40th Anniversary Trip Day 11

40^th Anniversary Trip Day 11 – Thursday in Venice

We awake to discover the rain has stopped and it’s sunny.  We also discover that there’s still water coming into the sunroom, and when I open the drapes I find that the “garden view” is blocked off by a temporary wall and all we’re looking for is a pile of dirt!  Vicky’s not happy that the bathroom is downstairs from the bedroom but is willing to live with it.  However, we discover other problems such as non-working taps so we decide to go talk to someone after breakfast.

Now the rain has stopped we discover the garden (the only one of its type in a Venice hotel) is delightful.  It includes fake ruins (!) caves, quiet stops to sit, and even a cat.  ((We never did discover whether he belonged there, but he obviously though he did.)

We head into the lobby and discover that breakfast is a huge buffet. set up in the lobby, with tables available there and in the restaurant.  I didn’t mention the breakfast buffet at the Renaissance Tuscany.  It was substantial, but apart from the wonderful breads and cheeses, not much different from what you would find at a luxury hotel in the US.  This one, however, is special.  Bacon, sausage (including a black pudding type sausage), eggs, cooked tomatoes, croissants of various types including chocolate and whole wheat (healthy or not!), cold meats and cheeses, cereals, fresh fruit, other breads, fresh juices and some sweet cakes.  But the piece de resistance is small glasses of something that looks and tastes like cream, topped with a fruit puree.  I inquire and discovered it’s pannacotta, which translates as cooked cream.  It becomes a “sine qua non” for breakfast for the next 5 days, and we look for it on dessert menus.  I manage to find an online recipe, too!  I could make a breakfast of just pannacotta and be in heaven!

We’re at the front desk explaining the problems with the suite when a manager overhears us and takes over.  He tells us that the 4^th (top) floor of the main building has just been renovated and offers to move us to a suite there “with a view over the lagoon”.  We’ll be the first guests in the room (important to make sure we don’t break anything!) but it won’t be ready till 3pm.  All we have to do is pack.  So we do that, and meet with Ivan, the concierge, who will be an amazing asset to us during our stay.

 We visit the church of the Madonna del Orto, almost next door to the hotel.  It’s famous for the frescoes of Tintoretto, who lived across the canal, especially his “Last Judgement”.  It’s a little disappointing after seeing the Giotto in Padua since, unlike the latter, the Tintoretto masterpiece has faded over the years and hasn’t been restored.  But the great joy here is the cloister next to the church, where there’s an exhibition of very realistic horses’ head in metal, part of a charitable fundraising project.

We’re in the Cannaregio region of Venice, away from the tourists in St. Mark’s Square, one of the reasons we chose this hotel.  Also in Cannaregio is the Jewish ghetto, which includes a museum detailing not only the history of the ghetto but Jewish religious traditions.  We spend a lot of time reviewing the displays, thankfully with English descriptions, and also see into the synagogue on the 3^rd floor.  I hadn’t realized that synagogues are very plain, following the prohibition in Mosaic law against graven images.

There are a couple of school groups touring the museum – sitting on the floor being lectured in Italian.  I get a kick out of watching their body language.  A few of the girls are clearly interested, but the rest look totally bored, a fact which may be lost on the lecturer.  I guess teenagers are the same the world over!

With a little time still left before our room will be ready, we visit one of the many gelato stores on the island.  Vicky is especially fascinated by some of the unusual flavors available and tries licorice and dulce de leche at various times.  I’m equally adventurous but since they always have delicious lampone (raspberry), that’s always one of my choices.

Our new “suite” is actually a very large room (same total size as the former suite) but it has large windows overlooking the now sunny garden, and as promised, the lagoon.  It also has an impressive chandelier but no tea/coffee making facilities or carpet on the floor – they obviously got it ready for us quickly.  Nevertheless we love it, so unpack and settle in.  For the second day there’s a welcome gift in the room.

For dinner tonight we’re trying an inexpensive place we saw, which has Ivan’s stamp of approval.  We share a pasta, then enjoy simple meat “secondi”.  Later we walk around the business section of the island, where the shops are still open.  We find shops selling “Murano” glass (I’ll explain the quote marks tomorrow) and a patisserie where we pick up decadent tarts filled with something suspiciously like pannacotta.

Venice without rain is wonderful!