Wandering in Venice...

We got in to town at about noon and took a water taxi to our hotel, a luxury, but a fun one standing up in the back of the boat as it powers into town, ducking as we hit the wake of a ship going the other way. Our hotel room is SMALL, but it's relatively efficient, so we can move around.

We really didn't do much in the afternoon except wander. We're near the Accademia. If you click on that link, you'll get to a nice clickable map that will show you almost exactly where we are for the next week.

Of course, being somewhere is relative in Venice, since it's so difficult to get where you want to go. And then, when you're with as skilled a guide as Ira, and you do get to where you want to go, it's ciuso. Such was the case with the restaurant we wanted to eat lunch in.

But hey, this is Italy, and good food is just around the corner. We went to the nearest campo, or square, and chose a restaurant based on the charming brass pots hanging from the ceiling, Ristoteca Oniga. The food was good, but basic, without any of the flair that I've had before in Venice. My baccala (cod fish paste, which of course tastes so much better than it sounds in English) highlighted my appetizer. The fault was mine for the main course. I ordered the spinach lasagna because it looked good. It was, but just that. Note to myself--always get the seafood in Venice!

Then we just wandered. Neither of us had been in that particular neighborhood, and it was quiet and serene--a difficult task in a city as jammed as Venice with our sort. I've posted a few pictures of the walk. Then we went home and rested. Tonight--hopefully--it's Harry's Dolci. That'll be something to write home about.

And in case you're tired of the pretty pictures (despite the gruesome opening face) here's a terrific graffito that I saw in a campo near the university.