Cindybelle's Bella Notte TR COMPLETE!! - UPDATED 10/19 With Prices! About This Page:

[SuperDave]

Originally Posted by cindybelle

My pleasure, Dave! Leave it to us Disney fans to know how to spend money.

I think it may be Disney who knows how to spend it for us...and they do one heck of a job at it!!!

[MGW]

Thanks for all the wonderful updates! Everything is just absolutely beautiful!

The steps in the tower remind me of my journey up the William Wallace Monument in Stirling, Scotland. Except people were coming down as we were going up, so you had to turn sideways most of the way. Talk about up close and personal!

Can't wait to read more!

[SuperDave]

Sort of like the tower to see the Blarney Stone in Ireland too. So narrow and dark with people ascending and descending at the same time. Not good if you have claustrophobia! But luckily I don't.

[cindybelle]

After our final delicious and relaxing breakfast at Il Bargello, we bid thanks and goodbye to assistant manager Alison and then walked to the train station with our luggage. Another great thing about Firenze -- it's so walkable, even with luggage!

While waiting for the 10:37 train, I purchased a little journal (8 Euros well spent) and some panoramic postcards of Rome’s Vatican City, Firenze, and Venezia, with the idea that I would pin these to my office wall. (I'm looking at them right now -- SO glad I purchased those. I was able to keep them flat by sticking them in the inside pocket of my check-on luggage. These cards are about 14 inches wide. As for the journal, it's very Italian in appearance, and it kept me occupied on our three (!) flights home on Saturday -- I just kept scribbling all my reminiscences from the trip, looking at notes I'd jotted on scraps of paper, in our little "accounting" book, etc. )



The train arrived in Venice around 13:15 (1:15 p.m.), about 2.5 hours after leaving Florence. Paul purchased 24-hour water bus passes for us. While he did that, Robbie and I started snapping pictures. Here's a cute tee-shirt -- I'm going to use this photo on the back cover of my Venice book -- which I should get finished in about 3 months! (I just finished my Rome book -- 115 pages, and I still want to proofread it about three times before I order it from Snapfish -- can't wait to see it, though! Then I'll start my Firenze book -- that may turn into two volumes! )








We took the water bus to the Ca’ Rezzonico dock and then walked a short distance to the San Barnaba Hotel. Of course, I stood the entire ride and snapped photos like mad. We are HERE!







Disney invades Venice! Take a look at this "Snow White" boat. This made me












Robbie’s older brother had stayed at the San Barnaba last year, and we quickly appreciated why he liked it so much. Beautiful, and in a quiet location.


Here's a sitting room on the second floor of the hotel -- our rooms were up another level, but we accessed those stairs by going through the right (Rick and me) or the left (Paul & Robbie) rounded doors in the corner.





I think the manager told us Hotel Barnaba is a 16th-century building (way newer than our 15th century digs at Firenze's B&B Il Bargello )



Rick’s and my room and bathroom were the largest ones we’d had the entire vacation, and we had a bathtub – which meant no more knocking our elbows into the narrow shower doors we'd gotten accustomed to in Roma and Firenze. The air conditioning was nice and cool. Excellent! Of course, we paid a lot more for these rooms than we had in Roma and Firenze -- the San Barnaba cash rate was 150 Euros a night. That's another reason why we decided to stay in Firenze a 5th night -- we only had to pay the 150 for the last two nights of the trip.


We took photos out our window at the courtyard where breakfast is served. We all enjoyed talking to the desk manager, who is a gracious host with thoughtful suggestions.

Around 15:00, we felt the need for food. (Actually, I was getting light-headed and a little nauseous.) We walked a short distance to a piazza and sat outside, under a canopy, and ordered pizza and soft drinks. At that point, Rick and Paul kept looking around the piazza and announced that they thought we were sitting in the very spot where a scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed (that's the one with Sean Connery in it, and much of the story takes place in Venice). When we got home, Rick immediately put the movie on and then showed me the photos he'd taken -- yep, we were right where Indy stood! I'll see if I can locate those photos later.

Lunch revived us, and so we took two water buses to the island of Murano, where the glass factories are located. We were too late for the factory tours, but Robbie and I were eager to shop for glass earrings. Many were way out of our price range (particularly the mosaic designs, which are made from tiny pieces of glass and minerals). But we found many we could buy for ourselves and as gifts. Then we used our 24-hour water bus passes to ride to the Rialto Bridge. It was fun to explore the bridge and the shops on it. (You may notice the word "shop" getting a lot of use in my Venice stories. )


Photos coming!
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[cindybelle]

Here's the famous Rialto Bridge:



As we took the water bus to the island of Murano (shopping for glass earrings), here's some of the scenery we enjoyed.



A kindly Italian vendor offered to take a picture of the four of us:




Here's a window box full of flowers -- made from Murano glass.


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[cindybelle]

OK, I've just got to ask this question: Are any of you PP fans as crazy for musicals as I am? If so, are you familiar with the score for a little-known musical called "Do I Hear a Waltz?" from the early 1960s? It's the only time Richard Rodgers (my personal absolute favorite American musical composer of all time -- whether he teamed with Lorenz Hart or Oscar Hammerstein II, he was fantastic) teamed with Stephen Sondheim (who at that time was writing lyrics only).

Anyway, it's a musicalized version of an old movie called "Summertime" which starred Katharine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi (who later starred in the movie version of "South Pacific"). She's an uptight American and he's a smooth-talking Venezian. I remember seeing the movie on TV when I was a kid.

I've never seen the musical, and no doubt never will -- a lot of the storyline is too dated. But I memorized the original cast album back in high school and apparently never forgot it, because the opening number, when Leona (the main character) arrives in Venice and to her amazement bursts into tears, kept going through my head the entire time we were in Venice. And as I share these stories and photos, the song is running through my head again.

So forgive me, dear PP friends, as I share some of the lyrics:

Someone woke up one incredible day.
Had an idea and was prompted to say,
"Let's build a city --
Where should it be?
How -- a--bout--the--middle of that sea?"

Someone drew plans like a set for a stage.
Someone spilled colors all over the page.
Then -- they -- built -- it -- Cookie, ya know why?
Just so Leona could come here --
And cry.

Much as I hated to leave Firenze, I am SO GLAD we visited Venezia! Rick said later that Venice was his favorite part of the trip -- because there is no place on earth like Venice. You've got a gazillion little bridges and lots of narrow, winding "streets" (which make Firenze's narrow streets seem like 4-lane highways in comparison). Water everywhere. Colorful boats. Gondolas -- you name it.

Look, they even painted the damn sky! Just so the four of us'd come here -- and cry!



And no, we didn't take a gondola ride -- even the water taxis were ridiculously expensive, and frankly we had so much fun walking over all the little bridges that we never even wanted to stop for a gondola ride. So we lived vicariously through all those who did spend the big bucks for it!





Churcha-churcha!








Rick and Cindy, peeking out our bedroom window at Hotel San Barnaba:



You want more? 'Cause I've got tons of photos!
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[chezp]

What beautiful photos - you're reminding me just how stunning Venice is.

[goofysdtr]

Um . . . YES! More please!

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures of Venice!

[SuperDave]

Love the photos of Venezia Cindy. I stayed in 2006 for a two day pre-stay for my Rick Steves tour. It was in the Rialto section. If you take a left across the bridge and keep going straight for about a minute, that's where my hotel was. Although, I would exit across the far side of the bridge as it's too crowded on the bottom of the near side with all the little shops. I stayed in a Penzione owned by two brothers. It was located close to some some cheese and meat shops as well as the big outdoor produce and fish markets. I loved the locale and the hotel. It was recommended in Rick Steves Italy book. Wasn't too expensive either and I got the Rick Steve's cash only discounted rate too.

Bring on more photos and stories of Venezia! Can't wait.

[cindybelle]

Venice is a city of beautiful facades – palaces, churches, carnival masks – that can cover darker interiors of intrigue and decay. The Doge’s Palace, with its frilly pink exterior, hides the fact that the “Most Serene Republic” (as it called itself – “serene” meaning stable) was far from serene in its heyday. The Doge’s Palace housed the fascinating government of this rich and powerful empire. It also served as the home for the Venetian ruler known as the doge, or duke. From 1150-1550, this was the most powerful half-acre in Europe. The rest of Europe marveled at the way Venice could govern itself without a dominant king, bishop, or tyrant. The doges wanted their palace to reflect the wealth and secular values of the Republic, impressing visitors and serving as a reminder that the Venetians were Number One in Europe. (Rick Steves, Venice 2009)

The Secret Itineraries Tour follows the doge’s footsteps through rooms not included in the general admission. After checking in, we received headsets so that we could hear our English-speaking guide clearly. There were probably 30 tourists in our group, and our guide had a heavy Italian accent, so it took us awhile before we felt we understood her. But it was fascinating to hear about Casanova’s attempt to cut a hole through the floor of his cell, only to be moved the day before his planned escape – and then to hear how he and a defrocked priest finally did manage to escape. We saw secret rooms with doors that have larger hinges on the bottom than they do on the top – so that they automatically closed. We saw the torture room, where prisoners were brought in the dead of night – imagine their terror as they heard the screams of the prisoners being tortured before them, and the tendency to admit to anything to avoid that fate. We were allowed to take some photos during the tour. Fascinating stuff.

The building’s exterior style is called Venetian Gothic – a fusion of Italian Gothic with a delicate Islamic flair. The columns originally had bases on the bottoms, but these were covered over as the columns sank, and the square was built up over the centuries. If you compare this lacy, top-heavy structure with the massive fortress palaces of Florence, you realize the wisdom of building a city in the middle of the sea—you have no natural enemies except gravity. This unfortified palace in a city with no city wall was the doge’s way of saying, “I am an elected and loved ruler. I do not fear my own people.” (Rick Steves)

Getting to the Doge's Palace meant walking past the famous St. Mark's Square (and yes, parts of it do look familiar to Epcot fans).
















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[cindybelle]

We stopped at a little sandwich shop after the Doge's Palace tour, and I was delighted to see Disney signs like these:




Next to the restrooms:



Earlier in this TR, I mentioned that Pinocchio is big all over Italy. I was determined to bring home a souvenir with a "real Italian" version of our favorite wooden puppet, and I found what I was looking for in Venice. I'm looking at him right now -- I've got him hanging on the wall above my desk. He's about 8 inches tall.





I think I told you that Paul and Robbie are expecting their first grandchild or rather make that grandchildren. Well, since returning home we've found out that their daughter Michelle is expecting identical twin boys, probably in March -- so the two little tee shirts I purchased in Rome will work beautifully. The shirts are actually navy blue, but look black in this photo.




Now, here's a photo of Pinocchio from right here in St. Louis, and he's VERY tall. This sculpture of Pinocch' captures the exuberance of children everywhere, and he stands proudly in our new City Garden.


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[mcc0313]

They do say to leave the best for last...Venice is just gorgeous. I just love how everything is right on the water...and the bridges. You can post as many pictures as you want, each one is even more beautiful than the one before. I love your Pinnochio puppet and the t-shirts are adorable.

[cindybelle]

One more view of St. Louis' Pinocchio, from a different angle:





OK, now back to Venice.

Both of our evenings in Venezia were spent at the same ristorante -- because we liked it so much on Thursday that we simply had to go back on Friday. It was about a block from Hotel San Barnaba, and it offers a delightful back patio area -- no one was sitting inside, although the ristorante's interiors looked welcoming. The evening breezes were so nice that nobody want to eat indoors.

Name: Al Profeta
Server: Micheal (not Michael)

Now, before we left the USA, Rick looked at regional specialties and discovered that the Venice area's specialty is Fegato di Vitello alla Veneziana.

Doesn't that sound lovely? The translation is Calves' Liver and Onions. Now, Rick is a huge fan of said Liver and Onions, so he was determined to order it at least once in Venice. Sure enough, Al Profeta had it on the menu and Rick claims it's the best he's ever had.

All I know is, I have NEVER seen Rick so ecstatic over every single bite of a meal before. Take a look:




And yes, Rick ordered Fegato di Vitello alla Veneziana again on Friday night. He let us taste the onions and sauce, and I must say they were -- but there was no way I was going to try the "fegato."




The four of us drank more wine there than anywhere else on the trip. Robbie and I also had desserts there that were yummy. (Yes, both nights!) Below is Al Profeta's version of Panna Cotta -- cooked cream. Oh boy, could I eat some right now!




I got a photo with Micheal our last night there -- he was so much fun.




Everything was good there -- the salad, the appetizers, the bread. Thursday night I ordered a simple pasta with pesto sauce, and I practically licked the plate clean. You have to understand something: I NEVER finish my food. Well, I did at Al Profeta!
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[cindybelle]

One evening, we sat Cindy-Paul on one side of the table and Robbie-Rick on the other.










And the other night, we each sat with our Main Squeeze:






Either way, the wine kept flowing. Man, that was good!

This is a bit blurry (I wonder why ), but here's my favorite appetizer, which of course I ordered both evenings -- my Caprese salad.



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