Food, Wine & Culture

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Well we promised a review of the "Bar al Vecio Calice". One of the secrets for dining out in Italy - avoid the tourist spots. We walked for 20 minutes along the waterfront until we got to this place. We were the only tourists - every one else spoke perfect Italian and nodded to each other and were on first name terms with the waiter. If the locals like it - then it's gotta be good - and it was!

This place specialises in "cicchettii" - street food as small plates. See the pic below:

The wooden platter has some partly eaten prosciutto toasts (glorified ham & cheese toasties). The others all feature a baguette base with a variety of seafood toppings - smoked tuna, pickled sardine, creamed codfish and grilled prawn. Very delicious, super cheap and so Veneto!

Our readers will need to get used to seeing pics of tempting dishes. Italian and French cuisines are among the very best. We came here firstly for the food and wine, and then some of that cultural stuff too perhaps!

So our first full day in Venice is mostly about walking thru all the quaint alleyways and over the canal bridges - like every other tourist here.

Over the Ponte Rialto

Past all the Mask shops

Of course Brenda finds the only bookshop in the world selling books by the gondola!

Ahhhh! Lunchtime has arrived. I have no idea which Venetian back alley we emerged from to find ourselves in a small square confronted by a restaurant with a tempting menu. Over 24 hours in Italy and yet to taste the pasta! So here it is:

Pappardelle with duck for Brenda and Carbonara for me, washed down by a nice Venetian Soave.

Well I did say it was all about the food and wine. OK, ok, ok - some cultural stuff then. Below is a pic of the famous "Bridge of Sighs". The enclosed bridge has windows with stone bars, passes over the Rio di Palazzo, and connects the New Prison (on the right) with the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace (on the left). Built in 1600, the view from the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment.


OK - enough culture. After a light evening meal in our Airbnb, it's time to do a nighttime wander of the shops in the alleyways - always open and offering up lots of Venetian goodies!

Tomorrow we are planning a trip to the island of Murano - famed for its glass, This could be a costly trip!




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