Wednesday, October 25, 2006
7 Aug: Venice
The very reason for the trip: Venice where we come! Venice is formed because the folks were constantly harassed by barbarians. So they want out and moved to the mudflats that is Venice. Venice is a living prove of how guai lan the Italians are: living on constantly sinking mudflats. But their guai lan-ness did result in one hell of a city! Nice.There is only 1 road/rail that leads into Venice. Only a fool would drive to Venice. Your car can only be parked at the entrance and left there for good.
Stepping out of the trainstation, this is the sight that greeted us.
I know then that I'll be loving this city for sure. As usual, the first mission is to locate the hotel. Lugging our massive luggage as we look for the hotel is no mean task. We had to cross 8 bridges to get there. We got a bit lost but eventually found our hotel.
I have no idea why they have to attach a dumbbell to the freakin key. But luckily we have to return the key to them when we go out, reliving us of the chore of lugging it around. At the hotel we are greet by
We call her Constipation Girl®. You talk to her for more than 10 seconds and her face start to scrunch up. I hope she never gets to read this blog. In our limited time frame before she gets really constipated, we asked for recommendation for a good place for lunch and she directed us to the restaurant half a meter away from our location. Yes the street is that tight.
Now don't ask me why I point using my forth finger. I have no idea. We ordered their version of tapas. You just point at the various salads and dishes and they fill up a plate for you. Then proceed to rape you with the bill: there is no menu, no fixed portion. So they basically bill you according to the way they are feeling at that moment.
Note the funny looking prawn. It got a triangular head, funny color and mini claws.Remember what I said about risotto being my newest favorite food? Throughout the trip, we've been trying to find good risotto. But to our dismay, the are only sold in pairs. I've always wondered why that is so. That is until I went back to Singapore and tried making it myself. It is so time and labor intensive. You've have to stand there and coax the rice to suck up the broth. Ladle by ladle. Too much and it will drown and become soggy instead of creamy. Lucky for us, another customer requested for the same dish and we get to order risotto Negro. Racist, I know. But that is what they call it.
The squid ink gave it the icky look and the yummy taste. I tried making this dish but my squid is really low on ink. Should have gotten the Red Leaf squid. They leak ink like no body's business.One gelato for the road!
Surprisingly, gelato in Venice is cheaper than Rome and Florence. But the standard is not as good. Too sweet and not as smooth. But since it was cheap, we had 4 on the very first day in Venice.
After lunch, we head to Lido. No, not the cinema house. Lido is this 11km long sandbar (thats what wiki calls it though I think 'island' is more fitting). So, off onto our first vaporetti ride!
Vaporettis are the cheapest and most common form of transport in Venice. Sure there are cheaper ones. Its called walking. Nothing with wheels work in Venice. On the other end of the price spectrum is the gondola. But that is another story for another day.After a nice breezy vaporetti trip, we reached Lido and proceeded to do the usual touristy thing like renting one of these.
We saw them in Rome, in Villa Borghese but reckon that there is nothing much to explore there. But 11km of sandy beach seemed like a good idea so we hopped on. Only the left steering wheel works and the efficiency of these things sucks! We got owned by this fitness-siao lady on the road.
Coupled with the fact that Shuyi's legs are barely moving, I had a terrific time. After the workout, we had dinner at this restaurant. We chose that particular one because it has tied up with the Rolling Venice Card we purchased and has some discounts. The Rolling Venice Card is a must-buy in Venice as it covers 3 days of unlimited transport (which is enough, by itself, to justify the price) and discounts at various restaurants, museums and shops.The cb waiter try to pull a fast one on us and ge siao by saying the discount is only 10% instead of the 15% stated in the brochure. I shrugged it off but Shuyi insist we get the 15% (she is surprisingly firm on these things). So we did. I had it with these thieves!
We ordered seafood soup (which is anything they found in the fridge + boiling water) and a steak (them Italians really suck at steaks. cheese slurping hippies!). Oh and they provide lemon with anything. Thats the only thing they are generous with. Half a lemon. Thanks lor.
Kids are locked up while adults go play at the beach. Attached to this prison is a damn retro arcade with games I thought I ain't ever gonna see again. We strolled down towards the free beach. Most of the prime beach (I read) belongs to the various hotels there. When we arrived at the beach, it was pretty much deserted. Just a few stray ang mohs and seagulls hanging around.
Being the Elmira that is Shuyi, she tried to creep up on the seagulls. Unless the seagull is super high on (sea)weed, she ain't getting her hands on any seagulls.
The setting sun was lovely and soon night fell and we headed back to the ferry point, ending our first day in the breathtaking city that is Venice.
Posted by weelian at 12:18 PM
Comments:
Post a Comment