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Published: October 29th 2007
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Our last day is winding down in beautiful Venice. This evening we have plans to meet up with friends (my boss Joe and his wife Pam) for drinks and dinner. By chance we happened to plan trips to Europe around the same time and this is the only day we were going to be in the same place.
We had an hour or so before we were to meet up at Harry's Bar, which is famous for its Bellini's. We took a nice stroll walking through the San Marco area market place along the Grand Canal. We enjoyed watching the artist and seeing another bride & groom.
We continued to stroll around the area and still a bit hung over from the night before, we decided to find a place to sit. We found a busy canal way and watched the people and gondolas go by as we relax on the steps of a Gondola stop near the Bauer Hotel.
This busy little area has a little white ornate church and bell towers peeking up over the buildings. We watch a local woman come up to the Gondola stop who had stern words (in Italian) for one of
Group of Gondoliers
in front of Piazzale San Marco on the Grand Canal (by JK) the men helping people exit their gondolas. He did not seem fazed by her, but she sure was mad at him.
There is a giant purple alligator attached to the side of the building above a Versace shop. We have seen this alligator all over Venice and wonder what they mean. Anyone knows, please enlighten us!
It is time to meet and we make our way back to Harry's Bar. It is really tiny and totally packed. We lucked out and got a table that was just being cleared. I ordered a Bellini and Bill had a martini. OMG! The Bellini was amazing. So good I could have drank them all night. Pam and Joe arrive and we enjoy more Bellini’s and other drinks. We have a fantastic chicken and mushroom appetizer and have a great time catching up on our experiences so far.
After multiple rounds of drinks we head to Pam & Joes hotel - The Bauer Hotel where we had spent some time relaxing on the canal earlier. We have reservations @ 9pm or so for dinner and had an hour or so before the reservation. The hotel is right on the Grand Canal
and we spend the time waiting on the outside patio where we shared a bottle of great wine and the guys had cigars.
At this point we forget we had been hung over and feeling pretty good by now, we make our way to Trattoria de Forni for dinner. It is another perfectly beautiful night in Venice as we stroll through St. Marks Sq. The evening with Pam & Joe has been wonderful so far.
Dinner was top notch. A great restaurant frequented by the locals where they have a head waiter directing the food service like an orchestra. The food and drinks were out of this world delicious. We started with appetizers of fresh tomato, mozzarella and basil and an order of Carpaccio. We all had a variety of pasta dishes for dinner which just melt in your mouth.
To end the evening, I had a big question in my head I needed to ask. To explain, I have seen hundreds of pigeons in the St. Mark Sq. during the day. However at night they are all gone. I just needed to know, where do they all go at night? I felt the question could be
answered by the head waiter who I asked not to laugh at me before I ask this question. He still laughed at me and his answer was "they just go up".
After talking awhile with our head waiter and finishing our last bottle of wine. It was time to say goodnight. We walked Pam & Joe back to their hotel. We took a few minutes to enjoy the music and artist still alive in the St. Marks Sq. We say goodnight and prepare for our new adventure ahead of us. We are off to Florence in the morning.
Ciao Venezia and we look forward to returning soon!
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