We got up early. I crammed in my blog post and we all had a quicky breakfast at the hotel. We drove Amy and Kevin to Linate airport; there was some traffic backing up around Milan but it was not horrible and they got there with time to spare. Good byes were teary, loving, huggy–well just imagine. We had really done this trip and along with the sadness we were all just thrilled we had made this dream a reality.
Ken and I turned the car around and headed for Venice. Got here around 1:00. Checked into the Imperial Hotel right near Piazzale Roma. Our room is tiny but the A/C definitely works and it was no hassle coming from the car rental place, with all of our baggage, and going back to take the bus in the morning will be easy.
We headed over to the very nearby Majer for shakerato and a couple of tremezzini. We had a list of little errands to run–gifts to buy etc. We broke it all up by sitting in Campo Santa Maria Formaosa with a spritz and a beer for an hour. It was in the mid 90’s here today–not conducive to walking, full speed ahead, through the crowded Venice streets. We got everything done, just about, or we gave up on some things. We got our shuttle bus tickets for the morning and rested in the room for a while.
Dinner was a big decision and finally we decided to go to Osteria ae Cravate–not too far and not too fancy. We had walked by this place a thousand times and never eaten there. it was a perfectly satisfying dinner. We started with fantastic, super fresh mussels and clams in a nice broth with a little bit of chopped fresh tomato in it.
Ken had a pasta with pesto which was OK but no WoW factor. I had monkfish with vegetables which was on the same level. Ken had a beer and I had a very generous glass of prosecco and we shared a tiramisu. Bill came to 57euros. Not too bad for a fine meal sitting outside in Venice.
Now we are back in the hotel room. Everything is organized and packed. We plan to catch the 7:20 shuttle to the airport.
It’s been awesome in the literal sense of the word. I feel satisfied and ready to go home.
This was a great trip!