Early morning on the Grand Canal: Mom and I got an early start to the day out on the canal. With our vaporetto passes in hand, we boarded the #1 boat at the Accademia stop in order to get a glimpse of the buildings that lined the Grand Canal. It was still early and the few boats out on the canal looked to be service boats, filled with boxes for delivery, empty water taxis, gondoliers preparing their boats for the onslaught of tourists. We came around a slight bend and the Rialto Bridge came into view. An impressive sight, it would become a landmark for us and often crossed during our stay.
Mom and I studied our Rick Steves guidebook and decided that we were going to check out the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, which houses Tintoretto's 'Sistine Chapel'. The artwork is an amazing mixture of dark and light, albeit neck straining, was quite beautiful.
While Mom headed back to the hotel to rest, I decided to check out the Frari Church (aka Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari). Standout pieces were The Tomb of Titian and Giovanni Bellini's triptych called 'Madonna and Child with Saints and Angels'. The centerpiece of the church was undoubtedly Titian's 'Assumption of the Virgin'. This is one of those works that you have to see in person. You could almost hear the angels singing.
We docked at Piazzale Roma and crossed over the uber-modern Calatrava Bridge and spotted four different types of bridges all in one sweep. We were headed to the train station to board the now crowded #2 vaporetto.
The Mercato Rialto stop: The fruit and vegetable stalls were full of a wide range of mushrooms, peppers, leafy green vegetables and my favorite, zucchini flowers. The seafood market was brimming with activity and vendors were offering everything from freshly caught branzinno, salmon, calamari, octopus, scampi, scallops on the half shell and very live crab.
After surveying the market, we headed back to the hotel and found GROM, a well-known gelato shop. YES! This was going to be my first taste of gelato of the trip and it was delicious!
Tonight was our chicchetti bar hopping tour so we headed to our meeting spot at the top of the Rialto Bridge. I had heard about Alessandro and his specialty tour on one of Rick Steves' TV episodes. The 2-hour tour was a nice mix of eating, drinking, walking and talking. Alessandro was a great host and spun colorful tales of Venetian life. We had a very friendly group of 17 fellow bar hoppers, most who had heard of this tour through Rick Steves. There were three stops on our tour and there was plenty of wine and chicchetti goodies that made for a fun and delicious way to experience Venice.
Memorable Moments
Walking out of the hotel and seeing school children being dropped off at school by their parents while being greeted by a priest with a pat on the head, high fivin' or a knuckle bump
Discovering GROM, my first gelato shop in a campo not too far from our hotel
Entering the Great Hall in the Scuola Grande San Rocco and looking up at the ceiling at Tintoretto's masterpiece. I'll make sure to grab one of the mirrors next time!
Seeing Titian's 'Assumption of the Virgin' through the altarpiece in the Frari Church...WOW!
Finding ourselves happening upon the gondola making shop by accident when we missed the turn towards our hotel
Getting to enjoy my first glass of prosecco and learning about house wines during the Chicchetti Bar Hopping Tour
Alessandro Schezzini's Guided Chicchetti Tour A great way to introduce us to the world of chicchetti. Our host was entertaining and our group did plenty of eating, drinking and being very merry. If you are interested in booking a tour, send him an email and he will get back to you quickly. Here's his website with his contact information:
Mom and I with our chicchetti tour host, Alessandro.
Venice Guidebook Invaluable resource that I kept referring to throughout our stay in Venice. Especially since we were going to be there two full days ahead of our trip, it provided a great deal of detail and ideas for things to see and do.
What's In My Wallet?
Here are the notable ticket stubs and a handy bookmark that I collected.
Our entry ticket to the Frari Church with the famous Assumption by Titian. If you know Italian, click the ticket to take you to the basilica's website.
The magnificent second floor of the Scuola San Rocco on the front of the ticket.
Triple the goodness. Three GROM locations in Venice!