Our last Italian road trip was about four hours from Casa Montisole in Tuscany to Venice Airport. At this point we had really found our groove when it comes to road trips. I have my reading material, my snacks of pistachio nuts and chocolate, and episodes of This American Life downloaded. Peter typically wants to be entertained so we end up talking a lot as his questions start sprouting, like clockwork, when the book begins to open.
We dropped off our large van at the airport in Venice. Peter didn’t request a picture with it this time. He was ready to be done driving. And to add insult to injury, the gentleman who inspected the car and informed us that a molecular scratch, practically invisible, wasn’t there before we picked up the car. Some arguing ensued, but ultimately we had no choice but to pay the man.
Part of the fun about Venice is that you have to travel by taxi boat to get there.
We hopped on the Orange Line from the airport and took it to our stop at Guglie. We had booked an Airbnb that was located on the Grand Canal. Finding a good place to rent in Venice proved to be a bit challenging because we were there during high season, we didn’t book far in advance, and Venice is small so places are limited.
I found a gem though!
With Airbnb if your rental doesn’t have any reviews by guests than it can be challenging to rent your place. New hosts will typically start renting at a lower price to build some reviews and momentum. Places don’t have reviews if the rental is new to the market. This was the case with the place I found. We rolled the dice, hoping it would turn out as advertised on the website. And it did! Located right on the Grand Canal where you could watch boats pass by and take in all the charm of Venice. Below is our little spot where we could sit outside, drink a glass of wine, and be completely content. Here’s a link to the rental. Its not surprising to see 20 reviews six weeks later – all five stars.
After throughly enjoying our view and a bit of relaxing after our car trip, boat taxi, and a decent walk with heavy luggage to our flat, we all headed out for an early evening stroll (except Peter who stayed back to catch up on work) to find a dinner spot. Before we left I grabbed Peter a Margarita pizza as this has become one of his favorite things to eat.
In my opinion Venice is best at night.
The lights of the city, the way the water sparkles from the night sky, and that fact that the tourists have left on their cruise ships. During the day Venice is overtaken by ship-loads of people making it difficult to navigate through the small city alleyways and streets. Below is an example of exactly what I mean. Look at that ship!
Four years ago when I was in Venice with Mena and Elaine, I remember the same thing. Dodging tourists during the day then at night there was a sudden peacefulness that overtook the city. At night you can freely roam around without being bumped into or pushed while hearing the gentle waves from the canals splash against the sides of buildings. Bliss.
We came across the Rialto Bridge where we decided to grab a table nearby on the Grand Canal at Caffe Saraceno. The food was good, not great. The service was alright, not terrible. There was a 12% service charge which is pretty typical in Venice. I remember the last time I was here I asked the waiter about the service charge to which he replied, “you stay, you pay.” Venice is one of the more expensive places in Italy to visit. Not in the expensive-meets-quality type of way, but the rip-off type of way. The best part of our dinner besides the company of course, was the view. Below is the Rialto Bridge at night.
On the way home we were in the mood for gelato (is this theme old yet? Never!) and I wanted to surprise Peter with a scoop or two. The closer to our flat the better since I didn’t want Peter’s gelato to melt. The other thing about Venice at night is that most places close pretty early so we kept taking our chances that we would find an open gelato spot after each one we passed. Our gamble didn’t pay off. We got all the way back to our flat and all the gelato places were closed nearby. Not to be without gelato we trekked it back to a spot that was thankfully still open, Ca D’ Oro. I’m almost embarrassed at how much I write about gelato. Almost. You know how some people take a sleeping pill before bed or read. Well, gelato in Italy is my nightcap.
About three years ago a close friend of mine, Lauren, was traveling in Venice and she met a guy. A gondola guy. They dated briefly and the circumstances of their courtship is entirely their business so that will not be mentioned, but she did say, “you should track him down and make him give you a gondola ride.” Because I am one who is always up for a challenge, particularly one with only a few clues, I was on board for this human scavenger hunt. My clues were his name: Lorenzo. His job: Gondolier. And that “everyone knows everyone.” I was on board.
I started at the gondola station close to our flat (there’s dozens of stations). I spoke with Vincenzo. Vincenzo informed me that Lorenzo was off work for the day, but that they were good friends. After some discussion he relayed to me that Lorenzo is “married with kids.” I texted Lauren. This was some alarming news that Lauren was most certainly not aware of. After some confusion and clear up of the situation, we realized that Vincenzo had the wrong Lorenzo. It didn’t occur to me that there could be two Lorenzo’s. I acquired his last name, De Nat, to avoid any further confusion. My mission was already starting off a bit shaky.
The next morning we set out on foot to take Venice by day. We fueled up on coffee at a small cafe, La Cantina, for our tourist dodging / gondola finding adventure.
We headed to Piazza San Marco to check out the waterfront and some of the major tourist attractions. Oddly, the Piazza was entirely flooded. We had no clue what was going on. Becky tried to ask a woman who told her, “it’s the moon.” I later read that there is a term for it, acqua alta. This term refers to high tide peaks in the Adriatic Sea that occur mainly in fall and spring that cause Venice to flood. Coincidently Becky had just read an article that stated Venice has no sewage system and that everything is dumped into the canals. In other words the canal water is disgusting. Amazingly, there were all kinds of people trudging through the water without a care in the world. Not knowing that they were skipping in sewage water. Poor kids. Within an hour or so the flooding was gone.
At this point we weren’t able to access San Marco plaza so I decided to resume my Lorenzo search. I ended up visiting three gondola stations, each providing terrible directions to his spot. But with each station, we were getting closer to where he worked. We could sense it. There was always a bit of a push-and-pull conversation at each of these stations that went something like:
“Does Lorenzo De Nat work here?”
“You want a gondola ride?”
“No. Is Lorenzo here?”
“I give you good price.”
“I’m a friend of Lorenzo’s. Where does he work?”
“Beautiful lady how much you want to pay for gondola?”
I had this conversation at each station until I found the right one. I figured since “everyone knows everyone” Lorenzo had probably caught wind from one of the gondoliers that I was looking for him. I imagine word travels fast along the canals.
When I secured his gondola station, I spoke with another gondolier Angelo who also told me “You a friend of Lorenzo’s. We give you good price.” I told him it needed to be really good. Just as I thought, Lorenzo paddled up and knew I was looking for him. My words of chose were, “Hi Lorenzo. I’m friends with Lauren Hillary.” He looked down, shook his head, sighed and blurted out, “I’m a disaster.”
He paddled his gondola over to us. Had a few Italian words with Angelo and told us to jump in. All four of us piled into the gondola and we were off. For the record we got a deal, but it wasn’t great. Although what was great was the gondola ride. Gondola rides get a bad wrap because they are expensive and considered touristy, but honestly, it was my favorite thing we did in Venice. We took an hour gondola all through the canals. Like I mentioned before, during the day Venice is tourist central. Being on the water was truly beautiful, but also quiet and calming. Soothing really.
Lorenzo explained to us that he works all the time, with hardly any free time. I asked him if he liked his work to which he replied, “Yes. I love it. I’m a gondolier” So there you go. This is his life, which he loves. We will always know where to find him. I don’t have a home anywhere and he has the rest of his life somewhat planned out. I was simultaneously amazed and frightened by this. Amazed because some people spend their entire lives trying to figure out their plan and here he is already set up, confident and content with his choice. Frightened because to me personally, living on a tiny island where “everyone knows your name,” set to do the same job forever makes me claustrophobic to think about. We are all different, just as long as we don’t judge each other for our differences.
On the tour, he showed me where he met Lauren. Her and her friends met him on a gondola ride so he showed me the pick up point. Where they went to dinner. It was cute, but the jury is still out on what I think abut him. I had read in a Rick Steves book about Venice that stated “the gondola guys get the girls,” so I have always had this perception that they are the Casanovas of Venice and to probably stay away, but it’s not fair to stereotype.
I asked Lorenzo if he wished me to tell Lauren anything. He said, “Tell her hello and she knows where to find me, but I don’t want to fight.”
The following are some great pictures we took during our gondola ride.
After our gondola ride we attempted to visit St Mark’s Basilica because the flooding was no longer blocking the entrance, but it was closed. We debated going into Doges Palace which holds the worlds largest oil painting by Tintoretto called Paradise, but none of us were really in the mood for a museum and pushy tourists.
We ended up doing a lot of walking around and window shopping. Venice has a ton of shops and all of the souvenirs in the stores look the same. Murano glass, Venetian masks (which I still don’t understand), and gaudy jewelry.
Here are some pictures of Venice by day.
Becky and I did climb Campanile di San Marco, or rather took the elevator to the top, which boasts beautiful panoramic views of Venice. Definitely worth doing. My Mom did sit this one out because of her fear of heights.
That evening we decided to go to a restaurant recommended by Lorenzo, Alla Rivetta. My Mom, Becky, and myself met Peter there so we were on our own to find it. After many arguments with Google maps, we stumbled upon it. Maneuvering though Venice can be intense as its a maze of a city.
The restaurant was family style in the sense that the tables were long rows and you had other guests sitting with you. We had a couple of older Australian women at our table that were traveling together. They were lovely and really hit it off with my Mom and Becky. Our waiter attempted humor but came off as slightly annoying. The food was good, but again I think we were just so spoiled in Rome. I did love the mussels though. The vibe and energy of the restaurant was upbeat and fun.
Peter is convinced that Lorenzo and the gondoliers gets kick backs by sending people to this restaurant. Most people mention in their Trip Advisor review that their gondolier recommended the restaurant, and its where they even eat (Peter’s theory; they eat for free). He told us to mention his name which got us nowhere too. My naivety and Peter’s skepticism of people have become really apparent on this trip. Sadly it’s Peter’s skepticism that is usually dead on with our encounters. I just want to believe that everyone is good and everyone wants to genuinely help eachother. Its the Alaskan in me.
After dinner we walked back to our flat on the canal where we stayed up laughing, talking, and eating gelato for a night cap. I had everyone on board with gelato, but that wasn’t hard to do.
The next morning we rose early to catch the train to Cinque Terre. Just before we left we did one last photo shoot at our flat. This location was not to be forgotten (our window is on the right side, second floor in the first picture – also show in the 4th picture).
Lastly, a noteworthy pizza place, Sansovino. It was a walk up and order spot with delicious slices. We ate our slices just outside the pizzeria. It was at the opposite side of San Marco so finding the destination resulted in a nice tour of a quieter part of San Marco.
Thank you for sharing in our adventures. I am so grateful for my readers.
XO
