a place like no other
25 april 2004

i can only deal with and feel happy about having another birthday and aging another year if i do something really special to celebrate. since moving to europe this has translated into a short trip to italy every year, or in other words, i've become extremely spoiled. but why stay here if we can't take advantage of accessibility to these dreamy destinations? certainly not for the weather. last year i was disappointed and pouted alot because gary had to go to the states for business on my birthday but this year- VENICE!

yes, it is everything you imagine it to be and more. as we stepped out of the airport bus and into the throngs of people awaiting the waterbus- or vaporetto- i already began to sense how unique venice is. as we know, boats are not my first choice of getting from place to place, however in a city connected by waterways there is no other choice. i would just have to get over it and i did. i insisted that we sit up front and outside in order to minimize that weird claustrophobic, sick feeling i sometimes get and i even relished the fresh sea air of the grand canal on my face. {never mind that my hair looked pretty bad blowing around in the wind but i got over that too, sort of}. twenty minutes later, we were at rialto bridge among hoards of tourists, slipping into a quiet alley and locating our pensione/bed &breakfast. gary schlepped the huge suitcase up five flights of steps and we were greeted by a lovely woman, constanza, who spoke no english. buona sera! there were only three rooms in the house and we got to choose since we were the first guests to arrive. we chose the blue room. casa guardotti was recommended to us by our friend laura who stayed there. she was not exaggerating when she told us to expect personal service. it could not have been more pleasant especially when we met suzanna, the owner, who did speak english and who chatted with us at length. constanza provided us with a tailor made breakfast each morning, afternoon tea or aperitif, and bottled water each night. this place was a real find.

we arrived late wednesday afternoon and fortunately there was still plenty of shopping and browsing time left. in the first hour, we bought a belt for me, which the salesman cut to my size, a pair of sunglasses {even though it was raining}, an umbrella because we left ours in the room, and a glass bottle stopper, which is a specialty of the region. we also had our eye on a leather travel bag and a small red leather back pack/purse for me. let me tell you about the leather in italy. first of all it's not very expensive. secondly, it's of beautiful quality, and thirdly, it's everywhere in the most lusciously diverse colors. i've never seen so many bag and purse stores. a few days later we even went to a tiny shop that could fit about three people inside where they custom make bags and belts. i chose an ostrich belt in brown that had been made at that shop with the maker's name inside. that felt pretty special and i will think of that nice italian man every time i wear it. but i'm getting ahead of the chronology.

there is so much to take in in venice. you can see at once the oppulence the city once had, being the powerful entity that it was in the middle ages. gazing across the grand canal, most buildings are palazzos replete with ornate detail and vertical windows. many of these once palatial edifices have turkish windows, the shape and style of the arc at the top being distinctly byzantine. in those prosperous times, the venetian doges established the city as a world power which extended throughout the mediterranean to constantinople {modern day istanbul}and the art and architecture reflect this influence. today the palazzi have become museums, shops, apartments, and hotels but the essential matrix of the original venice is basically unchanged. walking through the byzantine warren of streets and alleyways, you become lost, sometimes literally, in its charm and you are transported back a few centuries. you see barges delivering supplies and every other variety of boat; there are no roads, only foot or water traffic. you can spend hours meandering. this is truly the buzz about venice.

my birthday dinner was only the first of many impeccable dinners. i love italian food because it's simple. they use the freshest ingredients and you can actually taste even the most delicate herb. i never really liked cherry tomatoes and the fact that they squirt always bothered me. but in italy the tomatoes are robust with flavor and i've taken to ordering them quite often. artichokes are in season now, freshly grilled, which is something altogether different than the canned variety. we also had caprese salad with the finest buffalo mozarella from naples. every restaurant offers grilled fish, most notably squid- my kinda town! my birthday isn't complete without eating gelato while strolling and in most italian cities this is what people do after dinner, but for some reason this is not a venetian activity. the gelaterias were closed for the night. i had just about given up hope as the evening wore on. but we kept walking and walking and suddenly we saw a woman eating gelato. we looked at each other, perked up, and quickened our steps. heading in the direction she had come from, it wasn't long before we found it and so the day was complete as we savored our late night treats.

our first order of tourist business on thursday was a visit to basilica di san marco. the length of the line can be off putting but it's just something you have to resolve yourself to doing. at least it moved fairly quickly and we got to hear japanese, french, german, spanish, so we weren't too bored while queing. piazza san marco {st. mark's square} is enormous, offering a good assortment of people watching. the piazza was described by napoleon as "the most elegant drawing room in europe". once inside we stood agape at the expanse alone. architecturally it is a mix of east and west. it is without a doubt one of the greatest buildings standing in europe and my third favorite tourist attraction of all time, trailing only behind the sistine chapel and the alhambra in spain. much of the exterior has been decorated from the republic's overseas empire; columns, bas reliefs and coloured marbles inlaid across the main facade. one feature that really stands out are the four bronze horses poised atop the the building, brought in 1204 from constantinople. these are actually replicas, the originals are housed inside the basilica's museum, which we didn't visit. there are glittering gold mosaics everywhere and romanesque carvings can be seen as well. even the atruim ceiling is astounding with its genesis cupola, describing the creation of the world in concentric circles. the interior boasts more splendorous mosaics, including marble and glass patterns in the floor. the design is exotic, not a word i would usually associate with a church. but with its turkish hanging lamps lit with red votives, you feel the warm presence of a different part of the world. tucked away behind the high altar stands the pala d'oro, the jewelled treasure of the basilica. this altarpiece was commissioned in byzantium in AD 976 and has been embellished over the centuries. it is a series of 250 enamel paintings on gold foil, enveloped by a silver gothic frame and adorned with dazzling precious jewels. the paintings depict events in the life of st. mark, the patron saint of venice, and also represent important milestones of christianity, including the ascension and pentecost. st. mark's tomb is displayed nearby and the story goes that his body was lost in a fire of AD 976 and then reappeared in this spot in 1094 when the consecration of the new church took place.

harry's bar has been around since 1931 and we felt compelled to check it out as it is the legendary wateringhole of ernest hemingway. the original owner was italian but it was named after the american who financed it. it reeks of another decade; it felt very 50's to me with its short, high bar and drab wood panelling, simple decor and white linen on the tables. it gets a lot of tourist traffic but seems also popular with the locals. we only had coffee/tea and noticed that most other tourists were ordering bellinis, the house drink - fresh peach juice mixed with prosecco wine, which has a little bit of bubble to it. sounds refreshing although the price wasn't - 14 euros apiece! good thing we had already eaten lunch.

my one proud language moment came when we stopped at the post office to get stamps. i had my phrase book with me and instructed gary not to interrupt as i was determined to spit out a whole sentence. the woman behind the counter actually understood me and we got what we needed. we spent the rest of the afternoon getting far away from tourist hell. walking along quayside we ended up at giardini, a pleasant park in a real neighborhood with wide tree lined avenues. it makes a nice contrast to all the tiny, winding alleys in the heart of the city. this is the site of the biennale, an extensive art exhibition that takes place every two years, which gary was able to see during his trip to venice in 1995.

the next day was beaming with sunlight so we decided it would be a good day for an excursion. we got some info from suzanna about the more rustic islands and boated over to san erasmo, about a 40 minute trip. {i'm trying to work myself up to a major boat trip at some point but one step at a time.} the boat made a few stops, one being to let a man off on his private island. it had a gate and his dogs were there to greet him on the dock. he was probably coming back from doing his shopping in town, which just happened to be on another island. san erasmo is an island of agriculture, the irony being the presence of loud farm machinery amidst a tiny population as opposed to venice, which has no motorized sounds but millions of people. it's pretty sleepy there; this island has exactly one restaurant, which was of course our destination for lunch. we showed up at peak time, friday at noon, hungry and ready to eat. the italians are so proud of their culinary skills, they sometimes don't let you choose. this was the case here. no menu, the waitress told us what they were serving and we communicated successfully that i am a vegetarian who eats fish. we were sated with fresh pasta with scampi, an entire plate of lightly battered fish, and a salad that i'm sure was picked five minutes ago from their garden. as far as food is concerned, there's really no reason to go to any other country!

on the return trip we stopped at another island, murano, which has been the centre of the glassmaking industry since 1291. there are still some houses along the water from this period. it's a charming place and like venice is made up of a collection of small islands connected by bridges. originally the glass factories were located in venice but were moved here to alleviate the risk of fire and the unpleasant effects of the smoke. we watched the process at one of the factories through an open window. the craftsmen looked pretty unfased about being on display but we certainly enjoyed a glimpse at this process. there are no lack of shops and as beautiful as the delicate glass is, they all started to look alike after awhile. i bought three pairs of earrings in different colors and that was the extent of our shopping. we headed back to venice and strolled the narrow streets. eventually we made our way to one of the many lively, cheerful piazzas. this is why italy is such a relaxing place- you can sit for hours having a drink and watching all the activity surrounding you. we did this at night too, which induces a different energy, more mellow yet just as inviting. on the way back to our pensione, we discovered another lively shopping street. earlier i had seen a type of pastry in the window of a bakery and i was now obsessed with finding it. it looked really tasty. these cookies are called zaletti, some are flavored with pistachio and some have raisins inside. after tasting them, we kept buying them from different shops, thinking that we might not be able to find them again. i lost track and when we got back to amsterdam, i had so many, i had to give some away. too dangerous to have around!

it is impossible not to fall in love with venice and the gondolas define part of the charm of the old city. while idle, the boats are docked together between colorful, striped poles of the barber shop variety, only narrower. they loll gently in their resting state. sometimes you see one parked on one of the side canal, a handsome gondolier clad in striped shirt and straw hat trying to lure customers for a peaceful ride. most of the boats are fitted with "king and queen" chairs for ultimate comfort, however many participants choose to stand. we didn't take a gondola ride, they're quite expensive and since i'm not a boat lover, i opted for more of a less costly, vicarious experience. but we did take a 30 second traghetto ride, a gondola that takes you to the other side of the grand canal. there we were among the local italian men we took our cue from them and stood, which is obviously the way it's done.

we glided over to the other side of the canal, our destination being the peggy guggenheim museum. she was a wealthy american who settled in one of these 18th grand palazzos, with a penchant for contemporary art. her home became a museum and the collection boasts all the big names barring none. we realized that she was probably an art lover who, through her influence and personal taste, actually helped define who was popular in 20th century art. she's responsible for "discovering" jackson pollack and an entire room in her collection is devoted to his work. she became part of the inner circle of the abstract and surrealist artistic world. she befriended and promoted the careers of some of these artists, including max ernst who became her second husband. one of the most interesting and bizarre paintings is called "empire of light" by the surrealist magritte. it shows a darkened house isolated in a wooded setting at night with a sky bathed in bright daylight and evokes a chilling reaction. i took the audio tour so i was able to hear her thoughts on these and other subjects as i experienced the collection myself. outside the one story palazzo, the paved garden displays an array of modern sculpture and this is also where guggenheim's ashes are preserved along with her precious dogs.

we spent the rest of the day walking and sitting in the piazza st. marghereta observing the action. kids playing, people drinking coffee, fruit sellers doing business and others going about their day. it's great fun to be a part of this lively culture for a few days. we were also anticipating a wonderful dinner. suzanne, our lovely hostess had lent us a book describing in detail all of the worthy restaurants in venice. we had made a reservation at corte sconta, a place tucked away on one of the off the beaten side streets and not easy to find. gary was of course able to find it without a problem, since he is a master with a map. we decided to dress up a little since it was our last night but in fact most people were in jeans when we arrived. we had a shaky start as we entered and the host/owner proceeded to ignore us for a few minutes while he seated the italians first and left us standing awkwardly at the front. he also scorned us for wanting to sit next to each other, not across from each other. too bad, we weren't changing. as we shifted uncomfortably in our seats waiting for menus, i silently hoped that the energy would turn around. soon the owner's wife came to us and in very good english explained the menu in detail. this was a fish restaurant famous for their muti course appetizer which we knew we wanted immediately, followed by a pasta course. it was a tough decision to forgo the grilled fish main course for two but we just had to go with the pasta. gary ordered black pasta with tuna and basil and i choose taglitelle with scallops. at the risk of insulting the woman, i asked if the sauce was made with cream. she emphatically replied shaking her head, "NEVER", which was exactly what i wanted to hear!

back to the appetizer- it started with three dishes, sea bass carpaccio, thinly sliced and delicately bathed in lime juice with a hint of orange and pineapple {normally i hate fruit in my food but this was divine}, tuna in balsamic vinegar, and fresh crabmeat presented in a shell. then there was roe on polenta, a dish of tiny baby clams steamed in ginger and served with herbs, crab pate on melba toast, a platter of octopus, shrimp, mussels, and snails in olive oil... grand total- seven course appetizer, more of a meal than a starter. we still had room for pasta, which was superbly done, because the italians don't drown their food in heavy sauces like the french do. alas we weren't able to squeeze in dessert. as we looked around the room, we saw a very simple setting of white walls, unadorned hanging lamps, nothing on the walls, and no music playing. only the jovial sound of people socializing around an exquisite meal. it's really all about the food - nothing extra needed to create the atmosphere. this was one of the most special meals we've ever had. what a great memory for our last night in venice. we're still talking about that food.

the next day was palm sunday and when we checked out of our cozy hotel, constanza presented us with two chocolate easter eggs wrapped with red ribbons on behalf of suzanne, who wasn't around that morning. we left our bags there as we still had a few hours before we had to leave. we were so impressed with how warmly suzanne and constanza treated us that we bought them each a bouquet of flowers in order to show our appreciation. the look on constanza's face was priceless when we gave them to her. actually that whole trip was priceless and i'm not sure how we will top this next year as the italian birthday tradition continues. stay tuned......

ciao bella,

deb