Mini trip report 5 days in Venice during Acqua Alta
Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 3:33 pm
Hi all,
Thought some of you might be interested in this report.
My family and I visited Venice for 5 nights from November 25-30.
We had planned on a European trip over the Thanksgiving holiday to visit our son Quinn, a college sophomore, who is studying in the Netherlands for the semester. We had kicked around several destinations but settled on Venice because, well just because we love it. My husband Pete, tween son Luke and I traveled from Boston's Logan Airport connecting at CDG in Paris. Quinn joined us as did his girlfriend Maddie from Madrid where she is spending her fall semester. Some of you may remember that I had notions that we might get lucky in Paris and be bumped to an earlier connection but based on advice received here fortunately I did not hold my breath. Once in Paris we quickly put those notions to bed. By the time we were cleared through customs and arrived at the gate the earlier connection was already gone. We perked ourselves up with cappuccino and croissants and by noon we were on the ground at the Marco Polo Airport.
I had pre-purchased Vaparetti and museum passes from Venice Connected, which we picked up from the most unpleasant character we encountered on the trip at the Venice Connected desk at the airport. I'm certain that the fact his goatee gave him a remarkable resemblance to Satan was purely coincidence. Venice Connected ought to reconsider that assignment. We hopped on the #5 us to Piazzale Roma and were on our way.
We had visited Venice for the first time in 2007 and arrived by train. I have to say that I feel that for first timers, coming through the train station which opens on to the Grand Canal then a private water taxi is a more romantic way to enter the city. That first glimpse of Venice from that vantage just took my breath away. That said, I suppose a private boat direct from the airport would be the ultimate, but this was a somewhat spur of the moment decision and we didn't want to break the bank so it was the bus for us.
The sun was shining so it did not occur to me to change into the knee length rubber boots I had purchased for us all in case we encountered acqua alta. I had read somewhere that acqua alta only occurred in the early hours of the morning and mostly in the San Marco area and in rainy weather. Nope, nope and nope.
We disembarked at the Rialto stop and the sidewalks were covered in 4 inches of water on a bright sunny afternoon. Before we stepped off the platform we pulled on our boots and were good to go. We had to cross the Rialto Bridge to get to our hotel and there were no platforms on the Rialto side. Fortunately we only had carry on luggage so we were able to carry the luggage over the water and arrived at our hotel with our toes as dry as toast.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/ ... G_1661.jpg
Our hotel, Antico Locanda Sturion is located just beyond the Rialto Bridge. We chose it because they had canal rooms available with short notice and they were very reasonable. They are located up a loooong flight of stairs with no lift so if you have difficulty with stairs this would not be the place. The room was red, red and red but very clean and comfortable with a stunner of a view. A continental breakfast is included in the rate and coffee is good. The photo of the flight of stairs is in the slideshow.
Number one son wasn't arriving until the evening so we checked in and decided to grab a bite to eat ad do some exploring. Normally I am an overplanner and have all the restaurants picked out in advance but this time I threw caution to the wind and we wingged it. Is that a word?
Our first choice was a winner! Al Sacro E Profano Di Silvestri Valerio looked so charming we stopped in for a bite and a celebratory glass of prosecco to mark our safe arrival and to toast Thanksgiving Day. We intended to make it back for another visit but never did.
Since the sun was shining but the forecast for the next 5 days was bleak I wanted to see the view from the top of the campanile in San Marco Piazza. Beautiful! We'd taken the Secret Itineraries tour, toured the Basillica and the Correr Museum on our last trip so we decided instead just to wander around. We set off in the direction of La Fenice and vowed that we must come back on a future trip and see an opera. I love the San Marco segment of Venice. We walked and walked and walked and 100 photo ops later we hopped on the vaparetto to pick up Quinn at the Piazzale Roma. Maddie would arrive the next morning.
By then 3 of us were working on 40 hours without sleep so we called it a night. Maddie was due to join us in the morning and the boys wanted to pick her up. Luke had mapped the way and they wanted to master the maze and get there on foot, in the pouring rain. Armed with boots and umbrellas they set off. Better them than me.
Sadly we did not get to meet Peter but I did have a chance to hear his wonderful Aussie accent on the phone for a brief moment. We were in his San Barnaba neighborhood but by the time he received the message it was too late. Ah well, I plan on returning and am betting Peter is also, so perhaps there will be a future rendezvous!
The rest of the trip was totally unstructured. Meals were unremarkable with one outstanding exception. It was drizzling and we had walked miles and were hungry and exhausted so wanted to stay near the hotel. Osteria Antico Dolo had good reviews so we called for a reservation. Before dining there I had resolved myself to the notion that I would forever fail to appreciate authentic Venetian cuisine. I thought that the adriatic seafood just could not compare to the icy north Atlantic seafood we are so spoiled by living in coastal New England. Well, I still think that but the clams and mussles at Antico Dolo were some of the sweetest I've ever tasted. We ordered the special appetizer which was a selection of cheeses each served with a chutney or mustard that was out of this world. There was a gorgonzola pasta dish that was also terrific and I forget what the others had but they loved it. We shared a dessert of tiramisu which was smooth as velvet and not too sweet. The next night we were again exhausted and starving so we went back again. It's a little hole in the wall with probably just a dozen tables but was filled with locals.
We had sun 2 of our 5 days and mostly gray skies for the rest. It rained off and on but we were well prepared for the weather and didn't let it slow us down. That said, traveling this time of year has pros and cons. The pros obviously include the lack of crowds, lower prices in stores, ease with which you can get a table in restaurants and generally just getting a better sense of place.
The cons are the lack of color which sounds ridiculous because even on the gray days it is still the most colorful city I have ever seen. I can only imagine what it was like at its peak when the Ca d'Oro was covered with gold leaf and other palaces were frescoed by masters. The flowers in June truly do guild the lily but add to the surreal beauty of the city and I missed them. I also missed sitting outside listening to the orchestra play Moon River on San Marco, sipping a cocktail while while the boys feed the pigeons. I can get a lump in my throat when I think of that. I'll forever think of Venice when I hear that song. So we'll go again, perhaps next time in late September or early October but probably not in winter.
Here is a link to my photo slide show. Be warned, it takes 20 minutes to watch and it isn't set to music. I wish it were but Photobucket slide shows set to music limit you to 100 photos. God forbid. If it were I'd set it to Moon River. Thank you for the help and advice on the front side of our trip.
http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/ ... =slideshow
Thought some of you might be interested in this report.
My family and I visited Venice for 5 nights from November 25-30.
We had planned on a European trip over the Thanksgiving holiday to visit our son Quinn, a college sophomore, who is studying in the Netherlands for the semester. We had kicked around several destinations but settled on Venice because, well just because we love it. My husband Pete, tween son Luke and I traveled from Boston's Logan Airport connecting at CDG in Paris. Quinn joined us as did his girlfriend Maddie from Madrid where she is spending her fall semester. Some of you may remember that I had notions that we might get lucky in Paris and be bumped to an earlier connection but based on advice received here fortunately I did not hold my breath. Once in Paris we quickly put those notions to bed. By the time we were cleared through customs and arrived at the gate the earlier connection was already gone. We perked ourselves up with cappuccino and croissants and by noon we were on the ground at the Marco Polo Airport.
I had pre-purchased Vaparetti and museum passes from Venice Connected, which we picked up from the most unpleasant character we encountered on the trip at the Venice Connected desk at the airport. I'm certain that the fact his goatee gave him a remarkable resemblance to Satan was purely coincidence. Venice Connected ought to reconsider that assignment. We hopped on the #5 us to Piazzale Roma and were on our way.
We had visited Venice for the first time in 2007 and arrived by train. I have to say that I feel that for first timers, coming through the train station which opens on to the Grand Canal then a private water taxi is a more romantic way to enter the city. That first glimpse of Venice from that vantage just took my breath away. That said, I suppose a private boat direct from the airport would be the ultimate, but this was a somewhat spur of the moment decision and we didn't want to break the bank so it was the bus for us.
The sun was shining so it did not occur to me to change into the knee length rubber boots I had purchased for us all in case we encountered acqua alta. I had read somewhere that acqua alta only occurred in the early hours of the morning and mostly in the San Marco area and in rainy weather. Nope, nope and nope.
We disembarked at the Rialto stop and the sidewalks were covered in 4 inches of water on a bright sunny afternoon. Before we stepped off the platform we pulled on our boots and were good to go. We had to cross the Rialto Bridge to get to our hotel and there were no platforms on the Rialto side. Fortunately we only had carry on luggage so we were able to carry the luggage over the water and arrived at our hotel with our toes as dry as toast.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/ ... G_1661.jpg
Our hotel, Antico Locanda Sturion is located just beyond the Rialto Bridge. We chose it because they had canal rooms available with short notice and they were very reasonable. They are located up a loooong flight of stairs with no lift so if you have difficulty with stairs this would not be the place. The room was red, red and red but very clean and comfortable with a stunner of a view. A continental breakfast is included in the rate and coffee is good. The photo of the flight of stairs is in the slideshow.
Number one son wasn't arriving until the evening so we checked in and decided to grab a bite to eat ad do some exploring. Normally I am an overplanner and have all the restaurants picked out in advance but this time I threw caution to the wind and we wingged it. Is that a word?
Our first choice was a winner! Al Sacro E Profano Di Silvestri Valerio looked so charming we stopped in for a bite and a celebratory glass of prosecco to mark our safe arrival and to toast Thanksgiving Day. We intended to make it back for another visit but never did.
Since the sun was shining but the forecast for the next 5 days was bleak I wanted to see the view from the top of the campanile in San Marco Piazza. Beautiful! We'd taken the Secret Itineraries tour, toured the Basillica and the Correr Museum on our last trip so we decided instead just to wander around. We set off in the direction of La Fenice and vowed that we must come back on a future trip and see an opera. I love the San Marco segment of Venice. We walked and walked and walked and 100 photo ops later we hopped on the vaparetto to pick up Quinn at the Piazzale Roma. Maddie would arrive the next morning.
By then 3 of us were working on 40 hours without sleep so we called it a night. Maddie was due to join us in the morning and the boys wanted to pick her up. Luke had mapped the way and they wanted to master the maze and get there on foot, in the pouring rain. Armed with boots and umbrellas they set off. Better them than me.
Sadly we did not get to meet Peter but I did have a chance to hear his wonderful Aussie accent on the phone for a brief moment. We were in his San Barnaba neighborhood but by the time he received the message it was too late. Ah well, I plan on returning and am betting Peter is also, so perhaps there will be a future rendezvous!
The rest of the trip was totally unstructured. Meals were unremarkable with one outstanding exception. It was drizzling and we had walked miles and were hungry and exhausted so wanted to stay near the hotel. Osteria Antico Dolo had good reviews so we called for a reservation. Before dining there I had resolved myself to the notion that I would forever fail to appreciate authentic Venetian cuisine. I thought that the adriatic seafood just could not compare to the icy north Atlantic seafood we are so spoiled by living in coastal New England. Well, I still think that but the clams and mussles at Antico Dolo were some of the sweetest I've ever tasted. We ordered the special appetizer which was a selection of cheeses each served with a chutney or mustard that was out of this world. There was a gorgonzola pasta dish that was also terrific and I forget what the others had but they loved it. We shared a dessert of tiramisu which was smooth as velvet and not too sweet. The next night we were again exhausted and starving so we went back again. It's a little hole in the wall with probably just a dozen tables but was filled with locals.
We had sun 2 of our 5 days and mostly gray skies for the rest. It rained off and on but we were well prepared for the weather and didn't let it slow us down. That said, traveling this time of year has pros and cons. The pros obviously include the lack of crowds, lower prices in stores, ease with which you can get a table in restaurants and generally just getting a better sense of place.
The cons are the lack of color which sounds ridiculous because even on the gray days it is still the most colorful city I have ever seen. I can only imagine what it was like at its peak when the Ca d'Oro was covered with gold leaf and other palaces were frescoed by masters. The flowers in June truly do guild the lily but add to the surreal beauty of the city and I missed them. I also missed sitting outside listening to the orchestra play Moon River on San Marco, sipping a cocktail while while the boys feed the pigeons. I can get a lump in my throat when I think of that. I'll forever think of Venice when I hear that song. So we'll go again, perhaps next time in late September or early October but probably not in winter.
Here is a link to my photo slide show. Be warned, it takes 20 minutes to watch and it isn't set to music. I wish it were but Photobucket slide shows set to music limit you to 100 photos. God forbid. If it were I'd set it to Moon River. Thank you for the help and advice on the front side of our trip.
http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/ ... =slideshow
I had never felt a strong desire to visit there... til now... would hope to miss the "high water" though.