We have both been a little antsy about settling on a hotel for the night we have to return here before our flight out so we spent the morning getting it sorted out. We booked a room at the Olimpia Best Western right near Piazzale Roma; at least it’s better than staying in Mestre and they have A/C and Wi Fi.
Then we walked into Santa Croce to Campo San Giacomo dal Orio, my friend Palma’s favorite campo in Venice. I could easily see why. With all the trees and plants and people hanging out, It’s like a little bit of Italy in the center of Venice.

I liked the little garden space:

We visited the church, too. It is one of the oldest–from the tenth or eleventh century. We read a little about it in a guide book before we went. Apparently St. James made the pilgrimage in Spain on the cammino to Campestelo di Santiago.

The guidebook said to look for fossils in the floor:

Next stop–Rialto market to get a few things. While we were there the people from the Muro restaurant had a stand set up. They were selling a plate of fried seafood, a slice of polenta and a glass of wine for 8 euros.

I had to have it! We ate sitting in a breezy spot with a great view of the Grand canal. It was all so good! Here is what we looked at while we were eating:

I wanted to go to the Coin department store so we wandered around in there for a while. Took this from the top floor looking down:

Walking home we stopped at Vizio Virtu for gelato. I had grapefruit with chocolate chips and Ken had lime/mint and a scoop of dark chocolate. All really good!
After our rest we went to the COOP and later walked over Campo Santa Margherita. On the way home we stopped into a little art gallery where the show was called “Hopper Secondo Rosso” It was original paintings but almost copies of Hopper’s. I enjoyed it but it was a little weird how close they were to the originals.
This is a building we always pass–right down the street:

For dinner I made the asparagus ravioli we’d gotten at Aliani. We ate them with a little simple mushroom sauce and the fresh spinach from Rialto. We drank the whole bottle of the I Frati Lugana–got to get another one.