2015 ITALY Venice 42 - Lunch on the Grand

OK, so we could not have lunch at one of the cafes in San Marco Square. Instead we wandered back toward our hotel and happened across Bancogiro near the Rialto bridge. When we walked in the front door of this "ordinary"looking osteria, we had no idea that we would be invited out the back door to an outside terrace with a grand view of the Grand Canal.

We spent a couple of hours eating and drinking, watching and whispering, feeling like we were part of an Italian movie. We shared a Caprese salad. Mike's entree was a regional specialty of onions and anchovies over bucatini (fat spaghetti with a hole through the middle). I had shrimp with black beans, Italian green beans, and tomatoes. We had a bottle of prosecco and a peach cocktail special to top off the meal. And caffe, of course. The bill was quite reasonable and we enjoyed every single bite.

The tide was part of the "movie." With the sun shining it was light teal blue (like the Caribbean). We all had to adjust our lounge chairs back twice in order to keep our feet dry. Gondoliers had rubber boots on hand. At one point an ambulance boat whizzed by at high speed and caused a big wave. That splashed a few that were closer to the water line. Claps and a roar of laughter came from the crowd, even from those that were now wet up to their knees. We were spared.

Across the water was the Ca' d'Oro (or Golden House), named for gilt decorations which once adorned its walls. It is one of the older palaces in Venice built in 1430 for the Contarini family. It was certainly wedding-cake-esque.

It is also a prime example of why most first floors of Venice's buildings are unusable, due to the tides creeping higher and higher over the years. No climate change??!!

We were in full view of the canal's fascinating activity. Right before us was a gondola "station" for tourists and locals. They came and went as people started or ended their journeys through the smaller puzzle of canals off the Grand.

Gondolas are flat bottomed "row" boats. Their black hulls are identical, but interiors range from very nice to VERY elaborate. Gondolieri wear tradition stripped shirts, black vests, neck scarf, and flat-topped straw hats.

Vaporettos, highly-varnished wooden speed boats (moving slowly), and personal transportation floated by on their way to somewhere. Delivery boats were prominent and an unloading dock was nearby. Those Venetians are great stackers! Big and small, dilapidated and fancy, old and new, all melded in a water ballet to get safely to their destinations.

Reluctantly we mosied back to our hotel for a quick nap and clean-up before dinner.