Venice 2022

In June 2022, we traveled back to Italy for our first trip since the COVID-19 pandemic. While I enjoy hopping trains and moving from city to city, Mauricio was the master of this vacation (his birthday) and he wanted a full week in that magical city.

For this trip, I used Marriott Homes and Villas to book a historic one-bedroom apartment in the Jewish quarter for a very reasonable price. The beauty of using that site, was not only the cost is way cheaper than a Marriott Hotel in the city, but also you still earn Bonvoy points when you book. Win-Win!

 

The best way to get around Venice is via a water bus, or vaporetto, pass. You can see all there is to see and even go to Murano or Lido. Just taking the bus ride from Murano down to S. Marco south of Saint Mark's Basilica is worth the cost of the pass. They can be purchased inside the train station just as you arrive.

The most convenient option for a quick bite while strolling around Venice are cicchettis. At some places you can land 1 for a euro or 6 for 5 euros. A lot of the options are seafood related, but there are plenty of choices available without. Of course, wash those down with a cold pint of Moretti. 

While Venice is not known for its abundance of steak restaurants, we did take a break from cicchettis on two occasions to have a full meal.

The first choice, and by far the best, was Ristorante Due Fratelli. After a long day of walking and exploring, we opted for this restaurant close to our apartment. It has a tourist trap vibe, but the prices were reasonable and the food was excellent. Also, you are hard-pressed to find a restaurant in Venice that doesn't cater to tourists. After all, there are only about fifty thousand residents who live on Venice's 118 islands full-time according to Wikipedia. 

For this dinner, I ordered beef medallions with mushroom sauce and a glass of house wine. The beef was tender and the sauce was rich with oh-so-fresh mushrooms. 

Mauricio opted for the filet with cheese sauce. We shared a side of potatoes. Because both meals were so enticing we also shared our entrees! For a restaurant that gets rave reviews over their pizza, the steak was perfect. The filet was so tender it could be cut with a fork. 

Steak does not come up on their regular menu so I consider it such luck we were able to order one that was perfectly done.

On one of our days out sightseeing, we had skipped breakfast so decided to stop for lunch a little further out. Many places were getting ready to close up until dinner, so we had to make a quick choice or risk not eating until a few hours later! We stopped at Trattoria Da Gianni. 

The first sign was that the waiter was not very friendly. Most waiters in Venice are over-the-top friendly and you have to shoo them away. We were just hungry and tired, so we both ordered the steak and chips. 

I could tell as soon as I cut into it, it was going to be tough. I took one bite and it was like chewing on jerky. Based on the demeanor of the waiter, I knew better than to complain, lest we be escorted out with empty stomachs. To say this steak was bland would be a compliment. 

I think I got through about 4 bites of mine, forcefully chewing, and Mauricio stopped after one bite. The waiter obviously knew we were not pleased with the food but did not ask why. We managed to stave off our hunger with fries and moved on, dreaming of the pizza that was to come.