Gardens in Venice

From my Venice trip last September.
The top one was in San Marco, facing the Grand Canal, between the Rialto and the Accademia Bridges.
The one on the left was outside a church in Castello, near the Fondamente Nuove.
The one in the middle was right near the Ca D'Oro, just to the left of it.
And the one on the right was outside the Alloggi Alla Scala - remember the little hotel?
If you double click on the picture, it makes it bigger.

The Ca D’Oro on the Grand Canal in Venice

The Rialto markets were busily being set up when we passed through them early this morning, on Friday 28 September. It was interesting watching them use a crane to unload the heavy pallets of fruit and vegetables from the barge up to the landing dock. Fish were being set up on ice, people were very busy working hard.

My aim that morning was to see the fabulous Ca D’Oro again. It’s my favorite building along the whole of the Grand Canal. After photographing it, we took a traghetto across to it. Then we went inside. It is open from 8.15am and costs five euros to enter. Money very well spent. I haven’t been for many years, but now plan to go back there on my next trip in April next year. The ancient tapestries are beautiful, as are the paintings, some by Titian and Tiepoplo. There is a beautiful little courtyard as well.





After cappuccino and brioche, we took another traghetto across to San Polo and enjoyed looking in store windows and inside churches as we passed them by.

Returning to our hotel later on we encountered the Acqua Alta over many parts of San Marco. It took us quite a while to get back, as we had to make detours and go around different calle that usually take us straight to where we want to go.

We went to Campo San Luca for lunch, then did some more window shopping – always a fun and interesting activity in Venice. For two euros each, we took a vaporetto across to the San Giorgio church and went up the elevator of the bell tower (for three euros) to look at the views.

Dinner was at our little Campo San Provolo restaurant, Trattoria da Nino, as usual. Then we walked home past the Suve supermarket, stopping in to pick up some Baci chocolate and a bottle of Amaretto for the Aunts we were to visit the next day.

Life is beautiful

“Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy, days of summer,
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer…”

Today was one of those incredible blue and sunny Venice days. You know, the kind where you start off at daybreak and you get to watch your son eat his first ever brioche con marmellata with a really exquisite cappuccino. Then when you take him to Piazza San Marco, long before the crowds roll in, and you’re sitting in a café chair outside Lavena, all the bells go off. A ringin’ and a chimin’ with black moors striking the bells at the top of the clock tower.

He was so impressed with the chapel at the side of San Marco. He was even more impressed with the two traghetto rides we took. We visited a lot of churches today. After the San Marco side chapel, we went into San Zulian, then San Stephano, where he took some great pictures and finally the glorious Salute.

I can’t believe we walked around four sestieri this morning; Castello, San Marco, San Polo and Accademia.

We have been over the Rialto Bridge three times already, and we’ve only been here twenty-four hours. We walked over the Accademia Bridge as well.

Alessandro has looked in so many clothes stores. He speaks perfect shopping Italian now. “Buon giorno, quanto costa per favore? Grazie.” After really checking out the Dolce e Gabbana store very closely, he finally found two affordable jackets in my favorite piazza, Campo Santa Maria Formosa. We had just sat for a half hour on some steps leading down to a canal, eating our pizza al taglio, while gazing at the many storied apartment buildings and watching a stream of gondole float serenely by. It was just after school let out and the square was filling up with young children and their nonnas, play equipment was set out for all to share and mammas were catching up with their amici.

Then we walked down Calle de la Rasse to the Grand Canal just in time to see the biggest cruise ship I have ever seen in my life drift majestically by. The people lining the top story had all been in Venice earlier that day. If you avoid the main streets during rush hour like we do, you can avoid them too.

Alessandro finally found the elusive Ferrari store again. It’s right next to the Chiesa San Zulian, which we walked past six times today, and across from the Cartier store. He saw a jacket he liked for 760 euros and found one or two other things… but sadly they were closing for the night. I found a plum and chestnut silk and cashmere pashmina to add to my collection. Leslie’s rule: One can never have enough pashminas.