Pizza. That was our goal in Venice. True Italian pizza, made by Italians, and eaten in Italy. Pizza, not by the slice, but by the pie.
We wanted to find that quintessential ‘hole in the wall’ where no one spoke English, and where all of the Italians hung out.
So, after our breakfast of a soft croissant and super strong put-hair-on-your-chest espresso, we headed out to explore.
We wanted to find that quintessential ‘hole in the wall’ where no one spoke English, and where all of the Italians hung out.
So, after our breakfast of a soft croissant and super strong put-hair-on-your-chest espresso, we headed out to explore.
Awesomeness was around every corner.
If it weren't for wrought iron chairs tables and chairs beside the buildings, we wouldn't have known there was a cafe right in front of us. Business, shopping and living take place in the same buildings. And laundry hung high above ground between them. I think if I had a wash line like these, I'd hang my clothes outside too.
If it weren't for wrought iron chairs tables and chairs beside the buildings, we wouldn't have known there was a cafe right in front of us. Business, shopping and living take place in the same buildings. And laundry hung high above ground between them. I think if I had a wash line like these, I'd hang my clothes outside too.
We had heard about The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari {or Church of the Friars}, and it seemed like the perfect day to find it. In hand, we had a hand-drawn map from our Rick Steves Guidebook that I had ripped out and may or may not have laminated... {on a side note, I highly recommend Rick's guidebooks!}. It looked simple enough... just head east towards the Rialto Bridge, and the church was right behind it. We walked and wandered, asking, “Dove Basilica Frari?" to anyone we thought looked like they were a local. They'd respond with their hands flailing about, speaking at least 1,000 words, of which we only understood two, "destra" and "sinistra" - left and right.
And so we went left or right.
About 20 bridges, 4 strangers and 3 hours later, we turned a corner and there it was.
And so we went left or right.
About 20 bridges, 4 strangers and 3 hours later, we turned a corner and there it was.
It was a massive space. Massive pillars, massive hanging lamps, massive windows. Statues and paintings were a part of the Basilica. We weren't in a museum, but in a church! We walked around the edges, heads up, taking in the enormity of what we were experiencing.
We sat down on the benches infront of the Assumption of the Virgin, a 16th century oil painting by the Italian Renaissance painter, Titian. I wish I could tell you that I had deep thoughts and revelations while admiring this 22.5 foot work of art, but truthfully, I had nothing. I couldn't figure out why, amidst all this beauty, my heart felt so unsettled. I felt unsettled. I was enjoying my dream come true, but at the same time I was anxious and not as happy as I should have been.
I didn't sit there for long, and therefore did not ponder my unsettled state. Which was fine by me because deep thinking and contemplation made me more anxious!
Our stomachs started to growl. We were hungry, and we still had not stopped for pizza.
We left the Basilica and saw the word "Pizza" on a heavy plastic portable sign. There was no question that THIS was where we were going to have our first Italian Pizza! We walked in and were seated right away. Our waitress handed us our menus and we quickly made our choices {him, Ham and me, Salami}. Once the waitress walked away, we looked around and started to notice a few… well... oddities.
The restaurant was almost empty,
Our waitress was Chinese,
On our placemats were the 12 animal signs of the Chinese zodiac,
Beside our silverware were chopsticks,
The walls had murals of The Great Wall and Buddahs,
And to our right, by the door we just walked through, was a huge fish tank.
We had stumbled upon a Chinese-owned Italian pizza place. We were so hungry we failed to recognize the blatantly obvious signs when we walked in!
So while it wasn't quite what we had in mind for our first Italian pizza experience, we laughed at our 'misfortune' and savored the imperfectly perfect experience.
I didn't sit there for long, and therefore did not ponder my unsettled state. Which was fine by me because deep thinking and contemplation made me more anxious!
Our stomachs started to growl. We were hungry, and we still had not stopped for pizza.
We left the Basilica and saw the word "Pizza" on a heavy plastic portable sign. There was no question that THIS was where we were going to have our first Italian Pizza! We walked in and were seated right away. Our waitress handed us our menus and we quickly made our choices {him, Ham and me, Salami}. Once the waitress walked away, we looked around and started to notice a few… well... oddities.
The restaurant was almost empty,
Our waitress was Chinese,
On our placemats were the 12 animal signs of the Chinese zodiac,
Beside our silverware were chopsticks,
The walls had murals of The Great Wall and Buddahs,
And to our right, by the door we just walked through, was a huge fish tank.
We had stumbled upon a Chinese-owned Italian pizza place. We were so hungry we failed to recognize the blatantly obvious signs when we walked in!
So while it wasn't quite what we had in mind for our first Italian pizza experience, we laughed at our 'misfortune' and savored the imperfectly perfect experience.
{We did end up having our 'real' Italian pizza experience many, many, many times!}
After our Chinese pizza, we walked and walked and walked ...
After our Chinese pizza, we walked and walked and walked ...
... until we reached the opposite side of the Island where our tired selves found a Vaporetto station. We climbed in the boat, found a seat right next to the windows with the idea of admiring Venice as we 'cruised' down the Grand Canal.
About 45 minutes later we awoke to someone shouting at us, "Ultima tappa! Scendere! Niente più corsa! No More Ride!" Apparently we had slept through the w.h.o.l.e. entire ride down the Grand Canal!
About 45 minutes later we awoke to someone shouting at us, "Ultima tappa! Scendere! Niente più corsa! No More Ride!" Apparently we had slept through the w.h.o.l.e. entire ride down the Grand Canal!
We had missed the beauty of the Grand Canal. And as we would discover years later, I was missing the beauty of life due to undiagnosed depression.
