Four pastas, three fires, someone will wait - Candert Trip Report
Oct 26th, 2004, 07:07 PM
#21
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Bob, I agree. We found ourselves continually drawn back to there; enjoying the the people watching, debating the architecture of the town's Campanile, etc. Piran was our favorite town on the peninsula. The upcoming day of my report we circled it. Down to Pula, up the other side to Opatija, and then back to Piran. Long day. Thanks for reading my report thus far - Chris.
Oct 28th, 2004, 07:30 AM
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October 7
We both finally got almost a full night of sleep, but Liz awoke with the early signs of my cold. I think the late night and grappa greatly assisted my sleeping. The plan was to meet a little later this morning, but that?s a task almost impossible for Liz. Never seen such an early riser. She was the first downstairs for breakfast. I?m not sure if I mentioned the Hotel Tartini?s breakfast previously or not. The selection is a little broader than your standard European fare. They have the usual breads, meats cheeses, fruits, juices and coffee, but they also offer scrambled eggs and different sausages. When Liz got down there a large group of British tourist were just clearing out, and the pickings were real slim. The staff asked Liz what she wanted and went bag to prepare special yolk free scrambled eggs with some rosemary to taste. She was quite impressed by the service and attention.
Today we set out for the tour of the Istrian peninsula. Our first stop is Pula located on the southern tip. The drive was a little longer then I would?ve guessed, but I can?t recall the exact distance. Road construction was everywhere. I think if you were to make this trip next year you?d travel 120 kph plus as opposed to 70 kph we drove at. The Croatian countryside is a little rugged and quite empty. Lots of little random vineyards or ?two horse? towns, but nothing of real regard.
Pula is bigger town, much larger than what we?ve encountered in Croatia thus far. The city has a number of Roman ruins. The most notable is far from a ruin. Pula is home to largest surviving Roman Amphitheater. The entire outer façade is still standing and looks of reasonable condition. We purchased tickets to tour and film. It was interesting to see, especially after visiting the Coliseum last year, but its not one of those things you expect to be brought up at a cocktail party. ?Say Chris, have you ever been to the largest maintained Roman Amphitheater?? It?s just not coming up. The one highlight for me was the nice little gift store that sold various tiles depicting Pula and the Amphitheater.
Outside of my tile find the rest of Pula?s treasures weren?t too extraordinary. There are a couple of victory arches and a temple, but nothing that blows your socks off. The town does have a lot more of ?stuff? with shops and restaurants, but to Liz?s dismay no one would venture off with her. This group wanted lunch.
We had lunch in the square in front of Augustus Temple. It was pretty unimpressive. I?ll save you the details by saying we rated it a 5.5, which have been generous.
With lunch over the navigator had us drive off to the next town ? Opatija. It?s located on the far northeast corner of the peninsula. I think when this trip was mapped out the idea of driving under estimated, plus I think we spent too much time in Pula. The navigator had actually picked out one or two more towns for the day. Opatija was referred to as the ?Salzburg by the sea? in the guidebook. Not quite. The town did have a nice park with a villa and church along the sea, but the only resemblance of Salzburg was a plaque outside a building bearing a portrait of Gustav Mahler saying he resided there at one time.
At this point the day had gone much longer then some of us had hoped. We had put in some serious car time as well. The sun was getting close to setting and we still had to cross the peninsula to make it back to Piran. Upon leaving Opatija we encountered a speed trap set by the Croatian Police. We were on a freeway that came to an abrupt end because that?s as far as it was constructed. Liz and I were in the second car. The police pulled over are friends in front. The story was that they didn?t decelerate fast enough. Those it that car concluded it was sham, but what else do you do. The police asked for Kronas but our friends had none. They offered to pay in US dollars, but the police didn?t want that. They told our friends the fine was 70 in Euros. Our friends came up with 50E (I think they were hiding some). The police said he would accept that because ?He wanted them to come back to Croatia some time.? So were off again for what I recall was a two hour drive.
By the time we reached Piran Liz had been over taken by the day and my cold. She opted for dinner in the hotel room. I was starting to feel better so I went to dinner with the others. With Liz not being there I?m without dictation for the evening. I?ve been putting together most of this trip report thanks to her copious notes and journal. So for the lack of my memory I can?t tell you where we ate which is a shame because it was the groups favorite restaurant of Piran. It?s located on the same seaside strip as the rest, but is a lot more intimate setting, and actually had a different menu. We joked that it must have been called Pavel 3. The menu was smaller than the Pavel?s but has a different selection. My appetite was coming back and I think I won ?best ordering? for the night. I went back to a three course meal in preparation for Italy tomorrow. I started with a fish soup, and then some very lightly fried calamari, and finished it off with scampi and gorgonzola gnocchi. This was my first experience with gnocchi. For lack of a better explanation they are small little pasta balls, and certainly not dumplings. I was hooked. What a reat dish. The ladies of the group also had them, said they were quite good, but to wait for Venice and Harry?s Dolce. According to my friends Harry?s is the ?mothership? of gnocchi. I rated ?Pavel 3? a 12. Nice meal. After dinner we all retired early. Tomorrow we drive for Venice and the goal is to be on the road by 7am.
We both finally got almost a full night of sleep, but Liz awoke with the early signs of my cold. I think the late night and grappa greatly assisted my sleeping. The plan was to meet a little later this morning, but that?s a task almost impossible for Liz. Never seen such an early riser. She was the first downstairs for breakfast. I?m not sure if I mentioned the Hotel Tartini?s breakfast previously or not. The selection is a little broader than your standard European fare. They have the usual breads, meats cheeses, fruits, juices and coffee, but they also offer scrambled eggs and different sausages. When Liz got down there a large group of British tourist were just clearing out, and the pickings were real slim. The staff asked Liz what she wanted and went bag to prepare special yolk free scrambled eggs with some rosemary to taste. She was quite impressed by the service and attention.
Today we set out for the tour of the Istrian peninsula. Our first stop is Pula located on the southern tip. The drive was a little longer then I would?ve guessed, but I can?t recall the exact distance. Road construction was everywhere. I think if you were to make this trip next year you?d travel 120 kph plus as opposed to 70 kph we drove at. The Croatian countryside is a little rugged and quite empty. Lots of little random vineyards or ?two horse? towns, but nothing of real regard.
Pula is bigger town, much larger than what we?ve encountered in Croatia thus far. The city has a number of Roman ruins. The most notable is far from a ruin. Pula is home to largest surviving Roman Amphitheater. The entire outer façade is still standing and looks of reasonable condition. We purchased tickets to tour and film. It was interesting to see, especially after visiting the Coliseum last year, but its not one of those things you expect to be brought up at a cocktail party. ?Say Chris, have you ever been to the largest maintained Roman Amphitheater?? It?s just not coming up. The one highlight for me was the nice little gift store that sold various tiles depicting Pula and the Amphitheater.
Outside of my tile find the rest of Pula?s treasures weren?t too extraordinary. There are a couple of victory arches and a temple, but nothing that blows your socks off. The town does have a lot more of ?stuff? with shops and restaurants, but to Liz?s dismay no one would venture off with her. This group wanted lunch.
We had lunch in the square in front of Augustus Temple. It was pretty unimpressive. I?ll save you the details by saying we rated it a 5.5, which have been generous.
With lunch over the navigator had us drive off to the next town ? Opatija. It?s located on the far northeast corner of the peninsula. I think when this trip was mapped out the idea of driving under estimated, plus I think we spent too much time in Pula. The navigator had actually picked out one or two more towns for the day. Opatija was referred to as the ?Salzburg by the sea? in the guidebook. Not quite. The town did have a nice park with a villa and church along the sea, but the only resemblance of Salzburg was a plaque outside a building bearing a portrait of Gustav Mahler saying he resided there at one time.
At this point the day had gone much longer then some of us had hoped. We had put in some serious car time as well. The sun was getting close to setting and we still had to cross the peninsula to make it back to Piran. Upon leaving Opatija we encountered a speed trap set by the Croatian Police. We were on a freeway that came to an abrupt end because that?s as far as it was constructed. Liz and I were in the second car. The police pulled over are friends in front. The story was that they didn?t decelerate fast enough. Those it that car concluded it was sham, but what else do you do. The police asked for Kronas but our friends had none. They offered to pay in US dollars, but the police didn?t want that. They told our friends the fine was 70 in Euros. Our friends came up with 50E (I think they were hiding some). The police said he would accept that because ?He wanted them to come back to Croatia some time.? So were off again for what I recall was a two hour drive.
By the time we reached Piran Liz had been over taken by the day and my cold. She opted for dinner in the hotel room. I was starting to feel better so I went to dinner with the others. With Liz not being there I?m without dictation for the evening. I?ve been putting together most of this trip report thanks to her copious notes and journal. So for the lack of my memory I can?t tell you where we ate which is a shame because it was the groups favorite restaurant of Piran. It?s located on the same seaside strip as the rest, but is a lot more intimate setting, and actually had a different menu. We joked that it must have been called Pavel 3. The menu was smaller than the Pavel?s but has a different selection. My appetite was coming back and I think I won ?best ordering? for the night. I went back to a three course meal in preparation for Italy tomorrow. I started with a fish soup, and then some very lightly fried calamari, and finished it off with scampi and gorgonzola gnocchi. This was my first experience with gnocchi. For lack of a better explanation they are small little pasta balls, and certainly not dumplings. I was hooked. What a reat dish. The ladies of the group also had them, said they were quite good, but to wait for Venice and Harry?s Dolce. According to my friends Harry?s is the ?mothership? of gnocchi. I rated ?Pavel 3? a 12. Nice meal. After dinner we all retired early. Tomorrow we drive for Venice and the goal is to be on the road by 7am.
Oct 28th, 2004, 10:40 AM
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October 8
We left Piran on schedule. The drive to Venice was relatively easy. The Slovenian wheelbarrow crew was still working on the road near the border, but thanks to our early departure the traffic wasn't bad yet.
We needed to return our rental car at Pizzale Roma. Last night Liz's Dad passed on some great advice for returning a car in Venice. He said no matter what just get in line for the main parking ramp at Pizzale Roma. Don't try and find the rental office. Just drive in the ramp and go to the top (Level 10). He said we'd find marked parking spaces for our respective rental company. Well, he was 95% right. There are not any specific marked spots. We drove to the top level, unloaded our luggage, and brought our rental agreement down to the street level agency. There was a mess of people down there trying to return cars, but they all still had their car and were confused as what to do. I gave the agent my keys and the agreement. She looked pleased that someone finally did this right. She closed are account and stamped the agreement. She didn't care exactly where the car was, but oh well. We were off to the Grand Canale!!!
Liz and I have never been to Venice before. I'm still relatively new to European travel while Liz took many trips over while growing up, but she never went to Venice. Her parents said that she wasn't allowed in the city until she went with a lover.
Liz and I took the vaparetto #1 down the canal. It makes every stop on the canal, but its a nice slow entrance to Venice. It lets you take the whole thing in.
Our caravan west to Venice broke up along the way. It wasn't a big deal be Liz and I were staying in a different hotel then our friends. We had plans to meet for lunch. Well as we are heading down the canal in the vaperetto here come our friends in a water taxi the opposite direction. We all got good photos of each other!
We left Piran on schedule. The drive to Venice was relatively easy. The Slovenian wheelbarrow crew was still working on the road near the border, but thanks to our early departure the traffic wasn't bad yet.
We needed to return our rental car at Pizzale Roma. Last night Liz's Dad passed on some great advice for returning a car in Venice. He said no matter what just get in line for the main parking ramp at Pizzale Roma. Don't try and find the rental office. Just drive in the ramp and go to the top (Level 10). He said we'd find marked parking spaces for our respective rental company. Well, he was 95% right. There are not any specific marked spots. We drove to the top level, unloaded our luggage, and brought our rental agreement down to the street level agency. There was a mess of people down there trying to return cars, but they all still had their car and were confused as what to do. I gave the agent my keys and the agreement. She looked pleased that someone finally did this right. She closed are account and stamped the agreement. She didn't care exactly where the car was, but oh well. We were off to the Grand Canale!!!
Liz and I have never been to Venice before. I'm still relatively new to European travel while Liz took many trips over while growing up, but she never went to Venice. Her parents said that she wasn't allowed in the city until she went with a lover.
Liz and I took the vaparetto #1 down the canal. It makes every stop on the canal, but its a nice slow entrance to Venice. It lets you take the whole thing in.
Our caravan west to Venice broke up along the way. It wasn't a big deal be Liz and I were staying in a different hotel then our friends. We had plans to meet for lunch. Well as we are heading down the canal in the vaperetto here come our friends in a water taxi the opposite direction. We all got good photos of each other!
Oct 28th, 2004, 01:27 PM
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Our canal ride came to an end at St. Marks Square. This was a pretty impressive way to enter Venice. Our hotel was a couple blokcs off the square so we kind of fell into this entrance. We stayed at the Locanda Orseolo. They provided us great directions for reaching the hotel from the square.
This was my first real hotel selection. On our other trips to Europe we relied heavily or completely on Liz's mom to guide us. I researched Venice's hotels through recommendations here, Fodors guide, Veniceby.com and others. Boy did I hit a homerun with the Locnada Oreseolo. I saw nothing but endless praise for this hotel on the site, and they were dead on. The hotel is run by a family; Mateo, Barbara, Bruno and Francesco. When we arrived we were quickly greeted by Bruno and Francesco. They knew who we were and were overly friendly. Every other sentence was "Ciao Chris! Ciao Liz!" It was like you were a guest in someones home. We had a room on the second floor over looking a canal. Its a very nice room, not huge but good condition and still smelling of cleaner (not an offensive smell just reassuring). After unpacking and cleaning up we head out for some exploring before lunch. "Ciao Chris! Ciao Liz!" Very friendly people.
All of our meals in Venice were planned. Our friends our foodies and we were blessed to be with them. Lunch was scheduled for Monaco & Grand.
We had an hour before lunch so we went to go take in more of San Marco and do a little window shopping. First place we see - jewelry. Yikes! But it was all right because they sold Liz's Nomination charms. And wouldn't you know it there are special charms that you can only buy in Venice; the Venetian Lion, the Rialto Bridge, and a gondola. We bought the lion and the bridge, but determined the gonodola charm would have to be "earned" via a ride.
We met our friends at Monaco & Grand. It was the ideal fall afternoon. The sun was shining, it was warm, and we had a table on their patio over looking the Grand Canale. We started off immediately with the requisite Bellini. So good! Liz ordered a Scampi & Zucchini salad, and a gazpacho. I started with fish soup, and Squid in its own ink. The fish soup was good. It was made with a slight curry broth, but the Squid was fabulous! It was served up at the table. The black ink was gravy-like and came in a half-moon on one side of the plate. The other side was bright yellow polenta. What a great contrast. Polenta is polenta, but the squid was great. I had to fend off Liz from eating too much of my meal. She quickly proclaimed this the best meal of the trip thus far. Our ratings followed up the claim. We gave lunch a 14.25. By far our highest rated meal. Atmosphere got a perfect five.
Before we leave Monaco & Grand I'd be remiss if I didn't include one more boast. They have some of the coolest bathrooms I've ever seen. I won't waste time describing an entire bathroom, but it has a marvelous sink. It's a three foot marble cylinder that's hollow down to the floor. There was a lone brass pipe that came up as the faucet. More a work of art than a sink. Liz used a half page of her journal just to draw it.
This was my first real hotel selection. On our other trips to Europe we relied heavily or completely on Liz's mom to guide us. I researched Venice's hotels through recommendations here, Fodors guide, Veniceby.com and others. Boy did I hit a homerun with the Locnada Oreseolo. I saw nothing but endless praise for this hotel on the site, and they were dead on. The hotel is run by a family; Mateo, Barbara, Bruno and Francesco. When we arrived we were quickly greeted by Bruno and Francesco. They knew who we were and were overly friendly. Every other sentence was "Ciao Chris! Ciao Liz!" It was like you were a guest in someones home. We had a room on the second floor over looking a canal. Its a very nice room, not huge but good condition and still smelling of cleaner (not an offensive smell just reassuring). After unpacking and cleaning up we head out for some exploring before lunch. "Ciao Chris! Ciao Liz!" Very friendly people.
All of our meals in Venice were planned. Our friends our foodies and we were blessed to be with them. Lunch was scheduled for Monaco & Grand.
We had an hour before lunch so we went to go take in more of San Marco and do a little window shopping. First place we see - jewelry. Yikes! But it was all right because they sold Liz's Nomination charms. And wouldn't you know it there are special charms that you can only buy in Venice; the Venetian Lion, the Rialto Bridge, and a gondola. We bought the lion and the bridge, but determined the gonodola charm would have to be "earned" via a ride.
We met our friends at Monaco & Grand. It was the ideal fall afternoon. The sun was shining, it was warm, and we had a table on their patio over looking the Grand Canale. We started off immediately with the requisite Bellini. So good! Liz ordered a Scampi & Zucchini salad, and a gazpacho. I started with fish soup, and Squid in its own ink. The fish soup was good. It was made with a slight curry broth, but the Squid was fabulous! It was served up at the table. The black ink was gravy-like and came in a half-moon on one side of the plate. The other side was bright yellow polenta. What a great contrast. Polenta is polenta, but the squid was great. I had to fend off Liz from eating too much of my meal. She quickly proclaimed this the best meal of the trip thus far. Our ratings followed up the claim. We gave lunch a 14.25. By far our highest rated meal. Atmosphere got a perfect five.
Before we leave Monaco & Grand I'd be remiss if I didn't include one more boast. They have some of the coolest bathrooms I've ever seen. I won't waste time describing an entire bathroom, but it has a marvelous sink. It's a three foot marble cylinder that's hollow down to the floor. There was a lone brass pipe that came up as the faucet. More a work of art than a sink. Liz used a half page of her journal just to draw it.
Oct 29th, 2004, 04:59 AM
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After lunch we all strolled through San Marco towards the Academia Bridge. Our destination was the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute. It took us quite a while to get there. Cameras were clicking and tape was rolling every few feet we stepped. It was a Venetian sensory overload. Out of the six of us only Liz was without a camera. She became our scout. As we all lagged behind in search of the perfect shot she would get frustrated and charge forward, and then report back her findings. I thought it was a good system (for now at least).
The basilica was an impressive sight from our vantage point at lunch, but upon closer inspection it wasn't an overwhelming sight. Maybe I've raised my standard too high with all the churhes we've seen the last few years, but I do enjoy the story of its creation. 50K residents die from the plague, but we survived. Let's build a churh to honor our salvation. Great stuff.
After touring we were trying to decide how to get back to St Marks. It seemed dumb to pay for the vaporetto for one stop. No one wanted to walk back to the bridge. Thanks to my Rick Steves Venice book I was an "In the Know" tourist. I directed us a couple blocks to the traghetto stand. The six of us got in and were ready for our ride across. Well I guess we weren't the most stable group. The two gondoliers made us all sit down. Oh well, not local yet.
The basilica was an impressive sight from our vantage point at lunch, but upon closer inspection it wasn't an overwhelming sight. Maybe I've raised my standard too high with all the churhes we've seen the last few years, but I do enjoy the story of its creation. 50K residents die from the plague, but we survived. Let's build a churh to honor our salvation. Great stuff.
After touring we were trying to decide how to get back to St Marks. It seemed dumb to pay for the vaporetto for one stop. No one wanted to walk back to the bridge. Thanks to my Rick Steves Venice book I was an "In the Know" tourist. I directed us a couple blocks to the traghetto stand. The six of us got in and were ready for our ride across. Well I guess we weren't the most stable group. The two gondoliers made us all sit down. Oh well, not local yet.
Nov 11th, 2004, 11:57 AM
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Sorry for the delay. That darn job thing has been interfering with my report. Have to make moeny for the next trip! If I don't finish in the next couple of day I think JMV will kill me next weekend in Napa after "restricting" her report so much. Anyways, back to Venice!
Our first dinner in Venice was at little gem of a seafood place called Trattoria alla Madonna. It's located in an alley just off of Rialto bridge. the place was packed. Thank God Julie planned ahead with resevations. Now the Trattoria is known for their seafood. My problem was that I was still "Pavel'd Out" from Piran. I made the mistake of ordering Proscuitto, Lasagna, and then Winerschnitzel. I was apparently craving meat. The other had a nice seafood appetizer and then eel for a main course. Boy I was wrong. Too top it off my main course wasn't served until the others had already finished. Serves me right I guess. I'd get to enjoy most of the table's Barolo, but beyond that a disappoinment on my part. We rated the restaurant an 11.5. It was dragged down by my 3's for Food and Service.
After dinner we split from the others for a little more romantic setting. Except we got side tracked by a nice street vendor.
Men selling fake purses are every where in Venice. I thought it was bad in Rome, but there are far more here. Anyway, Liz has wanted one of the white Louis Vitton purses with all the different colors. We saw a guy with the purse she wanted. I told Liz that if she could negotiate well go ahead and buy it. Well the bidding started at 50E, and Liz got him down to 20E after a bunch of back and forth. she was pretty impressed, and so was I though I thought the cops were coming and was just trying to unload. Anyways, we were impressed with the purchase. Well, two days later we saw the same fake purse hanging in a store with a price tag of 20E. At least we didn'get screwed.
Back to the romance...
It was a beutiful evening so we headed back to St. Marks Square. We set up shop at Cafe Florian. Enjoyed a half bottle of Pinot Grigio, and watched the small band play a collection of Italian Classics. The wine is over priced and not very good. They charge you an "Entertainment" fee just to sit there. But its one of the more enjoyable places in this world to be! There are two other cafe's on the square that play on a rotating basis. People dancing everywhere. The pigeons are gone. The square is so beautifully lit. Ah... Venice!!! To top it off the last song of the night is "Fly Me to the Moon."
October 9
The Day of Eating
We awoke quite early today. Well before breakfast is served. We thought it would be fun to experience Venice in the quiet, and head to the Rialto fish market. As anyone who reads guide books knows its one of the longest running fish markets. It certainly did not disappoint. The selection of fish was impressive. Many still flopping around. The big downer was the disovery that my video camera had died. I fried it the night before. Lesson learend - don't play with electronics after midnight and drinking wine.
Our first dinner in Venice was at little gem of a seafood place called Trattoria alla Madonna. It's located in an alley just off of Rialto bridge. the place was packed. Thank God Julie planned ahead with resevations. Now the Trattoria is known for their seafood. My problem was that I was still "Pavel'd Out" from Piran. I made the mistake of ordering Proscuitto, Lasagna, and then Winerschnitzel. I was apparently craving meat. The other had a nice seafood appetizer and then eel for a main course. Boy I was wrong. Too top it off my main course wasn't served until the others had already finished. Serves me right I guess. I'd get to enjoy most of the table's Barolo, but beyond that a disappoinment on my part. We rated the restaurant an 11.5. It was dragged down by my 3's for Food and Service.
After dinner we split from the others for a little more romantic setting. Except we got side tracked by a nice street vendor.
Men selling fake purses are every where in Venice. I thought it was bad in Rome, but there are far more here. Anyway, Liz has wanted one of the white Louis Vitton purses with all the different colors. We saw a guy with the purse she wanted. I told Liz that if she could negotiate well go ahead and buy it. Well the bidding started at 50E, and Liz got him down to 20E after a bunch of back and forth. she was pretty impressed, and so was I though I thought the cops were coming and was just trying to unload. Anyways, we were impressed with the purchase. Well, two days later we saw the same fake purse hanging in a store with a price tag of 20E. At least we didn'get screwed.
Back to the romance...
It was a beutiful evening so we headed back to St. Marks Square. We set up shop at Cafe Florian. Enjoyed a half bottle of Pinot Grigio, and watched the small band play a collection of Italian Classics. The wine is over priced and not very good. They charge you an "Entertainment" fee just to sit there. But its one of the more enjoyable places in this world to be! There are two other cafe's on the square that play on a rotating basis. People dancing everywhere. The pigeons are gone. The square is so beautifully lit. Ah... Venice!!! To top it off the last song of the night is "Fly Me to the Moon."
October 9
The Day of Eating
We awoke quite early today. Well before breakfast is served. We thought it would be fun to experience Venice in the quiet, and head to the Rialto fish market. As anyone who reads guide books knows its one of the longest running fish markets. It certainly did not disappoint. The selection of fish was impressive. Many still flopping around. The big downer was the disovery that my video camera had died. I fried it the night before. Lesson learend - don't play with electronics after midnight and drinking wine.
Nov 11th, 2004, 12:55 PM
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We walked back to the Orseolo for breakfast. They have two nice little rooms adajcent to the enterance. The first room has large door that opens inward revealing the canal. I'm sure it was used in the day for delivering supplies. I quickly claimed that spot as "our table." The buffet was nice, nothing over the top. They do make their own bread rolls fresh every morning. They're so good the good Dr. Atkins might have changed his tune (rest in peace). What made the meal was when Mateo came to check in. "What else can I make you?" I'm thinking he wants to see if I want coffee, etc. Nope, they'll get you that as well, but they make "special pancakes" (that's a Crepe for the dumb Americans like myself) and omelets made-to-order. I got a steaming crepe drizzled with powder sugar and honey. Liz got a veggie egg-white omelet. Quite impressed!
We were givne a great tip from a Fodorite before arriving in Venice. Prebook passes into St. Mark's Basillica. Fabulous idea! We arrived at 9:45am as our ticket showed. The lines to enter were winding all over the place. I walked up to front of the line and showed the guard my reservation piece of paper. He waved us through. Thanks whoever has left that idea. There is no way we would've waited in that line, and it would be a shame not visit this basillica. The interior is spectacular - old dark stone and golden mosaics. All sorts of relics "collected" my the Venetian empire. They do horde you through the place, and don't allow photos. So we didn't miss the camera. Here's the site to access for reservations:
http://www.alata.it/eng/booking/sanmarco.asp
We were givne a great tip from a Fodorite before arriving in Venice. Prebook passes into St. Mark's Basillica. Fabulous idea! We arrived at 9:45am as our ticket showed. The lines to enter were winding all over the place. I walked up to front of the line and showed the guard my reservation piece of paper. He waved us through. Thanks whoever has left that idea. There is no way we would've waited in that line, and it would be a shame not visit this basillica. The interior is spectacular - old dark stone and golden mosaics. All sorts of relics "collected" my the Venetian empire. They do horde you through the place, and don't allow photos. So we didn't miss the camera. Here's the site to access for reservations:
http://www.alata.it/eng/booking/sanmarco.asp
Nov 12th, 2004, 04:47 AM
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Brahmama - Thanks for your kind words, but our trip is far from over. We've barely began to eat on Eating Day.
After the Basillica we headed off to the Dorsoduro area to wander around. I kept trying to get us "lost in Venice" as all those books say you should do, but I think it was irratating Liz. She threatened to take the map book out of my hands if I didn't start paying attention. I wasn't giving up the map so I started to pay attention again.
The Dorsduro area doesn't have any "must see" viewings, but there are plenty of cute alleys (Liz's description) and random plazas. We stopped at Piazza Nuova for some espresso and the Herald Tribune. This is an area where students supposedly gather. It was nice enough. We actually thought about staying around here, but we always side with "stuff" and our glad we're staying in San Marco.
After our break we decided the rest of the morning should be spent searching for a tile for me, and a mask for Liz. We headed towards San Polo and encountered two successes. Liz found a miniture mask that will become an ornament on our xmas tree, and we located a little chinese restaurant. This spot will be lunch on our last day. Can't wait for dumplings!
We decided to stop back at the Orseolo on the way to meet our friends for lunch. Last night Liz's Dad made one heck of an offer to us. He wanted to buy us dinner on our last night in town. Now he's been picking up the food tab since we met them in Piran, but he wanted us to have a romantic dinner on our own (they go back to the U.S. one day before us). Very generous. We didn't want to waste this opportunity on our knowledge of Venice so we consulted with Matteo. He had two ideas immediately, but wanted to talk with the rest of the family first. What a great hotel! Did I say that before? "ciao Chris, ciao Liz."
We were a little early for lunch so we decided to stop at one of the hotel cafes that line the Grand Canale. It was a beautiful day. Temps were well above average. We sought out an umbrella to shade us it was so warm. We enjoyed a pre-meal beer/wine. I tired to order in Italian, but it never works so well. There was a large group of Italians next to us. One of them looks over and asks if we were British or American. They apparently had a bet going. We told them American. The guy who questioned us quickly quipped back to his friend with what I'm sure translated to, "See! I told you so!" He said we dressed too well to be British. I never knew they carried that stigma. We ended up talking with them for a while. They were curious as to where we had been on this and other trips. Very friendly folks. They insisted our next trip must be to Sicily. Maybe next year we said.
Lunch was planned for La Corte Sconta. It's a hard to find place that everyone who reads the NYTimes knows about thanks to their reviews.
After the Basillica we headed off to the Dorsoduro area to wander around. I kept trying to get us "lost in Venice" as all those books say you should do, but I think it was irratating Liz. She threatened to take the map book out of my hands if I didn't start paying attention. I wasn't giving up the map so I started to pay attention again.
The Dorsduro area doesn't have any "must see" viewings, but there are plenty of cute alleys (Liz's description) and random plazas. We stopped at Piazza Nuova for some espresso and the Herald Tribune. This is an area where students supposedly gather. It was nice enough. We actually thought about staying around here, but we always side with "stuff" and our glad we're staying in San Marco.
After our break we decided the rest of the morning should be spent searching for a tile for me, and a mask for Liz. We headed towards San Polo and encountered two successes. Liz found a miniture mask that will become an ornament on our xmas tree, and we located a little chinese restaurant. This spot will be lunch on our last day. Can't wait for dumplings!
We decided to stop back at the Orseolo on the way to meet our friends for lunch. Last night Liz's Dad made one heck of an offer to us. He wanted to buy us dinner on our last night in town. Now he's been picking up the food tab since we met them in Piran, but he wanted us to have a romantic dinner on our own (they go back to the U.S. one day before us). Very generous. We didn't want to waste this opportunity on our knowledge of Venice so we consulted with Matteo. He had two ideas immediately, but wanted to talk with the rest of the family first. What a great hotel! Did I say that before? "ciao Chris, ciao Liz."
We were a little early for lunch so we decided to stop at one of the hotel cafes that line the Grand Canale. It was a beautiful day. Temps were well above average. We sought out an umbrella to shade us it was so warm. We enjoyed a pre-meal beer/wine. I tired to order in Italian, but it never works so well. There was a large group of Italians next to us. One of them looks over and asks if we were British or American. They apparently had a bet going. We told them American. The guy who questioned us quickly quipped back to his friend with what I'm sure translated to, "See! I told you so!" He said we dressed too well to be British. I never knew they carried that stigma. We ended up talking with them for a while. They were curious as to where we had been on this and other trips. Very friendly folks. They insisted our next trip must be to Sicily. Maybe next year we said.
Lunch was planned for La Corte Sconta. It's a hard to find place that everyone who reads the NYTimes knows about thanks to their reviews.
Nov 12th, 2004, 05:29 AM
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The restaurant is a small place that opens up to a nice little courtyard. The patio is covered by a large trellis with one single vine coming out of pot. The vine has grown enought to covers the entire trellis. Pretty cool.
Corte Sconta is a price fixe meal with no menu. They have their own label of wine, but apparently used to pour out of large barrels. The first course was spider crab pate, seabream carpaccio with pommegranate seeds, and tuna carpaccio floating in oil with celery root shreds. Next came crab salad and razor clams (special order). After all of this came the official appetizer - a huge platter of seafood. Pasta course - Liz and her Dad got spaghetti with onion and anchovi sauce. Me and her mom had black ink sauce with squid bodies on pasta (We won the pasta course). They gave us a brief break. We're about two hours into lunch. The main course was a grilled seafood platter for the table (oil on the side for Liz), with all sorts of grilled vegetables. I almost had to undo the top button on the pants. I was on such a roll I couldn't stop... Dessert - Tiramisu, zabaglione, gogonzola and port. Whoa!!! Lunch took well over three hours, but was very entertaining and everything it was built up to be.
At this point we all needed to walk a little. There was another big meal still to come. Thankfully the reservation was at 9:30pm. It seemed silly when we first heard of the time, but it all makes since now.
We took Liz's parents back towards our hotel to show them around. "ciao Chris, ciao Liz" We were greeted by Bruno. He had heard of our dinner aspirations for our last night and was thinking of ideas as well. In the mean time he ran back into the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of Proseco for us. Wasn't expecting that. Probably the last thing we needed to do after our lunch, but you can't argue with that kind of hospitality. After chatting for a while Liz and I thought best to take a little nap. We agreed to meet her parents before dinner in San Marco. BTW - The hotel comp'd the Proseco.
Corte Sconta is a price fixe meal with no menu. They have their own label of wine, but apparently used to pour out of large barrels. The first course was spider crab pate, seabream carpaccio with pommegranate seeds, and tuna carpaccio floating in oil with celery root shreds. Next came crab salad and razor clams (special order). After all of this came the official appetizer - a huge platter of seafood. Pasta course - Liz and her Dad got spaghetti with onion and anchovi sauce. Me and her mom had black ink sauce with squid bodies on pasta (We won the pasta course). They gave us a brief break. We're about two hours into lunch. The main course was a grilled seafood platter for the table (oil on the side for Liz), with all sorts of grilled vegetables. I almost had to undo the top button on the pants. I was on such a roll I couldn't stop... Dessert - Tiramisu, zabaglione, gogonzola and port. Whoa!!! Lunch took well over three hours, but was very entertaining and everything it was built up to be.
At this point we all needed to walk a little. There was another big meal still to come. Thankfully the reservation was at 9:30pm. It seemed silly when we first heard of the time, but it all makes since now.
We took Liz's parents back towards our hotel to show them around. "ciao Chris, ciao Liz" We were greeted by Bruno. He had heard of our dinner aspirations for our last night and was thinking of ideas as well. In the mean time he ran back into the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of Proseco for us. Wasn't expecting that. Probably the last thing we needed to do after our lunch, but you can't argue with that kind of hospitality. After chatting for a while Liz and I thought best to take a little nap. We agreed to meet her parents before dinner in San Marco. BTW - The hotel comp'd the Proseco.
Nov 12th, 2004, 11:54 AM
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I completely forgot to rate our lunch at Corte Sconta. We gave it a 12.6. The number two rated meal experience of our trip. Back to the report...
The six of us met for some pre-dinner proseco in the square, and to listen to the dueling bands again. It doesn't get old. We met around 8pm for our 9:30 dinner. Liz and I were still drained from our lunch. We had two revert to diet coke and espresso mixed (no literally) with the wine. This drew some jeers from the peanut gallery. So much for being the young energetic ones of the group.
Dinner is at Osteria alle Testiere. This place has to be the smallest restaurant in Venice. There are four tables and two seatings per night. Once again no menu. You select the next course after you finish the current course. Kind of novel idea, especially if your tastes change over the course of a meal.
The sad part of this meal is that our notes are pretty sketchy. I guess your not too detailed in your reporting after drinking wine all day, and then eating dinner that pushes midnight doesn't help either.
We tried a wide variety of wines over the course of the meal; a very dry bubbly, Franciacorta, a Sauvignon from Soth Tyrol, and few different Brunellos. All were good, but none so good we saved the lables.
Liz ordered octopus with gazpachio for her appetizer. I started with razor clams. I'm starting to "catch the fever." For pasta Liz ordered a spaghetti with shrimp and zuchini. I ordered a mushroom and something else (memory is failing me) gnocchi with the other ladies. Very good. The other two each got some different pasta. Can't remember what they were. Our waitress was dumbfounded by this ordering. She looked completely exasperated and says to us in broken English "Four pastas... Three fires. Someone will wait!" and walked away. I don't think we were being bad guests, slightly unruly but not too bad. Our ordering certainly was too much for her to handle. There were a few laughs had at her expense. Probably not helpful when your in space the size of an average living room (kitchen included).
(Side note - It took a long time to reach that line. I'll have to be a little more concise in future reports)
Anyways, the gnocchi was great! Worth the wait and the added hassle to the kitchen. They apparently were abel to create an extra fire because all for pasta types arrived together. I'm starting to get hooked on this gnocchi stuff. The message was still "wait until tomorrow, the mothership, Harry's Dolce makes the best!"
For the main course Liz and I both ordered the tuna. I'm extremely irratated to say I have no notes detailing it. This wasn't you orderinary soy sauce and ginger tuna. I think it had mushrooms and something else that seemed way out of place. The cut was at least three inches thick. Only the very edge was whitened. The inside remained a deep purple, yet it was uniformally warm. This may seem out of line, but I'm going to say the BEST piece of tuna I've ever had. Liz agreed.
This meal turned into another 3 hour plus production. Well past Liz's bedtime. I think she was half asleep on some of her last few bites (yet kept eating - that's talent). We had to dismiss ourselves from the group. Before we left we rated the place an 11.5, but it was our highest food rating of the trip 4.75. We both wanted to give it a 5, but there is always something better out there (you hope at least).
We swung through the St. Marks on the way back to the hotel. Last call for music. They were playing "Fly me to the Moon" again. Perfect. So eating day has come to an end. There was no talk of scales today, but damage I'm sure was done. That's what the post vacation diet is for! Tomorrow is Harry's Dolce... much anticipation.
The six of us met for some pre-dinner proseco in the square, and to listen to the dueling bands again. It doesn't get old. We met around 8pm for our 9:30 dinner. Liz and I were still drained from our lunch. We had two revert to diet coke and espresso mixed (no literally) with the wine. This drew some jeers from the peanut gallery. So much for being the young energetic ones of the group.
Dinner is at Osteria alle Testiere. This place has to be the smallest restaurant in Venice. There are four tables and two seatings per night. Once again no menu. You select the next course after you finish the current course. Kind of novel idea, especially if your tastes change over the course of a meal.
The sad part of this meal is that our notes are pretty sketchy. I guess your not too detailed in your reporting after drinking wine all day, and then eating dinner that pushes midnight doesn't help either.
We tried a wide variety of wines over the course of the meal; a very dry bubbly, Franciacorta, a Sauvignon from Soth Tyrol, and few different Brunellos. All were good, but none so good we saved the lables.
Liz ordered octopus with gazpachio for her appetizer. I started with razor clams. I'm starting to "catch the fever." For pasta Liz ordered a spaghetti with shrimp and zuchini. I ordered a mushroom and something else (memory is failing me) gnocchi with the other ladies. Very good. The other two each got some different pasta. Can't remember what they were. Our waitress was dumbfounded by this ordering. She looked completely exasperated and says to us in broken English "Four pastas... Three fires. Someone will wait!" and walked away. I don't think we were being bad guests, slightly unruly but not too bad. Our ordering certainly was too much for her to handle. There were a few laughs had at her expense. Probably not helpful when your in space the size of an average living room (kitchen included).
(Side note - It took a long time to reach that line. I'll have to be a little more concise in future reports)
Anyways, the gnocchi was great! Worth the wait and the added hassle to the kitchen. They apparently were abel to create an extra fire because all for pasta types arrived together. I'm starting to get hooked on this gnocchi stuff. The message was still "wait until tomorrow, the mothership, Harry's Dolce makes the best!"
For the main course Liz and I both ordered the tuna. I'm extremely irratated to say I have no notes detailing it. This wasn't you orderinary soy sauce and ginger tuna. I think it had mushrooms and something else that seemed way out of place. The cut was at least three inches thick. Only the very edge was whitened. The inside remained a deep purple, yet it was uniformally warm. This may seem out of line, but I'm going to say the BEST piece of tuna I've ever had. Liz agreed.
This meal turned into another 3 hour plus production. Well past Liz's bedtime. I think she was half asleep on some of her last few bites (yet kept eating - that's talent). We had to dismiss ourselves from the group. Before we left we rated the place an 11.5, but it was our highest food rating of the trip 4.75. We both wanted to give it a 5, but there is always something better out there (you hope at least).
We swung through the St. Marks on the way back to the hotel. Last call for music. They were playing "Fly me to the Moon" again. Perfect. So eating day has come to an end. There was no talk of scales today, but damage I'm sure was done. That's what the post vacation diet is for! Tomorrow is Harry's Dolce... much anticipation.
Apr 29th, 2005, 11:37 AM
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Nothing like a six month delay break in completing a trip report. Good thing i have notes to work off of.
October 10
Sunday morning. We sleep in a little, but its still very quiet outside. Another beautiful sunny day. Our breakfast was on the light side today. The only thing Mateo brought me special was a double espresso, which he remembered I ordered yesterday. Upon completing breakfast we borrowed their computer to check emails and to enter my fantasy football picks for the week (priorities).
We were commitment free until lunch. So we decided to walk off a little of yesterdays food and head towards the Jewish Ghetto. There was nothing too exciting note, but very peaceful up until 10am, before the "day tourists" arrive. We twisted and turned towards the top of the island. One of our guide books claimed you could see the Dolomites from there on a clear day. Well by the time we arrived the fog rolled in and our pleasant Sunday started to turn for the worse.
October 10
Sunday morning. We sleep in a little, but its still very quiet outside. Another beautiful sunny day. Our breakfast was on the light side today. The only thing Mateo brought me special was a double espresso, which he remembered I ordered yesterday. Upon completing breakfast we borrowed their computer to check emails and to enter my fantasy football picks for the week (priorities).
We were commitment free until lunch. So we decided to walk off a little of yesterdays food and head towards the Jewish Ghetto. There was nothing too exciting note, but very peaceful up until 10am, before the "day tourists" arrive. We twisted and turned towards the top of the island. One of our guide books claimed you could see the Dolomites from there on a clear day. Well by the time we arrived the fog rolled in and our pleasant Sunday started to turn for the worse.
Apr 29th, 2005, 12:55 PM
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Hi Candert,
No worries about the 6 month delay. I am afraid I may be a "serial trip report non-finisher"... I haven't finished my trip report for Italy from our honeymoon last June (2004), I haven't finished our trip report for Germany from last February, and we are leaving for another 2 weeks in Italy in mid-May...
I don't get it - I am fanatical about planning trips down to every detail and then I am horrible about writing it all up when I get back
Please feel free to YELL at me if I don't finish my reports up by this June!!
No worries about the 6 month delay. I am afraid I may be a "serial trip report non-finisher"... I haven't finished my trip report for Italy from our honeymoon last June (2004), I haven't finished our trip report for Germany from last February, and we are leaving for another 2 weeks in Italy in mid-May...
I don't get it - I am fanatical about planning trips down to every detail and then I am horrible about writing it all up when I get back
Please feel free to YELL at me if I don't finish my reports up by this June!!
Apr 29th, 2005, 04:20 PM
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Wow! Candert, this trip report is a real find. I'm new to this site and these trip details are just the sort of thing I look for. One question - did the bells in Castlerotto keep you up all night as I was considering the same hotel? Thanks.
