venice : italy : december 22

venice : italy : december 22

The last couple of years have been a bit crazy, haven’t they? Travel, in the early days, was for very obvious reasons much curtailed and so for a long time we didn’t get to see family and friends in person. Thank goodness that we do live in an age, though, where communication is easy and we’ve spent much time catching up with people via calls and on online. But, this year, things have started to get back to something resembling normality and we spent almost a whole summer with our family who came out to visit us. We’ve also started doing a bit of travelling again ourselves, mainly to Italy because it’s now so close, so again things are starting to feel a little more like they were pre-2020.

Just recently, we were very lucky to be able to drive across to Venice and meet up with Didsbury friends, who had decided to come over for a long weekend. The original plan had been for them to visit us, in Istria, but winter flights just weren’t working out for the small window they had for travel, so Venice was agreed as they could get flights and we could travel across, easily. And, it doesn’t matter how many times we visit Venice, we are always in awe of its staggering beauty – and the fact that it’s somewhere that is now so accessible. If we travel on the motorway, it’s just under two hours, but the more leisurely SS14, across the flat Veneto, is a much less stressful option, although a bit longer.

Through AirBnb, we booked an apartment for two nights, in the Dorsoduro area of the city, right on canalside. In the summer this must be a prime apartment, with two large baclonies with seating/sunbathing and dining areas – premium space I’d expect in this part of Venice. For the four of us, it was pretty perfect in early December, too. Large, two big bedrooms and two bathrooms and a spacious living room, with an area for dining and an open plan kitchen. As it rained heavily on one night we were there, we decided to eat in, and it was a great place to spend a night with friends.

Images : Booking.com

Images : Booking.com

Dorsoduro isn’t an area that we know too well, so it was good to discover more of Venice. It’s located very close to the big Marco Polo car park, so easy to get your bearings – although as with anywhere in this magical city, half of the thrill of exploring is to just walk and wander and get lost at times, knowing that at some point, you’ll come across somewhere or something familiar. The weather wasn’t the best – grey, misty and drizzly – but having visited during the Aqua Alta in 2018, we found sight-seeing this time, to be a bit of a breeze…

Our apartment was located very close to Campo Santa Margherita and we found a lovely osteria called Bakarò. Looking nothing really from the outside, once inside, you realise quite how beautiful it is.

Image credit : https://www.bakarovenezia.com/

Image credit : https://www.bakarovenezia.com/

Raw and industrial in places, you’re left in doubt this is an old building – and it wears its history on its sleeve. Exposed brickwork, steel beams, old windows which would have been on an upper floor, but because the floors have been removed, the windows seem to float. The lighting is muted and very atmospheric and perfect for a rainy December evening, when all you want to do is cosy up and eat fabulous food. Which is just what we did…

 

ca’ amadi : venice : italy

ca’ amadi : venice : italy

One of the joys of staying in Venice, is trawling the internet beforehand, to find where you are going to stay. We’ve stayed in apartments and hotels, and thankfully have never had a bad experience. I do spend a lot of time reading reviews, scrutinising websites, looking a photographs, identifying the location and what’s in the vicinity. I think a bit of homework always pays off, as I’ve seen places we’ve rejected online, in reality, and for a variety of reasons, our research has always paid off.

Ca’ Amadi is a hotel we’ve stayed in twice, and on both occasions, have loved it. It’s initially quite tricky to find, because it’s in a courtyard, off an alley, off a road, but perseverance pays off. Google Maps, in the centre of Venice is a bit hit and miss, but it’s not too far from the Rialto Bridge and so if you keep this as your main bearing point, you’ll eventually find Ca’ Amadi, On our first visit, it was clearly in the early stages of a renovation, as scaffolding was up outside and on the second visit, interior work was happening. From checking out the website recently, it’s clear the renovations have been completed because it’s now even more beautiful than when we stayed. It’s a very authentic Venetian residence, once home to the family of Marco Polo, no less. As stated on the website…

This small boutique hotel is housed in the noble floor of a palace dated 13th century and still preserves many traces of its long history. Entering the hotel, you’ll be welcomed in a large salon with ancient wooden ceilings, facing on one side a picturesque canal and a typical Venetian court on the other. In this place, full of memories and emotions, you’ll be able to relive the splendour of the Republic of Venice and, at the same time, enjoy the most modern comforts. History, culture or just a break in the frenetic daily life: at Ca’ Amadi every traveller can find what he’s looking for.

And, if you are ever in this area of Venice, forget eating out anywhere near the Rialto Bridge – and take our advice and visit Il Milion, reputedly the oldest osteria still opertaing in Venice. With a tradition extending back more than 300 years and a location near the rear of San Giovanni Crisostomo, this restaurant is named after the book written by Marco Polo, Il Milion, describing his travels. In fact, it occupies a town house once owned by members of the explorer’s family, just like Ca’ Amadi, which is literally about thirty metres away.

At Osteria Il Milion, a simple, nine-table restaurant set in a tiny courtyard across from the home of Marco Polo near the Rialto Bridge, you will find some of the finest local seafood. One of the city’s oldest dining establishments, its name is derived from a story about Marco Polo, who was said to exaggerate the millions of things he had seen and the millions of miles he traveled, earning the ironic nickname, “Il Milion.” The food here, most notably the tagliolini with spider crab, risotto with scampi and zucchini, and John Dory and grilled polenta, has clean flavors that are not masked by sauces, butter, or cream. The ingredients are so fresh and intense that there is no reason to hide them. “I eat here every day,” says owner Roberto Bocus, “so it has to be good.”

And, if you take our advice and eat there, do make sure that you order the Spaghetti con le Cipolle – I promise you will never have tasted onions as sweet. We’ve eaten there a few times, and again every meal has been memorable – perhaps none more so than the Aqua Alta of 2018…

 

 

venice : italy : winter

venice : italy : winter

Winter is a gorgeous time of year to visit Venice. I’ve only been once in the summer and it was crowded. And hot. Accommodation was much more expensive and I think I just found it all a bit of a faff. So, whenever we go now, we choose to go in the colder months. You definitely can’t guarantee the weather and it’s always best to be prepared for the rain and the cold. And, as we found out in 2019, the Aqua Alta, when we experienced the worst flooding the city had known for many years. But other times, we’ve hit lucky and have had glorious sunshine and crisp weather. We even had the Carnevale when we visited in February and had totally not realised it was happening. Often though, it can be grey and cloudy, but this definitely doesn’t detract from the beauty of this city, and when the clouds break, and the wintery sunshine comes through, well – you just can’t beat Venice…

December is lovely, too, because the city is gearing for up for Christmas, and I can’t think of many places I’d rather be as the huge tree is lit up in St Mark’s Square, and the lights start to twinkle across the city.

We keep returning to Venice because it’s now very accessible from where we live in northern Istria, and because however many times we go, we obviously always discover new areas and new sights to discover. New restaurants and bars, and new hotels and apartments. It’s a city we will keep returning to, and imagining when we are there, that we are residents…

 

 

carnevale : venezia : italy

carnevale : venezia : italy

Apart from Easter in Seville – Santa Semana – we’ve not witnessed a spectacle quite as amazing as the Venice Carnival. We arrived in Venice on a cold, misty February morning, having booked two nights in Venice. Not even considering what time of year it was. We stepped off the water taxi, not really taking in what was happening around us, but something caught our eyes…

Mingled in with the tourists and Venetian residents rushing around, doing normal things, were figures like the one above. Some posing elegantly, clearly used to being a part of this spectacle. Some were strolling along in pairs, groups. Some had even been doing their shopping – I’ll never forget the sight of a Casanova type courtesan, carrying his evening meal supplies in a Conad supermarket shopping bag. And then it dawned on us – it was February. Carnival time!

As we headed away from the Grand Canal and further into the maze of streets and alleyways and bridges, more of these astonishingly beautiful beings appeared. We were utterly mesmerised. Initially, it felt a bit intrusive taking photos, but we quickly realised that the whole point of the promenading was to be seen and photographed, so a simple “Posso?” generally resulted in a very striking pose…

And, just to debunk the myth that Venice is prohibitively expensive, especially over the Carnival, we also enjoyed an afternoon of free theatre and opera in St Mark’s Square. An absolutely exhilerating experience, and definitely one we won’t forget…

 

 

aqua alta : Venice : Italy : 2018

aqua alta : Venice : Italy : 2018

The first time I visited Venice was on a school trip, back in 1977. We’d been on a ski trip and spent a day on the way back to the airport, in the city. It was January. It was cold. And, the city was flooded. St Mark’s Square was like a pool – I remember splashing about, as water sloshed around our ankles, so looking back, it can’t have been that flooded. I also remember the smell. It was very stinky! But, luckily, every trip since, we’ve avoided conditions like this and to us, Venice is always blue skies and sunshine.

On Monday, we set off for Venice, as family visitors were flying back to England the next day, from Marco Polo. We decided to make a bit of a trip of it and booked an apartment. We knew it was going to rain, but as all of northern Italy, and into Istria, had the same forecast, we didn’t pay too much attention to the forecast. Until we got a text from a friend who was already there. It just said…

OMG! It’s awful!

To be fair, the weather as we approached Venice, looked a little ominous.

Because we were in the car, we had to park in the usual car park – you know, the one where you have to leave your keys on the dash board! – and were greeted by attendants, clearly ready for wet weather. And a ground floor that was already flooded. Once out of the car park, it didn’t  look too bad, but everyone seemed to be wearing plastic style wellies. Or, and I kid you not, waders. (And, as we saw later, flip flops or even barefoot, as people just abandoned soaked footwear). So, four pairs of wellies were bought, and donned, and off we set for the water bus. Not a chance, as these were cancelled – and this made us realise that things could actually be a little bit bad.

The further into the city we walked, the clearer it became that this was quite serious flooding. Gangplank style platforms appeared and snaked their way through the narrow streets, with people trying to get to their destinations. To either side, people were wading through increasingly deeper floodwaters – tourists, porters from hotels (holding luggage aloft), business people.

The apartment where we staying was near the Rialto Bridge, and we can usually walk to this area, from the car park/station area in about 30 minutes. However, it took over an hour and a half as we precariously picked our way through streets which were becoming increasingly submerged. To each side, we could see shops, bars, restaurants and hotels becoming more full of water – and workers frantically trying to sweep, or pump out, the water. When we arrived at our apartment, which we chose because it was located in a beautiful little piazza, with a tiny theatre in the courtyard, the water outside was about 50cms deep and the reception area was full of water, which became deeper and deeper as the night went on. Like every other place with an entrance at street level.

However, unlike in England, where the country would have ground to a halt, life goes on in Venice. People have to work and eat and do normal things and so the city continued as normally as possible. We decided we had to venture out and eat, so the wellies were put on again and this time umbrellas were up, as it had also started to rain. Just to add to the mix! We didn’t go too far, as the water was seriously rising, but we were luckily staying near a few good restaurants where we had eaten before. Although never in circumstances like these…

At the start of the meal, the water wasn’t *too* high…

Welly wearing waiters…

Al fresco dining wasn’t too popular on the night we visited…

 

As we ate, the flood waters rose and rose…

When it’s this wet, you have to improvise…

It was quite amazing to see things just carry on as normal. Restaurants were still full – after all, Venice is mostly made up of tourists and people have to eat. Staff were clearly used to events like this (although, with hindsight, perhaps not on this scale and speed), as they deftly carried plates of food, whilst navigating the rising water. The food was super delicious, and I have no idea how the kitchen coped, but it was a very strange feeling to be eating indoors, with water lapping around your shins. And rising.

When we woke on Tuesday morning, the waters had receded, and although it was still raining, the streets were no longer flooded. Shops and cafes were open for business – and although there was a massive mopping up/drying out operation in progress, people just seemed to be getting on with it.

And, within an hour, Venice was back in business…

Water. Where water should be.

The clouds parting over St Mark’s Basilica.

The Doges’ Palace, Venice

San Marco Campanile

The morning after the night before.

Venice is always a spectacular place to visit. We are so, so lucky that we are now so close to it and never tire of exploring – and I have to say, this was one of those visits we won’t forget for a very long time. But, checking the weather, we don’t think we’ll be heading back over the next few days, as more flooding looks imminent…