Bridges and Canals

Nothing like church bells on a Sunday morning to remind you we are in a Catholic country and they are serious about Sunday. Josh and I went for a walk to the Canale de la Giudecca with a view of the Island of Giudecca before returning to the hotel for breakfast. Still, we had to wait for sleepy Charlotte to get ready and join us downstairs.

We checked out of our hotel, and walked to the Chiesa della Salute and the Punta della Dogana. Here, Francois Pinault, the French businessman, has had an incredible museum built inside the old Customs house to display a part of his contemporary art collection. The museum just opened this past June to kick off the Venice biennale. Josh, Charlotte and I wandered through all 19 rooms of the museum alternately sharing an audio guide and reading about the works of such artists as Richard Prince, Maurizio Catellan, Cindy Sherman, Cy Twombley and Paul Mc Carthy. They should have had a disclaimer at the ticket booth: "R" rated -full of sexually explicit content. I hope Charlotte doesn't see this many penises again for quite a while!

The exhibit was very interesting and the windows of many of the galleries had wonderful views of Venice from all sides. After we viewed the collection, we jumped on a vaporetto to return to our hotel to collect our luggage. From there we walked to our new home for the next two days: La Villeggiatura (www.lavilleggiatura.it). It is not an easy place to find, as there is no sign of a traditional hotel -- like a sign. Instead, we were greeted downstairs by the owner's assistant. The entrance is that of a discreet private residence. Upon entry, the courtyard is not particularly impressive and the old well is clearly in need of restoration. However, once we scale three flights of stairs, we enter an oasis of great taste and chic charm. Francesca greets us and shows us to our beautiful room. Highly stylized with terrazzo floor, I feel right at home here. All the little touches are in place, and the furniture and upholstery are at once elegant and cheerful.

We turn right around and head to Vecio Fritolin (which we had scouted out yesterday evening) for lunch. The restaurant's name is another example of bizarre Venetian dialect. Despite being expensive with smallish portions, it is elegant and absolutely delicious. Fortunately, it is also not far from our hotel so we can return easily for a bit of late afternoon repose.

Tonight, we went on the equivalent of a pub crawl. We hit a variety of places to have an apertivo and crackers or a glass of wine and some cichetti. Interestingly, Charlotte's Coke was given equal value to my Prosecco! We tried hard (asking for directions and still walking in circles) and succeeded in finding a place in Castello recommended by the NY Times. By the time we landed at this small trattoria -- Osteria Al Portego -- it was standing room only and we were denied a table. But we did enjoy a plate of cichetti and had a glass of chardonnay.

Now we debated about whether and what to do for dinner. We walked back towards La Villeggiatura and into the Santa Croce sestiere. We found a restaurant/pizzeria called Muro and took a warm seat. It was a bit chillier out this evening than it had been the night before. Charlotte, who had declared on the walk over that she was no longer very hungry, ordered a steak! Josh, too, felt like eating a hunk of meat, and I went for the raw variety -- carpaccio. The food was good but the carafe of merlot was served cold and failed to inspire.

Actually, as far as the wine goes, we'd tried several types by now but haven't had a glass that was really good. Similarly, we expected the cuisine to be more refined than Roman cuisine and overall we've been disappointed. Now that we've been living in Italy for over three months, we've become a bit spoiled so it all becomes relative. But Josh, who lived in this region for two years, confessed he thinks the food in Rome and it's environs seems to be much tastier.

Tonight was the Roma - Lazio calcio match. We stopped at a small bar (with a small TV) on the way back to our hotel to watch with a local for a bit. Still zero-zero, we gave up and left, but not before Josh engaged the Venetian in a debate about Venice vs. Rome. To be sure, Venice has less traffic -- at least of the vehicular variety -- but watch out for the pedestrians! It is certainly busier in Venice than I would have expected in December -- but (as we discovered when searching for lodging) it is a holiday weekend.