Friday, my 54th birthday, we arrived in Venice for the weekend. First off, thanks to Karen and Jim for recommending La Calcina—we loved staying in Zattere (section of Venice) and found it a charming haven from the incredible crowds over on the grand canal. We arrived easily after a day on the train and had dinner at the hotel’s restaurant outside on the canal…just heavenly! We had great seafood and fell in love with this alluring grand dame city on the canals.
Saturday morning we headed to the Academia, just a short walk from our hotel, for a personal tour on the development of painting in Venice. Lisa, our guide, moved to Venice from Oregon for a masters in art history program 12 years ago. She is living in Venice now and married to an Italian. A real extrovert, personal, and a great teacher with incredible insights about Venetian art, she was a wonderful docent. She gave us background and illustrated the development of painting in Venice by focusing on one painting in depth in each room. We learned a lot and saw some fabulous art! It was a great introduction to Italian art.
It was raining a bit but we wandered—the operative word in Venice—over to the Piazza de San Marco, amazed at the crush of people. The line for the Basilica of San Marco was ridiculously long, so we browsed a bit and made our way back to the hotel. It rained, so it was a good excuse to take some down time.
That evening we went out to Cantonini Storico, a restaurant in our neighborhood, to celebrate my birthday. Marty and I had the best risotto primavera we’ve ever tasted!!! I wore the scarf and earrings from my spirit sisters—thanks so much!! They made the evening even more festive.
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