Rain…hard rain falling when we woke up and we knew we had to be out of the house by 11:00 for the cleaning person to come.  Luckily, by the time we ready to go it had stopped, replaced by somewhat chilly, damp air. Spring in Venice.

We set out for one of my favorite places in Venice—Le Stanze di Vetro (Rooms of Glass)  on San Giorgio Island.  So we walked from here to Santa Maria Formosa where we stopped for a quick coffee and then on to the San Zaccharia vaporetto stop to cross the canal.  The first thing you see is the outside display.  Pae White’s Qwalala is a glass brick stucture about 250 feet long, resembling a river.  You can get lost in each individual brick or study it from afar.  I found it captivating and beautiful.  I took some pictures, but they don’t begin to translate:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside were various works from 5 or 6 glass artists from CIRVA, a French glass workshop.  Some strange but all super interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We hopped back onto the vap and got off at Zattere for a walk through western Dorsoduro.  We got a sandwich at Majer and continued on into San Polo, right by the back of the gorgeous Frari.

The little bakery near Ciaks (we call it the sisters bakery) has always been a favorite, so we went in there and got a bunch of cookies and continued our “steps” across the Rialto and to home.  Tired feet!

Feasting on cookies was not the best decision because Nan messaged that she was free for dinner.  We met her at the WeCrociferi bar for aperitivi and then walked very close by to the Trattoria Storico, a place I had never given a second look and have never seen on any foodie, internet boards.  But we had a wonderful dinner!  To start, we all shared a big bowl of mussels and clams which were sweet and hit the spot.  Ken had spaghetti and clams–delicious with some garlic and nicely cooked spaghetti.  Nan and I shared a whole branzino with potatoes.  It was a huge fish and we paid by the weight, which was a splurge,  but it was so good!  We drank a bottle of Lugana wine, which went perfectly with the fish.  The only problem I had with the place was it was so close I didn’t get to walk more than 3 minutes home. It was great to see Nan, who looks younger every year (and she doesn’t even read this!).

So, that was our day.  Lots of steps balanced by lots of food.