Arriving in Venice

We have arrived!

First, we landed in Dusseldorf as planned, they checked our passports and such in between gates, but we still had time to get to our plane.  From Dusseldorf to Venice is just a quick hop, about an hour and forty minutes.  We were awesomely surprised when all we had to do was grab our bags and walk out of the airport- no customs required! A quick shout out to AirBerlin.  It was a very pleasant ride, comfy seats, complementary blankets, pillows, water bottles and wine.

We then lugged our rolling suitcases to the water taxi/bus called the Vaporetto.  The nice B&B we are staying in in Venice sent us an email with some very clear directions.  Water bus to San Zaccaria, get off, walk 2 blocks (or something like that).  So, fully psyched that we landed on time, were one of the first people to grab bags and not having to go through a customs lines, we booked it out to the water bus.  Getting a ticket was easy, then we waited on the floating dock for the boat to arrive and piled in. 

It was hot.  We were both dressed in warmish weather clothing since the planes are usually cold and it was a little chilly when we left the big apple.  So, with the bags, the hot sun and the walk to the water bus, we were sweaty.  Piled into the water bus, we headed on our way.  We were constantly passed by private boats for hire.  Justin and I scoffed, "why you would spend 100 Euro for a private taxi boat when you can spend 15 and take the bus?!" Well, after our hour and 40 minute water bus ride to our stop, we understood the benefit to the private boat ride.  The bus moves quite slowly. So picture this… We've been on a plane, in which they stuck us in the middle row of the center section of seats, then on another plane, then on the slow moving water bus that was hot and cramped… What happens to a Seconi that has not been able to move around for close to 12 hours, has not been fed a decent meal and is deprived of sleep? Half way through the bus ride Justin was threatening to get off and walk the rest of the way with our bags.  He was in desperate need of some exercise, coffee and food (or a good half hour of double ball throwing with Larry). 

Our B&B is fabulous, it's called B&B 3C (www.venice3c.com).  It's a block or two from the San Zaccaria/San Marco taxi stop and around the corner from Piazza San Marco- very centrally located.  It's a cute, small modern place with key pass entry locks and cute little bathrooms.  We highly recommend it.  The owners are very friendly and knowledgeable.  They gave us a quick walk through of a Venice map and highlighted a few recommendations.  They suggested we head to see some of the Biennale art show today because we will have a hard time fitting everything in tomorrow.  This was some of the best advice we'll probably get the whole trip.  By the time we got the main indoor art exhibit it was about 6:00pm Italy time.  There were no lines and the exhibit rooms were almost empty.  The evening when the sun hangs low in the sky is always my favorite time of day, add to that Venice + fabulous art in an exquisite exhibition room and I'm in heaven. 

I am going to turn Art Geek on you for a minute here… One of the main reasons we included Venice on this trip was to see the Biennale de Venezia.  This year it's curated by a curator from NYC named Massimiliano Gioni.  The Biennale is essentially an international art show, this year drawing art from 88 different countries and ranges from old to new artists, well known to new found.  The main indoor exhibit is hosted in the Arsenale, a great huge old brick and stone structure.  The space alone is breathtaking, but the curator is pure genius.  This year's Biennale is one of the best art exhibits I've ever seen.  The art flowed brilliantly and juxtaposed 20^th century sculpture with modern abstract painting and video art with giant stone installations.  The artists chosen were clever and interesting, some grotesque, some odd, some simply stunning.  There were a handful of surrealist artists whose work reflected their brilliant imaginations that reminded us of my Brother Michael's work.  Mike, your color pencil drawings could have hung right next to some of these!

We spent about an hour and a half walking through the Arsenale, taking it all in.  The sun was going down when we were done and we had a beautiful walk back along the water to our hotel to freshen up and change before we headed to get some dinner. 

Justin picked out a little place called Enoteca al Volto.  Venice is known for its cicheti which are essentially small tapas.  We had a few glasses of wine, a few cicheti and spilt a plate of pasta.  Deeeelish.  We strolled home through the narrow calle (streets) peeking in shop windows that had closed for the night.  Our walk home took us through Piazza San Marco, which at night alive with people enjoying dinner outside.  The restaurants also set up small stages that hold a few musicians playing lovely tunes.  We ate some gelato while listening to a few songs from the Phantom of the Opera and danced a little while.  The weather was great.  It had cooled down to a comfortable temperature.  We had a truly excellent first night in Italy.