The kids were pretty wiped out, so I let them sleep in a bit. After breakfast, we set out to walk across Venice and take the vaporetto direct to Murano. We could have caught a ride near the hotel, but I wanted to explore Venice on foot a bit.
And, that's a great way to see the city. You wander across bridges over canals, through narrow passageways, and always hoping that you are generally going in the right direction, instead of being pretty seriously off on the wrong track (polling humor there).
The girls kept asking if we were going the right way. I would consult the map, and then say something along the lines of "yes, allegedly," or "it appears that way." They got upset at my uncertainty (I think primarily because they didn't want to walk more than needed). Eventually we got where we were going, and we never technically got lost (I did make one wrong turn, but realized it almost immediately).
we tried a stop at the Miracoli church, but at 8 Euros for admission, we balked at going in. We got the other side of the island and caught the packed vaporetto to Murano. The island became the center of Venice glass-blowing industry in 1219 when the furnaces were moved there to avoid fires on Venice. It's definitely worth going and walking around.
Word of caution -- people will try and give you free rides over to Murano. Do NOT accept. They will take you to their shop, and if you don't buy anything, they get rude and also refuse to take you back. It's much more fun to wander and dip into places you want to go -- and exit easily without the guilt of not having made a purchase.
The girls bought different souvenirs at different shops (nothing big, nothing expensive). Carol and I saw something in one shop that we hemmed and hawed over purchasing, asking numerous questions, leaving and coming back. It arrives in four months. Afterwards, the salesman took us to their furnace area, where a number of glassblowers and craftsmen were doing very interesting work, including making a large glass elephant and a hand in the "okay" sign. Torie did not want to leave.
Eventually we caught the vaporetto back -- except we took the five, which was a non-stop from the island back to the stop closest to our hotel. So, we got to see the entire eastern half of the island, including the industrial and port area (by the way, there is a reason cities don't say "come see our industrial area" when they advertise tourism). So we cruised back at pretty good speed, and Maddy, Torie and I hung out in the open part of the boat, enjoying the feeling of being free upon the Adriatic.
We had lunch at an outdoor cafe fronting the lagoon. It was fine, but nothing special.
After a brief respite at the hotel room, we took the vaporetto back to Rialto. We walked around that area a bit for photos and so Carol could spend time there. Then, we headed toward a couple of sights to see. This time, I was much less certain as to where we were, but I kept making the right choices on turns, and we ended up at the Church of the Frari.
It was just 2.50 Euro for the adults, and the kids were free. Money well spent. It turned out to be our last church stop in Italy, but the art and design were amazing to look at.
We wandered some more, and got to my final stop for the day -- Palazzo Rezonicco, which is on the Grand Canal. It is set up wiht 18th century furniture and design. Well worth the stop, although they were pumping in the the stale air of boring museums (there seems to be a formula). After a bit, we all had to get out.
We caught another vaporetto back from nearby, and then headed to St. Mark's Square for drinks and pigeon chasing by the Maddy and Torie (read earlier post). We wiled away a good ninety minutes there, people-watching and basking in the glow of a fun, eventful trip.
For our final dinner, we got dressed up (I wore shoes to dinner twice in Rome, and now once in Venice). We went to Ristorante Antico Pignole on Calle Specchieri, just a few blocks (alleys?) off of St. Mark's Square. The restaurant was excellent -- although it was the most expensive meal of the trip.
When I got the wine list, I longed for the days of Tuscany and Florence. The low priced wines were at the higher end of those previous wine lists, and most of the wines were three or four digits -- in Euros!
There were also limited choices for Maddy and Torie. They both had the gnocchi, which Maddy was fine with, and Torie didn't care for. Julia had lamb chops, while Carol and split a caprese salad that was quite good. She had the veal shank (osso buco but without bone, essentially), while I had spaghetti with clams and also the veal chop (it's going to be tough to go back to eating just one course, but I need to -- didn't add weight on the trip thanks to all the walking, but can't go on like this forever!).
The clam spaghetti was the finest I've had, and I've had my fair share (including great homemade by my neighbor as a youth -- Mr. Orlando and my dad). The veal chop was the best seasoned I've ever had (even beating out DiMimio's in Baltimore). For wine, we had a 2001 CastelGiocondo Brunello Montalcino. It was quite good as well (but overpriced).
After dinner, the manager took me to the wine cellar (I guess they wait to see what you order). As we went upstairs, he noted that in Venice, all wine cellars are upstairs (makes sense, so they don't flood out). It was impressive seeing the 1,000+ Euro bottles, some from the 1950s, covered in dust. He spent some time on a busy Friday night showing me all three wine rooms -- very gracious of him.
We found gelatto on the way back, which woke the girls up some, and then bedded down for our last night in Italy.
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