Lost in Venice + Valentine's Day

We are having all kinds of fun . . . And we are lucky that our son Benson arrived without any major catastrophes! The day he was preparing to leave Idaho, we saw on the news that Lufthansa was about to go on a last minute strike for 24 hours. All the Lufthansa pilots wanted more pay, which is fine, but the timing of the strike was concerning since it could affect his travel. The article said that this would likely be the largest aviation strike in Germany's history, and potentially affecting Frankfurt and Munich the hardest. Benson would be flying from Chicago into Frankfurt on United, but would be catching his last flight on Lufthansa from Frankfurt into Venice . . . 

We talked to him about some alternate plans just in case, but when all was said and done, his flight left Frankfurt just a few minutes late and arrived into Venice only about 30 minutes late. But it wasn't canceled - hooray - and he arrived with a big smile. :)

He's been having trouble adjusting to the time change, which for him was a little more difficult than the average person because his work schedule back home was already a weird one. During the first few days, he said it felt more like he's taking a series of naps throughout the night, with a long sleepless "break" in the middle. 

When he finally woke up on his first full day in Vicenza, I told him I had a simple, easy plan for our day, OR . . . a crazy plan, and he could choose whatever he wanted to do. The simple, easy plan was to just wander around Vicenza together, because there's always something beautiful to see here. But the crazy plan was to catch a train over to Venice and check out all the masqueraders as part of the annual Carnivale festival. 

Guess which one he chose . . . ha ha

Video as we got off the train on the Grand Canal: (7 seconds)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dR6zYYy87CBWfppQ6

We had originally planned to take the train (which takes just under an hour) to Venice, spend a couple of hours taking photos and wandering around, and then catch the train home. We anticipated getting home around the same time that Scott would be getting home from work. But it didn't quite go as planned . . .

Marco Polo is a celebrated figure in Venice, having been born there in 1254 . . .

We were not disappointed in finding planty of extravagantly costumed "flaneurs" everywhere we walked. 

Nobody seemed annoyed when I asked, "Con permiso?" to take a photo . . . probably because this is already something they live for. Many people dress up and wander the streets of Venice every year, knowing that people will gawk, stare, and take lots of photos of them.

In case you forgot, Venice is shaped like a large fish. The trains come in and out at the "mouth" of the fish. The Jewish Quarter is up on top of the forehead and head of the fish. San Marco, or St. Mark's Square is down where the belly of the fish would be. But we chose to make our way to a quieter side of the "fish" by mostly wandering through the upper back and tail areas.

One of the things Benson wanted to see was the sculpture by the artist Lorenzo Quinn, entitled, "Building Bridges". We tried our best to find it for two hours, but never quite made it. It wasn't from lack of trying, though.

Benson estimates that he's been to Venice around 40 times, versus my wimpy dozen+ visits to Venice. He told me that he and his Air Force buddies would often hop the train from Aviano and go to Venice for an afternoon, or an evening, or a whole day together. He prefers to not use Google maps to get around, since he is pretty comfortable finding his way to wherever he wants to go. And even if you get lost in Venice, is that really such a bad thing? The "island" (or 118 islands) isn't that big, so you wouldn't be lost forever.

We did check Google maps a couple of times just to make sure we were headed in the right direction, which we were most of the time.

We passed by the hospital, where an ambulance boat was pulling in with flashing lights . . .

Once in a while, we passed by a little secret garden that sat peacefully behind an artsy iron gate . . .

We occasionally passed by another elegantly dressed Carnivale attendee . . .

Video of a worker guy waving to me as he passed underneath: (6 seconds)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BrjcJdX1yqM76rx79

Short video of a pair of masqueraders: (3 seconds)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HKQYQPXqiH2X68cr9

This couple was from North Carolina!! They came all the way to Venice to dress up and be part of the Carnivale experience.

We sort of stumbled upon this yummy restaurant on a quiet corner of an even quieter square in the middle of nowhere . . . As I paused to look at their menu on display outside, the server popped out and quickly won us over with her excellent English and description of how everything is homemade and delicious. We chose a table outside because it was just too pretty to be stuck behind closed doors. 

Here's a look at the main menu page . . . I chose the Lasagna di Carne and Benson chose the Pasta al Pomodora/Carne.

I also ordered a Cioccolata Calda (hot chocolate), with ALL the cream on top . . . XOXO

Benson ordered a Cafe Macchiatone, which is basically a mix of a macchiato and a cappuccino, but larger and with more frothed milk. While I don't drink coffee, it was pretty and sure smelled amazing. I always love the smell of coffee, but I never have any desire to drink it. 

The lasagna di carne that I ordered was absolutely divine. I don't order pasta dishes very often, but this time I did. It was piping hot, oozing with cheese, and everything was absolutely smashing. 

Benson's pasta dish was very good, he said, but was a little too "al dente" for his liking. I shared some of my lasagna with him and he said it was incredible. 

We sat outside under this awning and the ambiance of the surrounding buildings was tranquil and relaxing. There was hardly any foot traffic coming through this neighborhood, so it felt like we had everything all to ourselves.

The neighborhood view from the restaurant . . .

Sometimes you cross over a canal where the water is as smooth as glass . . . it's just so pretty . . .

In some of the more populated areas, decorative lights were strung up as part of the Carnivale celebration . . .

We finally arrived at the Arsenale, which was an impressive place that neither of us had ever seen before in Venice. Built in 1104 AD, its main focus was the construction, maintenance, and equipping of war galleys and merchant ships throughout Europe. They built the ships in a special series, some of the process taking place in nearby workshops, so that they could be streamlined and efficient as a whole. At their peak, they could crank out 3 large ships PER DAY. DANG.

It was walled like a fortress to protect its secrets, and today it is still used (in part) by the Italian Navy. Other parts are accessible to the public for things like Carnivale (the water show) and other celebrations, and another area is a dedicated Naval History Museum.

Video of the front facade and impressive strength of the entrance: (4 seconds)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/LRa6j2Viw4wYRe9z7

Benson and his trusty Nikon camera . . .

Google told us to continue past the Arsenale area to get to the huge hands statue that Benson wanted to see . . . so we trudged onward. 

Through the confetti of various nightly activities from Carnivale . . .

I'm not sure what this quirky guy was all about . . . 

(3 seconds): https://photos.app.goo.gl/tHxYKYd7wncQhco7A

So, um, we ended up walking for a good hour but still couldn't reach our destination. Google led us to a spot that was across a large canal from where we wanted to be, but there was no way to get across! No bridge, no boat, nothing. 

For our next attempt, we pinned a series of places on Google Maps that were definitively going to get us where we needed to be . . . but sadly it meant walking about 40 minutes back the same way we had just come, including past the Arsenale again, lol.

We followed the directions to the letter, but we were still met with defeat. We found ourselves staring at a construction area that was gated off, and we couldn't access anything on the other side. Rubbish. We finally admitted defeat and made plans to just catch a ferry from this tail-end portion of Venice over to the mouth where the train station was and then head home.

The ferry stops were slightly confusing as to where they could take us, so we opted to just go partway on the next ferry (instead of going all the way out to Murano). We got off at the Fondamente Nove stop and walked about 30 more minutes from there to the train station.

There were some really brightly colored Carnivale attendees on our short ferry ride . . .

By this time, it was past 5:00 p.m. and the lighted decorations started coming on above us, which was so fun!

Just a few (hundred) more bridges to go up and over . . . (my left hip was starting to feel a bit tweaky).

A cute little family all dressed up together . . .

This sweet little old lady with her cane . . . tap, tap, tap: (3 seconds)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/eArUc7E8XHcTPu1L9

Almost back to the train station . . .

We barely made the 5:34 p.m. train to be on our way back home. I think we walked for about 4 solid hours that afternoon, not including our lunch stop. And all of this was just one day after Benson flew across the world to get here . . . so he was very tired on the way back to Vicenza. Bless his little heart.

The statue that we were trying to get to in Venice, "Building Bridges", can be seen here:

https://www.afar.com/magazine/a-massive-sculpture-of-hands-is-gripping-the-attention-of-crowds-in-venice

It would have been so cool to see it in person . . .

We researched a little bit more after we got home, asking ChatGPT for more clarifying directions since Google Maps was a wash. ChatGPT reported that several people had expressed similar frustrations at not being able to get there using Google Maps . . . But, based on ChatGPT's directions, we were SO CLOSE and it's possible that we were within range of just a few minutes walk. We just needed to go to the left (or south) at one point instead of to the right. 

At least we got our steps in that day, ha ha. We walked at least a few miles, and then the bridges . . .

Buns of Steel, I always say. They're not gonna just make themselves!

Valentine's Day . . .

The next morning, I made my daughter Amber's famous beet crepes for our breakfast. I had already roasted the 2 large beets a couple days before, so they were ready to be used. 

They turned out delicious and the three of us snarfed them all up within minutes, ha ha. (Mostly Scott)

Here is Amber's recipe:

Steam or roast 1 large beet in quarters. (*I roasted mine whole, loosely wrapped in foil in the oven. It took way longer than the suggestion online of 50-60 minutes. I roasted them for a good 1.5 hours before they were fork tender. So maybe I should have read Amber's instructions a little better.)

Crepe batter (use a blender)

Blend together:

Beet chunks (from one roasted beet)

1 cup milk

1/4 cup water

2 eggs

3 Tbsp melted butter

Blend on medium or high until smooth. 

Then add 1 cup flour and blend.

If the better is still too runny, add flour by tablespoons until a very dribbly crepe batter consistency is achieved. (*My batter was absolutely perfect without needing to add any extra flour. Maybe the size of the beet makes a difference. Amber suggested that a large beet = 5-6 inches in diameter, or the size of a man's fist.)

Cook on a nonstick pan like normal.

Serve with Nutella, powdered sugar, or topping of choice.

 

In my next post:

Our weekend visits to Bassano del Grappa, Cittadella, Sirmione, and Lazise.

Coming up: 

We will be heading up into the mountains tomorrow (Feb 18) to watch the Olympic debut of Ski Mountaineering, or Skimo, on Thursday (Feb 19) in Bormio, Italy at the Stelvio Ski Centre. If you're watching any of the Olympics, who knows, maybe you'll catch a glimpse of us in the cheering crowd!!

USA!! USA!! USA!! USA!! USA!!