Venezia!

Venice really brought the photographer out in my husband, so we have lots and lots of pictures to share. I suggest you grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, sit back, relax and enjoy the trip…

We headed to Venice on Thursday, February 4th via the train. We had high hopes for our sleeping car from Dijon to Venice since we had paid for first class accommodations. Those hopes were quickly dashed when we boarded the train. I swear the train we took was one of the ones I took while I was in college in France in 1989- and the train was old at that time, so now it is ancient! I soon learned that paying for first class really just meant that we did not have to share our sleeping car (fondly referred to as a couchette) with random people. So, it was just the four of us (and our suitcases!) jammed into the tiny compartment with a few sheets and flimsy blankets. The potties and sinks were down the hall and they were far from clean and tidy. We all agreed to mark it up as an “experience,” and hoped for better sleeping quarters when we reached Venice.

We were not disappointed…The place we stayed in Venice was magical! While planning our trip, I searched the internet for a place to stay and discovered that beautiful hotels were plentiful, but the price tags were astronomical. We wanted to stay at a luxurious place that was well located, but that would not cost an arm and a leg. It was then that I discovered Locando Orseolo! It is difficult to put into words how special this little boutique hotel turned out to be. The location, attention to detail, décor, breakfast and overall accommodations were extraordinary. Those were the things we were hoping for…but the impeccable service and sincere friendliness that the wonderful people of Locanda Orseolo offered totally exceeded all of our expectations! From the moment we arrived, we felt welcome and at home…they made us feel very special. They gave us lots of suggestions for things to do, places to eat and sites to see while exuding genuine hospitality.

We arrived at the hotel via water taxi which cost a bit more than the public bus/boat system, but was well worth it. The driver maneuvered his way from the Grand Canal into narrow charming canals as we oowed and awhed. We saw gondoliers showing tourists the sites and local Venetians doing their daily routine on the water channels. Eventually, the driver pulled up to a small glass door situated right about the waterline near a bridge. After knocking, the door opened and Gigi and Barbara from Locando Orseolo greeted us with smiles! It was so cool. We got settled in our rooms and soon struck out to find our first Italian meal! Nothing compares to Italian cuisine! The gracious staff at Locando Orseolo recommended wonderful restaurants…at Caffe del Doge we had cappuccinos and sweets; at La Corte I ate a margarita pizza with rucola that I have been dreaming about ever since; at Barababao Bucky started with a shrimp and polenta appetizer and enjoyed spaghetti with cuttlefish as an entrée; at Anima Bella, the chef prepared a cream and tomato sauce especially for the girls’ pasta and I had a wonderful pesto lasagna that I ate with a spoon! Of course, we stopped for gelato everyday and decided that bacio, nutella and stracciatella are some (note some) of our favorite flavors.

We were loyal mask buyers at Cristal Star located at Calle dei Fabbri 1017 where that have original, traditional masks that are hand-made in the shop. We were a little hesitant to buy masks at first because we arrived in Venice the day before Carnevale actually started so we hadn’t seen many people in them yet, but we decided to go for it. And a good thing we did…everyone was wearing masks by Saturday so we felt like we started a trend. Note that it is impossible to wear glasses while wearing a mask that ties on so for the sake of fitting in, I went glass-less. Luckily, I wasn’t driving! Bucky is basically blind sans glasses so he chose to go with the popular Casanova hat instead of a mask. The hat also came in handy as a “mask-holder” when we mask-wearers got tired of wearing them! Lucie chose a beautiful white, blue and silver glittery number, but upon her first outing with said mask, she felt claustrophobic, so we went the face painting route. Thank goodness for the talented artists who were set up along the lagoon outside of St. Marks Square painting faces…we were frequent visitors!

The theme for Carnevale 2010 was Sensation and they highlighted the six senses (taste, touch, sight, hearing, smell and mind) at various piazzas throughout Venice. At the location for touch, we attended an exhibit called Carnevale al Buio which means Carnival in the Dark. It was a fabulous experience where we had the opportunity to feel what it is like to be blind. The Milan Institute for the Blind sponsored the event and we had our own private tour with an Italian guide who speaks English with a New York accent because he lived there for 12 years. Besides attending some of the scheduled events, we took advantage of just wandering through the city and soaking up the experience. It was amazing how many people attend Carnevale…and how many people get decked out in costumes on a daily basis. The costumed people wandered around the streets so that the non-costumed people could take pictures of them. Some of the costumed people even handed out their business cards so that the photographers (professionals and amateurs alike) could contact them.

We celebrated Lucie’s 13th birthday with the required gondola ride and lunch at Hard Rock Café. It was fun to have a taste of America for the festivities! She had no desire to do museums or historical outings on her day, so we basically just took it easy and lounged around. A perfect day for Lucie. Really, it was a perfect vacation overall for the Wall family, although we were not so keen about getting back on the train in Venice to head home Tuesday. Besides the fact that we weren’t eager to leave the magic of Venice, we also weren’t excited about spending another night on that ancient train! So, Bucky and I armed ourselves with a bottle of wine and some treats for the girls. We set up camp in our couchette and headed back to France. On our trip home, we all agreed that we made some wonderful memories in Venice and luckily have lots and lots and lots of pictures!

In the couchette...I am having flashbacks to '89!

In the water taxi on the way to the hotel...

View from the water taxi...

This is the little glass door we entered...

Our first shopping trips for masks...

Meow...

Venice...

Preparing for Carnevale in St. Marks Square...

More masks...

More Venice...

First face painting trip...

View from our room...Bucky was obsessed with photographing the boats!

Mangia! Mangia!

Carnevale!

The completed lion...(see the fruits and veggies?)

La famille...

Costumes....

More Carnevale...

The angel dropping from the bell tower...

More costumes...

The crowd!

More face painting...

An afternoon in Burano, an island where the fisherman paint their houses in bright colors so that they can recognize them...

More Burano...

More Venice...

Bucky headed out at 6:30am one morning to photograph "the masks" with all of the photographers. This is some of what he captured...

The photographers taking pictures of the masks...

On the gondola...

Lucie turns 13!

Dad celebrating...

Au revoir Venezia!!