DAY 4: The 'real' Venice, the effects of flooding and drinking like Hemingway

JM and his girls.

Quote of the day: "I got to sit next to some hot Brits." -- HM after she got off a long Vaporetto (water bus) ride next to some arriving students on holiday. And yes, she did her best to sneak a picture.

Our "street."

VM: Today we endeavored to get to know the “real” Venice. After a late start as everyone slept in (exactly what we were expecting today!), we trekked to buy Vaporetto tickets (the local water bus) only to find out they were striking today.  But luckily, the lady in the booth cheerily informed us “it’s only from 10am to 1pm!” So off on foot we headed again.

We had a lovely lunch with delicious bruschetta and gnocchi & made our way to the San Marco Square again to check out the Basilica of San Marco.  It is incredibly beautiful and ornate but our favorite part was climbing these incredibly STEEP stairs to the “loggia” where we had a breathtaking view of the plaza below. We also got an up-close view of the “cavallis” (the horses) who guard the

Who knew these weren't the real McCoy?!

Basilica. Dating back to the 1200s, these were believed to be war booty from Constantinople. As they were being damaged after so many years in the elements, they restored the horses, brought them inside to display in the museum and put some replicas in their place.  We wouldn’t have known the difference.

View from the Basilica's loggia.

Clowning around with a Venetian street performer.

Neo and Eno, two new doggie friends who had the friendliest
owner we met in all of Venice.

Afterwards, we met up with our private tour guide Rita Santori (http://www.alternativevenice.org). She was an incredible wealth of information and for two hours took us winding through the streets, alleyways and bridges of the “real” Venice, one far from the tourist spots. One point that struck us was the incredible number of churches. Rita taught us that before they had connecting pedestrian bridges, each Venetian Island used to be its own community and thus they each had their own church, which was at the center of all the community’s activities. 

One other fascinating point was the frequency in which Venice gets flooded – 200 days a year. Rita explained that it’s not typically catastrophic flooding like what we think of, but simply rising tidal water in city that is slowly but surely sinking. For this reason, the city keeps ready platforms at all major areas. In times of floods, the sanitation workers lay down the “boardwalks” for dry passage. We got a small taste of this when we returned to the Plaza San Marco to see it lit in the evening, the tide was up and the water was seeping through the drains.

Portable boardwalks are ready for excessive flooding.

Flooding is typical in front of the Basilica.

Another factoid we got from Rita was the origins of the name the Bridge of Sighs. This famous Venetian bridge connects the Doge's Palace with what was once was the prison.  As the prisoners had to come back and forth to face their judging, they had small windows looking out at the beautiful Grand Canal below.  Lord Byron imagined that they would "sigh" longingly as they viewed their final view of Venice before going to their cells. Hence the name -- Bridge of Sighs.

The Bridge of Sighs in the evening.

All in all, Rita imparted many interesting facts about Venice, its history and its architecture. While HM later informed me it was a tour “more for grown-ups,” the girls were later reciting facts they learned along the way.

Acqua Alta was a treat.

Climbing a wall made of books.

I believe the tour highlight was a stop at a quirky secondhand bookshop called Acqua Alta. Clearly, the owner has a GREAT sense of humor because his store and his books regularly gets flooded. Rather than fight it, he embraces it – he even built a staircase using old books at the back of the shop for kids to climb and gaze out at the canal. All his books are displayed in a large gondola or in bathtubs. The place is utterly fun and charming.  And best of all, it was all overseen by a lovely tomcat.

Much better spot to read than Starbuck's...

And much better company!

We parted from Rita at a yummy gelateria she recommended and finally got to make it on the Vaporetto. We made our way to the train station to figure out about transportation to Florence tomorrow (Tuesday). We learned that government run stuff here is no better than government run stuff at home. After having no luck with TrenItalia, we decided it was better to book the private “bullet” train that was only a 2-hour ride in a private compartment.  Yes, the McCartys will pay for convenience and peace.

Cantinone Storico was worth repeating.

Dessert entertainment.

We ended our Venetian dining journey back where we began – with a delicious dinner at the restaurant our landlady had recommended the first night – Cantinone Storico. Once again, the food was superb and the service was stellar. We even were treated to tableside flambéing when we ordered the Crema Catalana with Grand Marnier. All I can say was -- YUM!

The yummy end result.

The family indulged me for one last outing on the Vaporetto across the Grand Canal to Harry’s Bar. A favorite haunt of Ernest Hemingway, it was where the bellini was invented. It is peach puree with Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine). Knowing they would be similar to a weak Mimosa, we even let Hannah indulge in one. JM and I can now say we’ve drunk in two of Hemingway’s favorite watering holes – Harry’s in Venice and Sloppy Joe’s in Key West (not the current location, but the REAL Sloppy Joe’s which any Keys buff knows is called Captain Tony’s today.)

Just had to do it!

Totally touristy, but it had to be done.

She felt very "grown-up."

Tomorrow we’re off to Firenze!

HM:  Today the McCarty familia accomplished another 10,000+ steps and man, am I tired! Our day started later because jet lag had hit us all hard. So, after awaking and getting dressed we were finally out the door by 11am. 

Girls with Rita, our fabulous tour guide.

We enjoyed a quick bite to eat at a local pizzeria, where VM and I shared delicious plate of gnocchi!! After we walked around and toured Saint Mark's Cathedral we met up with a private tour guide at 2pm (or as I now prefer, 14:00 [it's so much cooler!]). The tour at 2 took us all around and through the more "inner city" area of Venice. In other words, were the pesky tourist weren't! (Now, you must understand I do not consider myself nor my family a pesky tourist. I consider us normal tourist.) 

After snaking through the labyrinth of streets, learning the names of certain streets, and viewing church after church after church. (What can I say, they were very holy people), we came to this AWESOME little book store that only sold second-hand books and cool old posters (which I purchased two of). What is really neat about this store is the owner created a set of stairs out of books up wall in the back courtyard. When you climb the wall of stairs you get a gorgeous arial view of a canal full of gondolas, or as JM likes pronouncing it gon-DOE-las (even the Venetians correct him.) 

Quick shoutout to Aba, after my familia had gone inside the book store I was left in the backyard examining the books-made-staircase alone with a cute Italian boy. As I walked back inside he called out to me, "Ciao Bella" which, not gonna lie, made my day! 

Finally we went to a special request from VM, Harry's Bar where JM enjoyed a Bellini (a cocktail invented by Harry's Bar) and VM sipped on an Aperol Spritz, a popular Italian cocktail made with mom's favorite - Prosecco, (no, not a mimosa). 

Venice has left a gorgeous impression and I hope to come back someday! All in all, today was pretty phenomenal and I can't wait to see what adventures we have ahead of us!

EM:  There's a ton of fat pigeons in Venice. Their gelato is amazing. I like seeing the doggies all around here.  I liked the gondola ride where the guy took us around and would sing.

We will miss Webby, who barked good morning and
good evening as we came and went!

We will miss beautiful Venice!

DAY 3: 10,000+ Steps, Casanova, Vecchi Amicis & Naked People

Quote of the day:  "I don't understand why these Italians were so into naked people."-- EM upon viewing a statue at the Guggenheim Museum of a very anatomically correct and excited man on a horse.

Venetians clearly love dogs, but they're not overly thrilled
about sharing them with others. Luckily, Vanessa's
owner was not like others we met along the way.

VM:  We started our day trying to figure out how to get across the Grand Canal.  Our apartment is on one side, the Piazza di San Marco and the Doge's Palace (which is where we were trying to go) was on the other. Clearly we couldn't swim across, but we also were reluctant to take the Vaporetto (water ferry) because it was LITERALLY across the way. That's where the 10,000+ steps came in. We just decided to huff it and ended up doing so all day. As Venice is a labyrinth of canals with pedestrian bridges it was a great way to get somewhat "lost" without ever being lost at all.

Morning traffic jam in Venice.

A beautiful morning for walking.

Upon the recommendation of another fellow traveler geek (shout out to Ryan Glidden!), we started our day with a behind-the-scenes tour at the Doge's Palace (literally the duke's palace). Originally built in the 1200s, this spot was the political and judicial hub for Venice back in the day, all greatly influenced by the church. This tour was cool as it took you "back of house" at a spot where many truly revered and feared the "front of house."

The tour required huffing it up five stories and also cutting some slack to our tour guide, who although knowledgeable, was wound a little tight. We learned that Venetian justice could be a bit tough.  Folks were publicly hanged or beheaded for infractions such as murder, religious crimes and littering.  Yes, you read correctly. Littering was a big no-no and frankly, I think smart on the part of the guys in charge (and they were ALL guys). What better deterrent for throwing your trash in the canal than seeing a fellow neighbor beheaded for that very infraction?! Yep, our guide assured us that Venice was very clean and nearly crime-free in those days.  I bet.

Our favorite part of the tour was the story of the real life Giacomo Casanova who had once been

imprisoned at the palace. Casanova was apparently brought in for questioning as many in the town "denunciated" him for adultery via secret boxes -- in other words, they called him out for being a womanizer. When the authorities investigated they learned Casanova had books on black magic & witchcraft, something much more agregious in the eyes of the super Catholic justices.  Sentenced to five years in prison, Casanova was essentially put in the Doge's Palace version of the "white collar crime" cell -- spacious, on the fifth floor, and allowed his own furniture.  All because he was wealthy.

Despite the star treatment, Casanova attempted an escape, digging a hole below his bed with a smuggled iron bar.  Lo and behold, the day he was going to escape, his guard came to him with a surprise -- a new cell! Thinking he was doing him a favor, the guard went to move the furniture and discovered the hole in the ground. Threatening to turn Casanova in, Casanova quickly turned the table and blackmailed the guard, telling him that if he turned him in, he would tell the authorities that he got the smuggled iron bar from the guard.  Needless to say, the guard stayed mum and even arranged to have the hole mended. Wealth has always had its privileges.

Casanova moved to a new cell where his cell neighbor was a priest. Yes, a priest. A priest with 12 children. That was his crime. Told you the church ran the whole show! Anyways, the duo conspired to escape again. The rich Casanova convinced the guards to buy a big Bible as a gift for the priest.  In it, Casanova hid the iron bar. Upon figuring out that the bar was STILL too big in the Bible and would be detected, Casanova arranged for a large plate of gnocchi to accompany the gift.  I guess the guards were fairly dimwitted or on the take, because they ended up passing it all along to the priest.

Net, net the priest dug the hole, freed Casanova & the two escaped via carriage all the way to Paris, France, selecting to travel around together after that.  I guess as fellow womanizers they just "got" each other. Casanova was later caught, but rather than bring him in for justice, the government made him a spy for the republic.

All in all, it was a fascinating story which captured all our imaginations even if some of it is exaggerated as the last detail we found out it was that the story was relayed by Casanova himself, in a book about his life. All in all, even if it was semi-true, it was still fun.

After the tour, we had the pleasure of meeting up with vecchi amicis (old friends), the O'Keefes, who live in Miami.  Pathetically, we can never seem to figure out schedules to see each other at home, it takes us going to Europe to get together! We enjoyed some overpriced sandwiches, wine & Cokes on the piazza San Marco where the kids went on the quest to feed the pigeons.  For the record, these pigeons seem well satisfied and are quite discerning over which bread crumbs they'll eat!

Have to travel around the globe to see ole' FL friends.

Picky, picky pigeons.

Masquerade in Piazza San Marco!

The O'Keefes had to depart early as they are on their way north to the lake region for a week-long sailing regatta where Liam (their oldest son) is competing on Team USA.  We're all pretty sure we'll see him in the Olympics or on the America's Cup someday...

Out on our own again, we decided to try a gondola ride.  Our gondolier even sang a bit in between stories, history quips and jokes in heavily-accented English.  We understood about every other line but he was charming nonetheless.

HM loving the Venice sites down the Grand Canal.

Although we didn't here O Solo Mio, our gondolier
still could carry a tune.

The back of one of Venice's oldest churches pointed out by
our gondolier -- St. Gregory! We said a prayer as we floated by in honor
of our OWN St. Gregory Parish & School.

Thought-provoking art at the Guggenheim.

After a quick pit stop at home to refresh and replenish, we decided to check out the Peggy

View from Peggy G.'s palazzo's front door to the Grand Canal.

The sculptor decided the naked rider was really enjoying his horse ride 

which horrified EM when she viewed him from the front 

(not pictured here for reasons of decorum & not wanting to permanently scar EM)

Guggenheim Museum which is very close to where we are staying.  Not typically a "museum" family, I was intrigued to check it out because of Peggy G. herself.  She didn't come into her own until almost 40, yet she was responsible for giving starts to such major modern artists such as Mark Rothko and particularly, Jackson Pollock. The museum has fascinating art from both those artists and others of renown including Dali, Ernst, Miro, Chagall and even Picasso. While I think I had a dubious crowd at first, who were simply indulging mom by visiting the museum, it ended up being neat to see and discuss some of these works. We still don't get more than half of them (I'm personally convinced Dali and Ernst were dropping acid) but it sparked fun conversation nonetheless.

Pollock owes a lot to Peggy Guggenheim.

Modern art CAN be cool. 

EM shares her Pollock knowledge, including his techniques, as she studied
him in art class thanks to Mrs. Loret!

The Griswolds couldn't help themselves as they admired artwork at the Guggenheim.

A favorite of all the family -- Empire of Light by Rene Magritte.
It juxtaposes night and day in one painting. It is a "surreal" painting
that we could all put our heads around -- sun typically brings clarity,
but juxtaposed against dark, you're not so sure it does.

And while she might have been a bit avant garde, we of course had a soft spot for Peggy G. as she was buried in the backyard garden of her palazzo (which is where the museum is now housed) with all her beloved dogs.


.

Peggy G. was buried next to her canine menagerie. We get her.

Not a welcome mat.

Evening brought our only semi-fail of the day. We set out to find a pizzeria recommended by our hostess, but couldn't figure it out. On the verge of having meltdowns from both HM & EM, we settled on a restaurant that although Trip Advisor reported decent ratings, was really nothing more than a tourist trap. It is the risk you take in this town as the town is FULL of tourists, even now, which is considered the off-season. In fact, our gondolier informed us that much of the graffiti around town (and there's quite a bit) is pretty much directed at us -- accusations of Ciao Fra were telling people like us to go home.  Apparently some locals are resentful of locals who rent apartments like where we're staying as they price them out of the local marketplace. Meanwhile rental owners like it because they get in one week what a typical Venetian local would pay in one month. 

Overall, I find the whole notion complex. I understand not wanting "commercialization" of Venice with too many international stores like Burberry and Bulgari, but at the same time, tourists bring money. While I understand at one point Venice was a vital commercial hub with major trading, I don't see what the Venetians would do today WITHOUT tourism.  But maybe I'm missing something.

To end the night on a better note after a dinner fail we wound back through the back alleys and bridges to make our way to a gelateria recommended by our hostess -- Gelateria Nico. And it was DELICIOUS!

Once again, I'm writing solo as jet lag and 10,000+ steps have claimed both the girls and JM.  As I write, everyone is snoring at 9:30PM local time.  More tomorrow!

Random pic of the day - even the doorbells
are cool in Venice.

Buonanotte!

DAY 1 & 2: The Advantages of Hoarding and It's OK, You're a Tourist

Words of the day: 
French - Merci (thanks), bonjour (good day)
Italian - Ciao (hello OR good-bye, depending on your mood), mille grazie (thank you very much), prego (you're welcome)

VM:  Hoarding is not always a bad thing. Thanks to JM and I hoarding air miles for the last several years -- via our own travel & via airline-tethered credit cards -- we traveled in style from Fort Lauderdale (the Venice of the USA - HA!) to the REAL Venice. It's hard to look back when you get your own little island that you don't have to share. The excitement of the "lay-down" mini-cabins in Delta's first class even convinced HM it was OK to be touristy and pull out her selfie pole (a giveaway that VM got at a conference). Yep, I told her to wear her Griswolds' badge proudly, there was no mistaking us for locals on this journey.

The guy in the back row didn't seem to mind
that he was traveling with the Griswolds!

A stopover in Paris brought a fun coincidence in the Air France lounge. EM ran into a classmate who was also on her way to Italy with her family for Easter Break. It was certainly an unexpected surprise and an incredible example of the smallness of our big world.

The world is smaller than you think.

And by the way, even the short stop in the Air France lounge made us realize the French just "get" the joy of food better than the rest of us. The complimentary spread included homemade carrot soup and artisanal cheeses. Delta could learn a thing or two. Pretzels and carrot sticks can't compete.

Delta Crown Room could learn a thing or two from Air France.

Our trip to Venice took us over the INCREDIBLE Alps. Not sure if we were seeing French, Swiss or Italian Alps or a combo of all three, but they were stunning and fully snow-covered, we could even make out some ski runs. I don't think I'm intrepid enough to ever ski the Alps but at least I can say I SAW them.

What a 14-year-old teenage girl does the minute she lands after an overnight flight

We arrived in Venice just at sunset.  Beautiful day with mild 60 degree weather.  And I think we will all agree that there is nothing cooler than leaving an airport in a motorboat.  It was just awesome. The 30-minute trip to our rental apartment couldn't have been better, speeding down the Grand Canal right by St. Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco) directly to our front door where our hostess, Contessa Schio, awaited us.  Best of all, she also had a furry canine host accompanying her, Webby, a Chihuahua mix who showed us all around "his" place.

Best way to arrive in beautiful Venezia!

Piazza San Marco welcomes us to Venice.

Our antique-filled apartment is super cool. It is on the top floor of a three-story building facing a quiet canal. Owned by the Contessa's family for several generations, she lives on the floor below with her daughter.

The Contessa was clearly schooled either in England or in British schools. She speaks with a refined British accent which fondly reminded the girls of their own Nana Donny.

After showing us around our new home away from home, the Contessa also provided a great overview of the area. For our first dinner in Venice she directed us to a neighborhood spot, only a short walk away.  Cantinone Storico did not disappoint. Welcoming hosts, delicious fare and smooth Barolo helped us realize we had really made it to Italy! We are truly blessed.

Girls will have to provide their thoughts tonight. Everyone passed out last night & this morning we're already off to explore.