Chapter 16 - Travel Day Plus - Venice via Florence - the Ghetto

A Different View of Florence

We left Montepulciano and headed for Florence to catch the train to Venice. Along the way, in a bit of rain, we had a bit of a madcap event. While we went into a sandwich shop to get takeout for the train ride, our driver went to get the foam wine carrier linings for our luggage.

Then, we double parked on the side of a busy street and loaded 12 bottles of wine from individual bags into our wine case. It was an exciting start...

We still were early and our driver suggested going to Piazzale Michelangelo, a high park overlooking the city from across the river. It had been on our list of places for the views, but we never got there during our stay in Florence. And the views were postcard-perfect. 

You can see how the Duomo dominates the skyline.

And really appreciate how the city nestles in the hills.

And, finally, again wonder at the beauty of the Arno and the bridges.

It was our final "bye bye" to a wondrous city.

Getting onto the train was a bit of a challenge. We had two roller bags, two red wines cases (only one full), two large shopping bags—linens and leather plus our small carry ons—quite a sight. Of course ,our coach was the last one on an 11 car train. After the long walk, we saw that other passengers on the car also had a lot of luggage.But with teamwork, everything got into the luggage rack. A big "whew".

Arriving in Venice

We arrived mid-afternoon in a cold and windy rainstorm. Although our hotel was just across the canal from the train station and we were met by a water taxi, it was still a messy and inauspicious arrival. We had all the "stuff" described above and we had to get from the station down to the dock and the boat and then the reverse at our hotel. This was the only day of bad weather on our whole trip.

The hotel is right on one of the main canals. 

Our room was to the side, overlooking a small campo (plaza) shown here. It was smallish, but very modern and lovely.

Touring Old Venetian Synagogues

Shortly after we arrived, we quickly made our way over to the former Jewish Ghetto for a tour of the remainders of three old synagogues. The Ghetto existed from 1516-1797. Unfortunately, the guide was not particularly good; however, between the information we got on tours in Florence and Siena, we have some historical context.

Jews were not allowed in the building trades, so the buildings were built by Christians. Synagogues are usually not very ornamental, but given the builders and the taste of the times, these are pretty ornate. The first synagogue certainly exemplified this.

The artistry of the details were amazing, like this metalwork...

this glass,

and this marble.

The second synagogue was dazzling, as well, in blue and gold.

It, too, had amazing detailing.

The third synagogue was the smallest, but no less beautiful, with much gold decoration.

Through the camera lens, the closeups were amazing.

For example, this image depicts Noah and the flood.

A Great Dinner

The walk to dinner was rather treacherous in the rain. Keeping the umbrella from blowing inside out was a challenge. Finally it let up and we were in...Venice!

After wandering the twisty streets and alleys a little—the Google map blue dots helped guide the way - we found the restaurant La Zucca. 

The reviews said it was especially good for vegetarians, so we were a bit curious. In fact it was a wonderful trattoria with a variety of things, but emphasizing vegetables.  

We started with carpaccio followed by pasta with mushrooms, shown here.

The main was veal with incredible carrots done with lime and coriander.  

We finished with a delicious chocolate cake - ate it before we remember to take a pic! The wonderful thing about Italian cakes is that they are very flavorful but not very sweet. The dinner was just big bold flavors. 

The experience was made even more enjoyable by speaking with a young family from Portland OR sitting next to us. They had twin 8 year old daughters who were very charming and not hidden behind phone screens.   

We headed straight back to the hotel to get some rest. The next day was to be, perhaps, the busiest of the entire trip - a rich taste of Venice in 12 hours!