Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Venice/Croatia Day 3 - Eating Our Way Through History

 

Breakfast at the St Regis is an event.  Table on the grand canal, free flowing champaign, see and be seen.  It’s a very civilized affair. After breakfast, we tour the Doge Palace, a five-minute walk from the hotel and just next door to the St Mark’s Cathedral.  The palace is downright palatial, with some of the most extravagant ceilings we have seen.  It seems the Venetian empire, when it was such a thing, was constantly overcompensating for the, um, lack of size of their empire so they gilded the lily, so to speak, both figuratively and literally.  I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.  A highlight for us it The Bridge of Sighs, the place where condemned prisoners would get their last glance of Venice through the small holes in the stone windows  













Leaving the Doge, we find ourselves by a gondola station, and it’s still early enough that there are no lines.  We hop in and are down the canals.  The ride is nice and our gondolier points out buildings of historical significance along the way, but there are so many gondolas at the same time that it feels a bit like a Disney ride.  Of course, the place is so picturesque, that if feels like a Hollywood movie set.  That being said, the rides are popular for a reason… it’s a damned scenic town, especially from the water.







Box checked, we set out for lunch.  We’re bee-lining it to Acqua & Mais to see if this well reviewed street food joint lives up to the hype.  In short, it does.  We start with a big box of fried seafood, the calamari, shrimp and sardines tossed in seasoned flour, fast-fried to order and served piping hot.  Overordering is my super-power (it’s inherited from my parents, and my sisters got the gift too), so we add the caponata (eggplant and garlic served over crispy polenta), and meatballs two different ways.  The salmon lemon meatballs were essentially golf ball sized fishcakes, crispy and savory.  It took us a while to figure that the “beef with Beckham” meatballs did not include a retired soccer superstar, but did use a generous measure of Italian bacon.


Walking back to the hotel, we can’t resist a free sample of spaghetti in a cup from Bepe, the proprietor who set out to make fresh made pasta with homemade sauce into a fast food.  It’s legit fantastic, but we stuffed so we only taste the dixie cup sized freebee.  Back at the hotel. We hit the canal side café for an afternoon drink before a well deserved nap.

Our last night here and a few more boxes to check.  First, Harry’s for the original Belini.  Fun, but clearly overhyped and overpriced.  Finally, we make it to the Cannaregio neighborhood for a respectable dinner of pizza, salad and pasta.  A nice way to end our time here in Venice.



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