We were at breakfast right when they turned the lights on again. It seemed like the Center Don Orione is filled with older people, like me. B.J. is a bit on the young side of the diners. Later during our visit we were there closer to the end of the breakfast service and the room was filled with young people - students or just younger travelers. Maybe they stay out later at night! Maybe their jet lag manifests itself in some other way! Anyway, it was funny.
Our plan today was to visit the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in the Dorsoduro neighborhood. We were there a bit too early, so headed over to La Salute Church, close by. The church was built in the mid-1600s by grateful survivors of the 1630 plague that decimated the population of Venice. It has an impressive dome that visitors can pay to climb, and some paintings by Titian and Tintoretto in the sacristy that you also need to buy tickets for. We were happy just seeing the church and knowing its significance to the local people.
La Salute Church
Peggy Guggenheim came to live in Venice after WWII and amassed a large collection of contemporary art in a city known for the art of the Renaissance. She collected works by Picasso, Man Ray, Dali, Pollock, Kandinsky, Calder and many others. The location of her house/museum is spectacular, with a large terrace on the grand canal.
Gates at the entry of the Peggy Guggenheim Museum
Iron sculpture in the courtyard
Neon message in the hedge
The view of the grand canal from Peggy's terrace
On our way back through the Dorsoduro neighborhood, we stopped for lunch at a place I'd eaten at 6 years ago. It was Easter Sunday on that visit, and 8 of us had just arrived in the neighborhood. Miraculously we were able to get into this place for dinner that evening, with no reservations. On subsequent nights the place was fully booked, so we lucked out that first time, and I'll never forget the restaurant. The food was great then, and still great today. It's called Ai Cugnai, and we had a nice lunch of pasta with seafood this time. We were sitting next to a father and daughter in town for a family gathering. The father was an architect and told us that the Biennale Di Architettura would be opening in Venice in a few days. There were lots of parties and gatherings happening before the judging and opening of the exhibits and press from all over the world would be here for the awards ceremony. This specialty doesn't draw as big a crowd as the Biennale for the arts, which alternates with architecture every other year, but by our estimation Venice was filled with architects! The biennale exhibits stay in town for six months.
After our nice lunch we headed over to a famous bookstore we'd both read about. It's called Libraria Acqua Alta (acqua alta means high water, the scourge of Venice). The store has thousands of books, hundreds about Venice, and many displayed in floatable vessels, in case of the acqua alta. There are a few cats running around, and books stacked up to create a staircase outside. It's a funky place, and you could actually buy a good book there!
A gondola filled with books, just in case
One more thing our fellow-diner architect mentioned was The Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari church. He said some of the paintings had been restored, and the color was so clear and bright now. The one behind the main altar is by Titian.
Titian's Assumption of the Virgin
The church was filled with amazing paintings and sculpture. We were glad we visited.
We're scheduled to meet our hostess for tonight's dinner in Campo S. Barnaba at 7, and we were already near there, but had some time to kill. There was a Leonardo da Vinci exhibit in a small church on the square, and it was raining, so we paid the few euro entry fee and went inside. There were small models of many of the inventions he sketched. Most of them were never actually built, but you can see what a genius he was with his ideas.
Shortly before 7 we saw our hostess waiting by the fountain. We booked this dinner through Eat With, an organization that advertizes cooking classes, market experiences and meals with local people in cities all over the world. Our hostess, Barbara, would be cooking dinner for us in her apartment. Though she can accommodate up to 6 people, we were the only guests on this night.
She said normally her guests would have an aperitivo in the square before going to her apartment, but it was raining, so we skipped that part. It was very fun to see how regular people lived in Venice. The apartment she shared with her husband was small, but very charming. She managed to cook lots of fun meals in her tiny kitchen. We enjoyed our evening with her, and had some very tasty food, made from fresh ingredients of the season. Plus, we learned a lot about life in Venice!
Our first course was baby artichokes sliced thin marinated in vinegar and oil topped with pecorino cheese
Our dessert was panna cotta topped with strawberries.
In between these courses we had handmade ravioli filled with cheese, along with white asparagus and homemade bread. Organic wine was served throughout the dinner.
After 2 hours we thanked her for a lovely evening, and headed back to our lodging, which wasn't very far away surprisingly.
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