Taking it easy today. It’s muggy and the air is, I think, smoggy although I don’t know if they really have smog here.
After coffee and a short visit with Antonella we decided to walk to the Accademia Bridge and over to San Marco. We have not seen the basilica much on this trip and we wanted to say goodbye to the stunning symbol of Venice. The closer we got the more and more crowded it became. We have experienced such a different city than these people there 3 weeks. I saw this store window:

What is that all about?
We stood in the shade and admired the Piazza San Marco. So much beauty or ridiculousness depending on your focus. Just like life.
From there we wanderered a bit more until we found ourselves in Castello and getting near Ospedale so we could walk on Calle degli Mendicanti to Fondamenta Nova like we always did last visit. From there we took a vaporetto to Guglie and walked home. I had spoken to the man in the flower shop right near us about getting a little plant for the coffee bar friends. He was there, spoke no English and I got it–no sweat.
We came up to start packing. Had a make shift lunch and got to work. We’re shifting things around to make it easier for transportation. My white linen pants got stuck in the pulley of the clothes line and have a big black grease stain on them so I’m leaving them here. Have to make space for the well wrapped painting we bought.
By around 6:00 Ken was getting hungry and we were both antsy. We decided to go for a walk. I ran into Sebastiano and said goodbye. The wind helped my get this nice shot of the Venetian flag hanging on a hotel on our street:

and I saw this sleeping gondoliere:

We found a new little street that arrives at Campo San Barnaba. We passed by this “underground garage”

and breathed in a little more of Venice on a bridge near there:

We had talked about just getting a spritz and snack for dinner and we wanted to pop into La Bitta to reserve for when we are back here for the last night before flying home.
We took a look at their menu in the window, knowing that they open at 7:00 but are generally fully booked. When they opened the door we were standing right there. I asked if there was a place and Deborah said only in the front room which is actually our favorite. So, we sat down for a wonderful chance dinner at La Bitta. We didn’t order too much. Shared an app of some “mountain salami” which was made of goos and lamb with cumin and other spices–it was warm and great with the white polenta.
Next we each had our own pasta dish. Ken’s was tagliatelle with sausage and peppers and a little cream. It was not at all greasy and you could really get the sweetness of the peppers–not a complicated dish. I had small gnocchi with fresh ricotta and fresh tomatoes. Loved it!
We shared a big piece of “fluffy spice cake” it was like a sponge cake with poppy seeds and a drizzle of honey. It was still a bit warm and true comfort food. We shared a really nice, light sweet wine: Soandre Verduzzo Donato which was perfect with the cake. We drank house wine ( 4 glasses) thorough the meal. Bill was 60 euro. Satisfaction quotient: huge.
We walked home and decided to go up to the “Constitution” bridge to see the sunset. We had a nice breeze and view before we went home and did some more packing stuff. Domani–una nuova aventura.