We had no specific plan or goal so we started with coffee at the Puppa and headed towards the San Marco area. The doors of the Santi Appostoli church were open so we went in briefly. On the door was a poster about the restoration of the clock on the tower. Looking up from the campo you can see it gleaming gold:

Not so crowded this morning (Andy says everyone is in church) we made our way past the foot of the Rialto, past the statues of Goldoni and Manin. We stopped to gaze at the Scala Contarini del Bovolo. Andy has been looking for a nice Italian scarf so we went into the Lellabella yarn shop, I always feast my eyes in her window but had never been inside. After I asked if she had any scarves for men, she removed some of the shelves in the back of the tiny shop where she had boxes of scarves. She seemed to know exactly where everything was and showed us some beautiful wool and silk peices. Andy chose a great grey, goemetric patterned scarf and she took typical Italian care in wrapping it for him.

From there we carried on through Santo Stefano and to the top of the Accademia bridge. The constuction is finished there and I was able to play tour guide with Andy, pointing out things in view. Heading back, we passed the contemporary gallery with the courtyard to see these:

We came into Piazza San Marco from the back, the center was flooded and so we just styed for a moment for Andy to get a last look and walked back home for a brief rest before lunch.

Al Covo for lunch: I have wanted to go there for a long time but it was always booked so I made this reservation about a month ago. We all really enjoyed it. The amuse was a clever play on the tramezzini–a small white bread square sandwhich of sliced hardboiled eggs, mayo and anchovies. We shared a dish of perfectly fried moeche (very small soft shell crabs) and beautiful zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta and mint and a buratta with a peppery cured ham called lardelatto and fresh arugula. I could not say which was the best–sooo good. Ken had the best, soupy and full of beany flavor, pasta & fagioli I’ve every tried. Andy and Donna shared seared tuna with eggplant. I loved my veal cutlet with sublte (we’re not in Piemonte anymore) black truffles and pico di gallo but the pico was too spicy so I just ignored it after one taste. Our vegetable plate had fabuous greens, and beets. The star was the sweet bieta, like chard. I ordered the Amarone with my veal and it was silky and rich–perfect. We shared 2 desserts, the famous chocolate cake and hazelnut gelato with chocolate sause and cookies. What a nice lunch! We all talked with Diane, the owner before we set out in a good strong rain to walk home.

We had a good rest time before we took the short walk to our friends Amy and Larry’s apartment for a wonderful dinner of salumi and salads and wine. Grazie mille, Amy and Larry. After lots of Italy travel conversation and more, we came home.

A totally successful day!