Veneta, including Venice and Treviso, was our final destination in Italy. We spent a few hours in the surprising town of Treviso upon our arrival – it is a “tax free” banking zone, featuring stylish folks, canals, smart urban planning, and some very beautiful buildings, churches, and restaurants.
We had discovered last year the practical advantages of staying just outside of Venice, in a “Barbie meets Benetton” B&B, about 5 miles (and a 1 Euro train ride) from the frantic terminus at Venezia.
There are 2 Venezia: one, the astonishingly beautiful classic attractions of Ponte Rialto and San Marco’s Square. Here, Babylonian throngs in polyglot tongues congregate in congested, well-worn tracks of the Islands; the other Venezia, which we sought and continually discover, are the unfolding communities of burghers who occupy this living museum in the Piazzas, mercati, canals, schools, and antique timeless houses. This is the place we absorbed in Slow Travel mode.
After visiting a local glass jewelry designer (see photo I’ve invisibly titled “Lisa’s Necklace Rapture”), we asked where we could find a suitable ristorante for lunch. She directed us to her neighborhood hangout, which we found through circuitous wandering. We never would have stopped there by the way it looked—it made no appeal to the casual passer-by.
Inside the modest bar area opened into a airy solarium settled with package-delivery men, gondoliers, priests, and other local ragazzi. Two waiters out of central casting hurried among the working class crowd joking, accommodating, and plying the boisterous regulars with steaming plates of seafood, pasta, and grilled vegetables. Our selection was sardines with onions, insalata, and fresh vegetable soup (which Lisa declared the best, ever). We returned again the next day, ordered the exact same thing, and loved it even more. All the same guys were there…not the same type of guys – the same guys – serious eaters who demand three courses and wine, before the afternoon rest.
Italy is now in the rear view mirror as we head North via autobus and train, through the Alps and the loden fantasies of Austria.
Click Pics:
phenomenal pictures!
where’s the necklace?
leaving for Fl. at 7 am with craig’s kids.
have a good time in austria.
xxx sydney
did you buy any pocketbooks?
good prices!!
When I was there, I broke my shoulder when I fell on the American Bridge. Went by boat ambulance and had to climb up a ladder to get into the hospital! We shall exchange stories when you return!
ENJOY!!