Last day in Italia!

Our last day in Italy :o(
Today’s our last day in Italy, or mine at least, as Kim booked her flight a day after mine accidentally! What a pair we are—me with no sense of direction, and her with no sense of calendar! We slept in and it felt wonderful, then ate some breakfast in the hotel, packed and checked out. We headed to the train station to buy our train tickets back to Venice. Goodbye Firenze!!

The train was a few minutes late, but we hopped on it at a little after 10:30. It was packed but we did have assigned seats. The woman sitting next to me had an amazingly well behaved dog in a bag, and she licked me and let me scratch her head (the dog, that is!) The ride felt long but was a little over two hours. We feel surprisingly good for the amount of wine we consumed yesterday! The woman at the biodynamic vineyard did say that without the chemicals and additives you don’t get that dopey drunk feeling, so maybe she was right!!

We got off the train and headed to our hotel, which is on Lista de Spagna, a very busy street five minutes walk from the train in the cannaregio district of Venice. It’s very cute! Very small botique hotel that was recently renovated. The room was very nice though quite tiny and right near reception. The people working there are very nice! We left to walk around a find a place for lunch. We were looking off of the main road, but everytime we went off it we found very residential areas. We finally gave up and found a trattoria on the road. We enjoyed a pretty good lunch of roasted eggplant with tomatoes, polenta, pizza diavolo and caprese salad. We then walked around through the neighborhood which was really charming. We then hit the Jewish nuovo geto and geto which was really beautiful. The buildings were high and it was largely unmarked. I only knew what it was mostly from the map and the slight amount of hebrew I saw! There were two synagogues, one we never did see and the other was barely identifiable as one! Again, I just knew from the map. The entrance to the ghetto we went through on the way out of the neighborhood, and it was funny as we were told to look for the arch. Well, the arch was basically a wooden beam that ran horizontally above our heads! It wasn’t marked or identifiable in the least!

We then scoped out the way to the airport, and it looks like the vaporetti/alilaguna water boat will be quicker and a shorter walk in the morning than the bus. I think it’s very appropriate to arrive and leave by water! We then went to the Santa Croce neighborhood where we ordered spritz’s, a local drink of dry white wine, seltzer, and either campari or a sweet liquor which I cannot remember the name of! HE suggested we get a mix of the two, so it wouldn’t be too sweet or sour and we agreed. It was red, and came in a glass with an orange slide and an olive on a stick. It was pretty good, and we sat in this very narrow courtyard drinking and people-watching for a while.

We went back to the hotel to wash up for dinner, and to get a recommendation. He told us about Trattoria da Gigio only a 5 minute walk from the hotel where the locals go, and we were so thrilled for the recommendation! It was excellent and probably the best we’ve had. We got marinated mussels which were amazing, and I got a pasta dish with local clams, and Kim got a pasta dish with lobster and a really light cream sauce. Both were good but kim’s had fresh pasta and was a little better. Neither of us were disappointed. I got some red wine, Kim got beer, and of course we had to finish with a tiramisu, which we hadn’t had since coming here and was excellent. It was quite cool today, which was surprising given how very hot it was in Florence this morning (it’s a few degrees cooler in Venice being on the water, but was very similar). It was cool and breezy and perfect walking weather in Venice! When we got out of dinner it was quite cool so we went back.

The vaporetti is at 8:16, but the man at our hotel said I do have to be there by 9 or 9:30 for my 11:30 flight, and not to be late as you must check in 2 hours before. Unfortunately the vaporetti run every hour at 15 past, so I guess I need to take the 8:15. I really enjoyed this neighborhood and while the main road is quite crowded, the areas off of it were really gorgeous and interesting to walk around in. It’s like walking through time with the chipping plastered walls showing exposed brick, laundry hanging and the sounds of restaurants and the water in canals everywhere. I’ve really enjoyed this trip and I’d be hard-pressed to say which I liked more, Florence or Venice. Both are just stunning in their way!

I’m sad to leave tomorrow but ready to go home to see the critters. We’re planning our next adventures, and who knows? Next year could have me traveling to Lebanon and Israel with Nada, or back to the Amalfi Coast and Capri.. or??? Yes, I’m addicted by the lure of seeing new places, but wouldn’t have it any other way! Thanks for sharing with my wonderful adventure! I’ll post pictures in a few days once I’m home and settled. Arrevederci!