Our last evening in Venice.
We took a relaxed walk back and believe it or not, still went for a three course dinner.
Until next time!
How much Prosecco did she drink to end up in a bowl of salt?
Mysteries abound…
The place we picked for dinner. Now how do we get over there…?
Yes, we had to.
We are in Venice after all!
The gondolier was remarkably well informed and told as all kinds of great historic stories of the places we floated by.
And the gondoliers are so skilled in maneuvering those long skinny craft in those narrow canals.
A Floating We Will Go Read More »
How can you come to Venice and not go St. Mark’s Square to see if the Doge is home?
Spoiler alert: He was not!
Ludovico Manin(1726–1804) was the 120th and last Doge of Venice, ruling from 1789 until 1797. He abdicated on May 12, 1797, following Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion, which brought an end to the thousand-year-old Republic of Venice.
We did go up the tower to survey his domain, and for the spectacular views of Venice.
The Teatro Venizia is now a grocery store. The dichotomy inside is crazy!
Pick your restaurant before we head down.
Too Hip to be Square Read More »
Our first food tour of the trip is here in Venice.
We met the lady from the company Eating Europe at the agreed on meeting place and off we went. Time to explore the more than 3000 ‘streets’ and 150 canals.
We were very excited to hear more from a local – she was born in Venice! – and have small samples of food as we go.
Little did we know that in Venice the idea of ‘small sample’ does not exist.
At our first stop, Rizzo, we were going to ‘sample’ a unique Venetian version of Pizza with mortadella, buffalo cheese and pesto.
She came out with this giant slice piled about two inches high. Great, we are going to share that and we will be stuffed?
Nope. We EACH got a slice that big!
What a start to a tour.
At Osteria Why Not Bistro we got a great Prosecco – it is never too early! – and two cicchetti. One was polenta with pickled onions-and-shrimp, and the other is some kind of meatball.
There are about 178 churches here, and this is the one where Jeff Bezos decided to get married.
Cantina Azienda Agricole delivered spectacularly with a risotto with fresh artichoke and smoked ricotta. Delightfully paired with a crisp white wine from the region.
A La Vecia Papussa’s surprise was a Spritz made with ‘Special’ which has a taste somewhere between Campari and Aperol.
For our nibbly bits they deliver eight cachetti! Eight!
By now we were all so stuffed that the other two people barely ate any of it.
We are not quitters and we finished everything, including their portions.
Our selection consisted of the following toppings: Cream of cod, Lard, Salami, Gorgonzola, Pumpkin&onion, Grilled vegetables, Tomato/cheese and Salmon.
The flag of Venice with the six stripes representing the six sistieri (neighborhoods?)
Our final stop mere seconds from an imminent food explosion was at one of the oldest bakeries in Venice to try their speciality: Tiramisu.
Final thought: We have a food tour in every city of this trip. Can we survive them all, including a seven day cruise, and still fit in our clothes on the flight back?
Stay tuned!
PS Kudos if you got the reference of the post’s title.
Just a Tiny Wafer! Read More »
An early morning walk to get to our food tour.
Random discoveries never disappoints.
Venice exist only on its own terms, and does not care to compromise.
It is a city full of surprises tucked away in narrow alleys and seemingly dead ends. It is a incomprehensible maze between ancient looming structures crisscrossed with canals. A glimpse of something green behind a closed gate might indicate a very rare garden, usually in front of a palace. In the plazas you are blessed with a momentary reveal of the sky.
And, underneath all these buildings, are only wooden pilons driven into the ocean sand, and water. On top of this is built a place of wonder that would not even nature claim it.
It is pure joy to simply give yourself over to it and get lost in the magic.
First random stop for a glass of wine. A delightfully no-frills (ancient) little pizza place.
Another stop for wine. The place was so tiny you could barely get 6 people in the whole wine bar.
As Pieter yet again randomly turned into another dark and barely lit alley:
Kenn: “We are going to die!”
Pieter: “Seriously, have I ever gotten you killed?”
Gondolas in front of the Rialto bridge.
We took to heart the ‘rule’ that states: for the best meal, get away from the tourist areas and and find a place where the locals eat.
The food and service was fantastic and personal.
For this whole trip we were only particular about one hotel room.
In Venice, we wanted a room right on the Grand Canal.
And what a room it is.
Happiness.
A Room with a View Read More »
After nearly two years of planning and working on it, we are finally here.
Today, in exactly one week, we leave for Pieter’s birthday trip. Not just any birthday, a big one.
He turns 60!
To celebrate this big number, he wanted to do what he does best: Eat. Drink. Travel. From there the idea of a culinary adventure through Europe took form.
Since it is a big birthday, we invited friends and friends-of-friends to join us for part of the journey. There will be a big group of people with us on the cruise to celebrate on the actual day.
A quick overview of our itinerary:
In case you are wondering… in every city (except for one or two on the cruise) we have an organized food tour.
There is also twenty (already planned and booked) train journeys in there!
As always, expect some stories about adventures, praising delicious “nibbly-bits and drinky-poos” and lots of photos as we try our best to keep up this journal.
The gówniaki is not impressed, and/or depressed.
