesting ride past two huge cruise ships including the Queen Elizabeth.

The vaporetto dropped us off at San Marco around 12:30 or so Monday afternoon.  Hungry, we avoided the crowded restaurants along the water that featured Turistico menus for 15 or 9 euros, we went down an alley and came across a restaurant called Bar Karibu where we had a couple of pizzas, including one with funghi and prochetta or thinly sliced pork.  After finishing those off along with a nice Vino Bianco de la casa, we went back out to San Marco and went into the basilica which was beautiful.  Regardless of your religion or even lack thereof, it was a deeply spiritual place.  After about a half hour there, we went to the adjacent Doge’s Palace and spent about an hour and a half going through the various stunning rooms of the palace and then across the Bridge of Sighs to see the prison cells. 

 With our tourist thirst quenched we headed back toward Ca Guardi via Rialto Bridge, hoping to find a shop we had seen on Sunday that sold toy Lamborghinis.  We didn’t find that particular store, but did find a shop that sold one that was actually cheaper, so Ben was beaming as he held the bag with his orange and black Lamborghini.  We also bartered with a clerk at a shop on the Rialto Bridge, getting a football jersey with Pirelli on the front for 35 euro, down from the price tag of 42 euro, only to walk out of that store and go pass another shop selling the same jersey for 22 euro. Doh!  As Annie said, lesson learned. 

We got back to the apartment around 5:30, giving Annie the chance to catch a nap.  Once refreshed we walked toward Campo Giacomo where we had lunch on Sunday and found a restaurant with only about eight tables, but it looked authentic and not touristy, so we dove in and had a great meal.  Annie had soft shell crabs, I had an overcooked T-bone, but the vegetable medley of carrots and zucchini and peas was delicious as was the house Cabernet.  We struck up a conversation with a couple sitting next to us who were from New Orleans and celebrating their 30^th anniversary.  Their plans include a stop in Florence on Saturday, so we may meet up with them there.  The oddest thing about our dinner experience was that the couple that sat next to us at lunch at the restaurant near San Marco was having dinner there the same time we were.  Definitely agents a/la the Matrix who we will have to watch for in Rome.