VENICE / CROATIA DAY 1 - ON THE GROUND IN THE WATER

What can be written about Venice that hasn’t already been written?  With five and a half million visitors per year, it’s kinda all been said.  Plus, it’s not my favorite place.  When I was here many, many moons ago, I found it too dirty, too crowded, too commercialized.  But when we started planning a trip to Croatia, it was the obvious jumping off point with easy direct flights from pretty much everywhere.  Plus, most of the people I know who have been here in recent years tell of the improvements.  Add in the fact that Mandy has never been here before, and The City of Water became the first three days of our itinerary. 

We splurged for pods in United business and start the adventure in the Polaris Lounge in EWR.  We have been here before, but they’ve really upped their game.  At an area of the lounge dedicated to sit-down, order-off-the-al a carte-menu, we are served  very good food by an unbelievably great waiter.  We get to chatting with the couple at the next table, Dave and Suzanne from Ashville, NC, and while away a pleasant hour talking art and travel and business.  Dave’s a serious business traveler, and he points out that Tom Stuker, the guy George Clooney played in the movie Up In The Air, the guy who has flown 23 MILLION miles on a United lifetime pass he bought in 1990, is sitting at the next table over.  Needless to say, Mr. Stuker is a bit of a celebrity around here, so it’s fun to see him in his natural habitat.  It’s time to head to the gate, but not before we score an invitation to Suzanne’s art gallery premier.

(click on the picture to view the full size image)

We’re delayed quite a while taking off, but the pilot assures us that it won’t be a problem.  He flew it like he stole it and made the trip in just under 7 hours.  Customs and baggage are fast, and just like that we’re in a water taxi, a private 30’ mahogany vessel, bound for the hotel.  It’s a very civilized way to enter Venice, a bit of overture montage preview of your upcoming Venetian experience.  Mandy’s hair blows in the breeze as she takes in her first views of The Floating City. 

We dock right at the St Regis hotel.  As expected, our room isn’t ready this early in the morning, so we change and hit the city on foot.  Mandy has a walking tour planned and we hit some highlights.  We stumble into Aeronautica Militare, a brand whose very cool designs are based on the Italian Air Force.  We pick out a few things and leave them to pick up later so we don’t have to lug bags.  The famed Rialto Bridge is claustrophobicly crowded but we get the mandatory pix. The crowds have already alighted on the Rialto Bridge, but on the other side we dig the Rialto Market with its outdoor stalls of fresh fish, handmade pasta and local vegetables. 

Time for a light lunch, we head to Bar All’Arco for cichetti, the northern Italian version of tapas.  All’Arco has exploded in popularity since their appearance on Somebody Feed Phil, but aside from a bit of a line out front, nothing has changed.  It’s a tiny space offering a case of three bite snacks for a few euros each, plus a pour of good local wine.  As you would expect, seafood is prominent here, so we lean in when ordering.  The Cuttlefish looks like a small, whole grilled calamari, finished simply with a big splash of EVOO and pinch of salt.  Baccala, the Venetian delicacy also referred to as “creamed cod”, is akin to an American smoked fish dip and schmeered generously on a slice of toasted bread.  The Mantis Shrimp, which we noticed at the market, is sweet and tender and presented with a fruit chutney and drizzle of creamy sauce on a toast round.  The salame is topped with tiny roasted zucchini, a bit of sun dried tomato and drop of EVOO.  A couple glasses of white and we find a little table outside against the building to enjoy lunch.  We enjoy it so much that another few bites are in order.  Next door is Cantina do Mori, another equally good cichetti joint, but without the Food Network hype so no lines.  Mandy wanders in to procure us a couple more bites, and scores us an unintentional Italian flag… Baccala with tomato (red), classic Baccala (white) and artichoke hearts (green).  Yum.

We prebooked a tour of St Mark’s Cathedral for mid-afternoon.  The tour guide leads us through a crush of people in that most famous of Italian squares and into the church.  Like the city itself, there’s not much to write about St Mark’s that hasn’t already been penned.  For us, the most notable feature is the intricate tile mosaic work covering most of the walls.  The figures not only beautiful, but the subtle coloring and shading are simply masterful.  Our tour ends with a few minutes on the outdoor terrace, a fine vantage point to view the square below.

When we return to Aeronautica for our bags, the shopkeeper gives us a pro tip for dinner suggesting the Misericordia neighborhood.  Our room is ready and we’re escorted to a fantastic suite on the 5^th floor overlooking the grand canal thanks to Mandy’s Marriott status.  It’s the kind of room that deserves to be luxuriated in, so luxuriate we do, chasing a nibble of delectable almond tort with sip from the full bottle of Belini, both of which were delivered as welcome gifts.  We nap off most of the travel exhaustion and 15 some thousand steps so far today.

On our way to dinner, we take the trip to the top of St Mark’s Bell Tower for views of sunset over the city.  This is no accident as Mandy has carefully planned the timing and we’re suckers for a good sunset.  I do wish somebody would have told me that it’s still a functioning alarm clock, because when the bells started ringing right next to us I almost jumped out of my skin.

We follow the shopkeeper’s advice to the Misericordia section of town, about a 25-minute walk.  The narrow streets are still crowded, the masses peaking at the Rialto bridge then starting to thin.  Block by block the walkways become less dense, and the last five minutes are downright serene, something I didn’t think was possible in this city.  The area is peaceful, a few block section with a dozen or so trattorias, all with seating along the canal.  I thought we’d start with some fresh veggies, so I ordered the braciola salad, thinking it would be a salad with a bit of meat and cheese.  What came was the Italian version of veggies, which is to say a big dish of very thinly sliced, melt-in-your-mouth beef with a generous portion of shaved Parmesan Reggiano all over a few leaves of arugula.  Delicious, yes.  Veggies, no.  The highlight of our meal is the legendary Venetian clams and spaghetti (with some muscles thrown in because Mandy asked nicely), a simple dish with fresh made pasta and a few dozen clams no bigger then the tip of your thumb, all tossed with some olive oil and garlic.  We’ve never had clams so small or so sweet and chat about the dish the entire walk home.