The St Regis Venice is a nice place to wake up, made nicer by the complimentary cappuccino delivered to the room. Mandy sits in her robe by the open window sipping and watching the morning logistics unfold on the Grand Canal. Purpose built boats make deliveries, water taxis scurry passengers in from the early flights, construction boats rumble into place and police boats make their rounds. We take breakfast at the patio restaurant and get an even closer look at the comings and goings of it all.
Today is about exploring, so after breakfast we board a
water taxi from the hotel to Murano, the Isle of Glass. Hundreds of years ago, when the furnaces of
the glass factories were coal fired, the pollution and fire risk were so great
that the government dictated that all the Venetian glass factories be moved to
their own island, putting Murano glass forever on the map. The taxi drops us off at the door of one of
the factories where we get a tour and watch some of the artists and their
apprentices hand form the works of glass art.
We break away and explore the town a bit, lovely and blessedly quieter
than Venice proper. It’s got a certain
charm, but the single theme of every shop gets redundant pretty quickly.
We hop the local ferry to Burano, known for its colorful
houses and lace mills. This is definitely
more our scene, more charming, more small village vibe. Around 2 we lunch at Di Palma, feasting on very
fresh fish and handmade pasta with clams, all paired with some crisp, dry local
white wine. We’re eating a big lunch
late because we have big plans tonight.
We ferry back to Venice and it’s a 25-minute walk to the hotel, so we crash
hard when we get back to the room.
Tonight’s big plans: the opera. We figure if we’re ever going to see an
opera, it’s here or Sidney, Australia, and we’re not going to be Down Under any
time soon. Tonight is the 7pm
performance of La Traviata at Teatro La Fenice, Venice’s fabled opera
venue which opened in 1792. We are not
opera fans but are here for, and open to, the experience. The theater is genuinely grand, with gilded
boxes stacked five high ringing the perimeter, the entire place a museum in and
of itself. La Traviata is the
story of a 1890s Parisian party girl who finds true love but can’t escape her
scandalous past. Tonight’s performance
is a reinterpretation of that classic, set in the 1960s with minimalist
costuming and sets. It’s a bit of a disappointment,
as we were expecting a more lavish production.
The orchestra and cast are fantastic, the lead female vocalist inspires
awe with her talents. Alas, we only make
it through two off the three acts in the uncomfortable seats, slipping out during
the second intermission.
Music isn’t over for tonight however, and we weave our way
through the mostly deserted alleys to Bacarando In Corte dell’Oro, a late night
Jazz bar also known for their cicchetti.
It’s almost ten and we haven’t eaten since lunch, so the small bites
really hit the spot. The duo, him on a
deep orange Gibson ES-335 and her on vocals, are excellent at putting an
original spin on some modern jazz standards.
Oh culture… we tried, but we know where home is.
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