I'd hardly made it to the bus station here in Murcia, and waiting to board, when a man came up to me and asked if the bus was going to Alicante (it was). He was from Milan and was on his way home for the holidays. The bus was almost empty and he sat down in the seat across the aisle from me, wanting to talk. He had a voice like the Godfather. And the conversation that followed... I didn't know what to say then and I don't now. But it was good prep for Italy, and I was happy to get off the bus. And we'll leave it at that.
After a lovely final café con leche and ¨curasán¨ (croissant) at the airport in Alicante, I flew to Madrid and from there to Venice, where Nancy and Ben picked me up at the airport. It´s such a different feeling landing somewhere you´ve (basically) never been before, and being met by familiar faces. I´ve gotten so used to just rushing straight to the exit, that it was a little overwhelming.
The sun had already gone down and there was a cold mist settled over the city. The apartment Nancy and Ben had rented was really sweet: old, but with modern touches. It was three levels, but a very narrow building. We went immediately to a wonderful meal at a nearby favorite of theirs, called Rosa dei Venti, which serves typical Italian dishes (carbonara, all´ammatricciana, etc.), after which we returned to the apartment for some much needed rest all around.
The next morning, we woke up to a beautiful, clear day. It's incredible how the light reflects off the water in the canals, not to mention the color of the water, itself. After a bit of fortification (for me consisting of a croissant and a cappuccino), we set off to see the sights and sounds. And search for a good map for me, which we found at a nice little bookstore, where Ben also bought a book ghost stories of Venice. (After all my pre-trip anxiety relating to, Don't Look Back, I steered clear of that particular publication and stuck with just my map...)
Since I had more time left than Nancy and Ben, my days of them consisted more of showing me around (and eating!) than actual sight-seeing, which I saved for my last 4 days. I felt so lucky to have them with me, because they really did know the city very well. We wandered around and around and I tried desperately to keep my bearings bridge after little bridge for the next couple days, while they were still around. We went to Piazza San Marco and watched all the people taking photos with the pigeons, then walked along the water. We went to the Rialto fish market, with it's fantastic red banner warning, "don't touch!"
As I mentioned, the primary focus of my days with Nancy and Ben was food and bearings. We ate cicchetti (tapa-esque open sandwiches, typical of Venice) and several incredible full meals. I will have to check on the name of the place we had dinner the second night, which was amazing. We started off with a carpaccio, was prepared at the table with great style. After cleaning and slicing the initially whole fish, the man (one of the 2 owners) threw some olive oil, salt, fresh lemon juice, and prosecco into the dish and swished everything around. The end result was ultra-thin slices of fish that seemed to melt like butter in your mouth. Nancy and I then shared another fish entree that was also really lovely. After salad, I was introduced to the typical Venetian cocktail called sgroppino, which consists of prosecco (poured from a great height), lemon sorbetto, and a touch of vodka, all whisked together in a bowl until light and airy. I've never tasted anything like it!
Nancy and Ben's last night, we ate at another of their favorites, called La Bitta, which was absolutely amazing - small and absolutely packed with Venetians. The owner was a really funny and charming woman who ran the restaurant with her husband, the chef. I had the guinea foul, something I'd never had before, but was incredible. Once again, however, we found we had eaten entirely too much food (with no regrets), and made our way, meandering through the campos, across bridges, to the vaporetto, taking us home.
And I mentally prepared myself for the next day: Venezia: Da Sola!
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