Our plan was to meet our Venetian friend, Nan, to go see the Venini show at Le Stanze del Vetro on San Giorgio Island.  We woke up to unrelenting rain–not a total downpour, but certainly more than a drizzle.  So the vaporetto was our “stay dry strategy,” but first we ducked into Algiubagio just on the corner for a quick coffee.

We had to take one vap all the way around to San Zaccharia and then change to a #2 to go across the lagoon.  The ride was long and loud and bumpy, but we sat cozily in the downstairs seats and talked and talked.   A bit too much about the election, but we were all brimming with anxiety and news.  We finally arrived at the Island and made a quick run around the back of the church to the museum.  We had been here last year and I really loved this new museum, opened in 2012, dedicated to glass art.  To think this show was based on Paolo Venini, one of the greats in the history of Venetion glass and his collaborators was so exciting. After getting our stuff stored away, we walked through the cases of glass works–from playful fish to serious obelisks, it was all stunning glass.  My pictures are nothing but a reminder of what we saw; they don’t begin to capture to magic and the majesty in the glass works but I’m posting some:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thrilled with the show, all three of us had worked up an appetite so we took the vap to San Marcuolo and walked to Vini da Gigio, on of my favorite restaurants in Venice.  What an incredible lunch we had!  Nan was smart and experienced enough to just tell the “wine guy,” Paolo , to bring us wines by the glass, to go with each course.  I had never heard of any of them. They were all unique, very special (one was from Hungary and one from Greece) and delicious with the food.  The food:  We all kind of shared everything–razor clams, lightly fried fresh moeche (very small soft shell crabs),  pasta with mussels and small tomatoes, pasta with white truffles (YES!) , a vegetable platter and a perfectly cooked, whole Branzino.  Oh–and one dessert:  mint mascarpone with strawberries and meringues which looked like white chocolate chips on top. With, of course, the perfect dessert wine. The whole meal was sensational.  Every bite!  It was so fine that we all three decided to meet back there for lunch next Saturday!  We really could have sat there longer but at 4:00 they all wanted to go home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was grateful for our 10 minute walk home to digest a bit.

Given the weather, I knew we wouldn’t be going out again.  So we lazed around; I made the vegetable soup and somehow Ken found the beginning of the movie “School of Rock” on our TV and we watched it, smiling and laughing at Jack Black and the silly sweet movie.  The perfect diversion from CNN!

We actually ate a small bowl of the soup for a late supper and read until we fell asleep.

For me, it’s days like this one that keep be coming back to Venice.

One more thing:

Some people said they couldn’t get the video–it was a time lapse of the boats under the Rialto–only 4 seconds long so you didn’t miss much.  So, Linda, Ken’s special place is the top of the Rialto.  Always!