10/12 Saturday
More churches and museums! We visit
the Carlos Goldoni House, home to the 18th Century playwright. His
father had built a puppet theater in one room for him, which is still there,
with all his puppets. A desk and some other furnishings are about all they
have, but it’s amusing to be in the home, pretending we live there.
The Ca’ Rezzonico is another
grand 18th C palace museum, with royal furnishings and elaborate
ceiling frescos. We watch a video of one of the famous frescos being restored,
an incredibly detailed and careful process, with marvelous results. On the
third floor is a collection of paintings donated by one Edigio Martini. There
are rooms and rooms full of work from the 15th to 18th centuries.
It’s not entirely clear what his curatorial interest was, but naked ladies
seemed to play a significant role.
We find ourselves in a local
neighborhood, which we know because there are children with roller blades and
scooters running all kinds of loose on the plaza, screaming as loud as they
can. We also seem to be near a university, judging by the groups of younger
people filling the cafe tables, smoking and piling up beer bottles. No tourists
are to be found here. We squeeze in between the tables
and order an Aperol spritz for just 3 Euros each. A four-year-old careens into our table with her trike, but she
scoots off unabashed to join her little brother, who is stabbing at everyone
near him with his umbrella sword.
After our relaxing cocktail, we look
for a nice taverna for dinner. We find a small spot with dark beams on the
ceiling and two sisters working as the front of the house, with somebody, maybe
mom, running the impossibly small kitchen. We’re given a table, and told we can
have red wine or white wine, whichever we prefer. “It’s our own wine, it’s
good,” she assures us, and we have no reason to doubt her. Of course, some
people sit right next to us, even though there are other tables at this hour.
They’re an older British couple, and have that mumbly, nattering way of talking
that older British couples can have. It
turns out that they’ve each ordered a grilled fish, which comes to them
gloriously whole, hanging off the plate, crispy and glistening. Bob is beside
himself watching them pick at it. “They didn’t even touch the head!” he says in disbelief once they’ve finished.
1 Video Included
Venice Churches
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