James and Marissa Visit - Venice, Italy

Finally another chapter of the blog, sorry that it took us so long to update recently! All is well in Dublin, Erin is home visiting her fam for a couple weeks while I endure the summer that we are still waiting for in Dublin. It isn't too cold and has been dry since April, but the last few days have been a little wet, so bring a sweater before visiting; or just drink lots of wine like our friend Adamo, great man, famous in America:

We had the fortune to be part of Marissa and James' first European adventure earlier in June. We consider it an honour that they decided to do this trip despite having a new house and having never traveled out of North America. Nonetheless, the Italian adventure that has been months in planning can now begin!! James and Marissa arrived on a Thursday, when which we spend a full day walking around Dublin and went to the Guinness Storehouse (I think Erin has a permanent stool in the sky bar).

We departed to Venice on Friday morning, spending 24 hours walking around, trying the local cuisine, and enjoying the €4/liter house wine at all the restaurants. We took the Grand Canal to the San Silvester stop on which our b&b host met us at the stop and led us as we weaved in and out of skinny canals and side streets to a quiet little spot called Residenza degli Angeli, http://www.angelibb.com/ which was perfect for us and reasonable for Venice standards in terms of cost (€180 for 4) and location (5 minutes from Rialto bridge). Once we dropped our stuff off we just wandered the streets of Venice, getting lost, getting some amazing pics, and some amazing gilato. We had lunch at a restaurant called Banco Giro, which was right on the grand canal, but slightly over priced for the quality of food served (€14-€20 for a main). Regardless, it was amazing to soak in the vibe of Venice with a couple jugs of house white.

We continued to wander around the city, going to St. Marco plaza and walking all along the surrounding area. There is no other place like Venice, which makes the scenery so spectacular and makes us fortunate to have the opportunity to visit the historical town.

Grand Canal from Rialto bridge...

Rialto bridge....

We later went and had an appertif before our gondola ride at Cantina do Mori, a very old wine bar that serves countless wine by the glass and tapa-esque finger bites. They put the wine by the glass on a chalkboard everyday and have great cheese. Kevin Garnett would hit his head on all the pots on the ceiling though as they didn't have him in mind when it opened in the 1800s. I definitely recommend it as it has great ambiance.

After our wine stop we flagged Comedian Gallagher (hopefully the pic below is expandable), who coincedently was giving Gondola rides that night! Although the price is steep and the ride isn't long enough, it was a great experience that I highly recommend while visiting. We wandered through narrow canals where you could only hear the voice of a few small kids kicking a soccer ball in an otherwise empty square or the perfect movements of the Ore of our Gondoliere.

After our Gondola ride, we had an amazing meal at a very local restaurant near the Rialto bridge (for a true Venitian experience, the restaurants off the grand canal are usually a little more local). I apologise but the name escapes me; what doesn't escape me is the amazingly tasty and cheap house red, James' black, black fish dinner, and the fact that a couple locals brought their dogs into the restaurant! See Erin's facebook for related photo!The next morning we walked around the Rialto fish and fruit and veg market, observing a truely alive fish market, fish, customers, and vendors alike.
The Venitian experience was a great one....off to our 10th Century Abby/Hotel/Restaurant/Vineyard near Radda in Chainti!