***** You may be confused on why this is starting with ‘R’. For many years, I’ve written about my travels using an “Alphabetical Approach. This trip to Italy is a c0ntinuation of a lovely week spent in Greece which started with ‘A’. If you’re interested in reading about adventuring around several Greek Islands by way of a Celebrity Cruiseline trip, click in the Greece Category to find A-Q, there! *****

With Anara safely in tow, and since most of us weren’t hungry for a big meal quite yet, it was logical to head out to see some sights and hit up some Pre-Dinner. While Anara WAS quite tired and needing a shower, she was also anxious to see what Venice had to offer. Travel adrenaline is a real thing.

If you have ever visited the City of Bridges, you know that wandering is what’s done. It’s customary to simply start walking, get oneself lost, hope you have GPS, shop, eat, repeat. So that’s what this trio did. We did not have GPS, so we had to rely on memory and luck. I am short of at least one of those these days, but wander we did.

We came across a few of the many mask shops and made it a point to browse in at least a couple. In one, the proprietor let us know that she offers classes on mask making and invited us to come back for one when we returned from our Italian Tour. Anara and I did seriously consider doing this, but there just isn’t time to do everything you’d like. Photos are generally NOT allowed inside the mask shops, but I managed to get a couple of the window displays. The variety and craftsmanship are rather mind-blowing. Yes, they are actually all made in these little shops, and you can often watch them being crafted in the back room as you browse. Of course, the girls thought the Plague Doctor was great having just watched the Haunting of Hill House.

I continued my love affair with door hardware and knockers and again, the sheer variety was really rather remarkable. Some must be very, very old.

Of course, there are ancient churches and campanile all around that call out the hour with beautiful bells signaling the time for kids to come home from playing soccer in the plaza squares at dusk. One can almost become intoxicated on the scents of freshly cooking Italian dishes wafting out of open windows above. For those who need a quick meal on the way home, there is always a hearty bowl of homemade pasta ready!

It wasn’t long before we found a cute little enoteca that cheerfully invited us in. Bar stool seating only, we put in our order of a small plate of cicchetti and 3 Aperol Spritzes and got ready to toast the start to a wonderful few days together. We only had a short amount of overlapping time, but we promised to make the most of it as we sipped and nibbled.

The evening was falling darker by the time we finished and we still needed to grope our way back to the Airbnb; at some point, Mom and Dad would be done napping and hungry for a real meal. That wasn’t to say we didn’t still take some time to soak up what bit of nighttime Venice we could.

I mean how could you not stop and drink a scene like this in??

Our return was timed perfectly, and we ended up all meeting here:

http://www.ristorantealgobbodirialto.com/

… which was literally next door to our AirBnb. And wow was it fantastic!! I wish I had photos of more of what we ordered, but all I got were these:

Mikki ordered a big seafood salad which was really very good:

I do recall that Dad ordered a chicken cutlet scallopini-style with potatoes and loved it. There was also pasta, melon and prosciutto, bread, and wine. Always wine!

And with that, it was time to turn in for some sweet Italian dreams.

Next up, a day in Florence!