Month: September 2015

I had lunch today at the Taverna San Trovaso, near the southern end of the Accademia Bridge. I try to have at least one meal here every time I visit Venice because it’s so reliably good. 

What you’re looking at is Mezzalune ai Porcini ed Olio Tartufato (homemade ravioli stuffed with porcini mushrooms and truffle oil). I suspected that it was going to be fabulous so I deliberately avoided an appetizer or pre-meal bread. Mama mia! The first bite flowered across my mouth, bloomed into my head, and quickened my pulse. What an amazing dish! I paused between almost every bite to savor how good it was. It was incredible and after finishing it I didn’t want to leave my table for a long time because doing so would break the spell. If you come to Venice, you must try this taverna.

I’ve passed the Doge’s Palace many times in my Venice visits and finally went in for this first time today. This was where the elected head of the Venetian Republic (the Doge) lived and where the governing councils met. A kind of White House/Capitol Hill combo. It’s smaller, of course, but makes up for it with lavish decor.

Apparently, they wanted everyone to keep their eyes on heaven, or at least on the best approximation of it that large-scale paintings and several tons of gold leaf could manage.

 

 
They had a fire that required a complete interior do-over in the 1500s, and we see the result of that effort today. One goal was to impress upon foreign trade envoys that they were dealing with the World Leader in commerce and luxury.

 

 
I focused my camera upward mostly but the rooms themselves also had ornate marble fireplaces, richly-tiled floor mosaics, and extravagant wall treatments.

  
For the 1300-1500s, the Venetians were remarkably democratic (if you were from a patrician family) and had an orderly, elected succession of Doges. The paintings are primarily devoted to religious scenes and the city’s great achievements in trade and battle. Along with about 80 other painters, Titian, Tintoretto, and Bellini all got large commissions during the post-fire renovation.

  
And this is the Big One, the Great Council Room, one of the largest rooms in Europe in its day. The Doge would preside over a council of as many as 2,000 members (all from patrician families – common folk were not invited). He was also advised by two other lesser councils. The artwork and ceiling are just amazing!

I was going to take the tour of the basement prison and the “Bridge of Sighs” but at the last minute I noticed a small sign informing the public that the ceiling height was 2 meters (just about 6 feet) in many corridors. That sounded a bit claustrophobic to me, so I decided to just enjoy the bridge from outside. 

The selfie stick, that extensible cell phone holder/wand that provides a little longer picture-taking perspective, is so common in the U.S. that it’s almost been declared passe. It’s alive and well here in the European tourist areas, though. OK, on the face of it, there’s nothing wrong with a compact, collapsible tool that lets you take a better photo. I’d love to be the person who thought of it and is probably making a fortune from the idea. 

  
But… my difficulty comes from users who never collapse it. They walk around with their phones at the end of a 30″ stick, at all times in all sorts of crowds, oblivious to the danger posed to others. I’ve nearly been poked in the face a few times. It also seems like they’re just holding their $500 smart phone out on a platter for thieves. Sadly, there is still no common sense requirement for getting a passport.

  
San Marco Plaza is shown above late in the day, with the Basillica and the Campanille in stylistic contrast with one another. The ubiquitous pigeons, those “rats with wings” as New Yorkers have it, still rule and visitors still feed them. The weather is comfortably cool and easy – really nice. My travels here from Paris took 7 hours door-to-door and only involved a 1:20 flight. The rest of the time involved train, bus, and boat trips, and security checks.

Amusing Scene: White-jacketed waiters at the empty, fancy (over-priced, mundane food, surly service) restaurant with the power-awning, chilled seafood display case, and table cloths, staring wistfully at the little dive bar across the calle where I sit, the one that’s packed to the gills with customers happily enjoying the $2 piccolo of wine and low-price cicchetti.

 

 
And here’s something you don’t see every day in Venice:

  
Give this scene any romantic caption you like! The truth is they’re models in an advertising photo shoot. It was interesting watching her navigate the tourist hordes and bridges in her wedding dress. 

This is just a remarkably nice Sunday in Paris, with cool temps and bright sunshine. This is a day for being out in the city and everyone is making the most of it.  

In additi0n to enjoying the “day without cars”, people are flocking into the parks. 

  

 

Luxembourg Garden is truly one of the nicest, most relaxing places in Paris. The landscaping and plantings are beautiful. There are also great swards of perfectly-maintained grass – which no one is allowed on.

  
A busking treat: Olivier Franc on the tenor sax on the sidwalk with pianist. Great, soulful music that echoed in the buildings. Check him out in this video with Wynton Marsalis: http://youtu.be/qBkF_priCUE

And that will wrap it up for my 2015 visit to the City of Light. Tomorrow: the Charles deGaulle airport scrum and on to Venice!

Yes, we mostly know this tower by a different name but my Parisian friend Phil insists it’s his wife Marti’s tower and who am I to disagree?

Lines to get into the tower have lately become absurdly long, so this time I tried the Viator.com “Skip the Line” ticket service and it was fantastic. We walked from our assembly point, past an hour-long line, right into an empty security lane, through the metal detector, and onto an elevator. Total wait 3 minutes. I highly recommend you use this service when you come to Paris!

  

  

 

The views from here are always stunning and all of Paris is laid out below you. Truly one of the world’s wonders.

Today is “Paris sans Voiture” day – Paris without cars – in which for a Sunday afternoon only bicycles and pedestrians may use the streets in many areas of the city. 

 
It’s also an extremely fine Fall day and the tourists and Parisians are out in full force to enjoy the experience.

Kind of a bonanza for pedi-cab operators (something I can’t remember seeing here before) and bicycle rental firms.

Well, today I had thought to go visit Saint-Chapelle, and then Pere Lachaise, the Parisian cemetery where Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, and other famous folks are buried, followed by lunch a Le Fine Mousse. However, I got a late start, Saint-Chapelle had a two block-long entry line, and I also discovered that the Le Fine Mousse doesn’t open until 5pm.

So, a change of plans. For someone who is on vacation from his technical writing job, I seem to be spending a lot of time posting to my own blog, to Facebook, and to TripAdvisor. There’s no escaping it, I guess. I spent what was left of the morning on this beautiful Paris day people-watching near Notre Dame, futilely monitoring the Saint-Chapelle line, and handing out directions to tourists who somehow recognized me as an English-speaking, knowledgable, friendly sort. My disguise foiled once again! 

In the afternoon I strolled rue Mouffetard, window-shopping the many eateries. Then I found my way to the Wide Open Spaces Bar near the Pantheon. What a great place!

 

 
 

 
I spent a pleasant few hours chatting with the Turkish-born, Architecture PhD candidate bartender and enjoying a few pints. It didn’t hurt that the Rugby World Cup was on the tube, either. Total bliss!

The Word Press app for iPad is proving to be unreliable. I have no idea how this text became formatted as Italic and no idea how to undo it. You’d think by now WP would have this nonsense figured out.

Yesterday I made my usual Orsay and Louvre museums run and, collections aside, they’re such different places. 

  

 
Sadly, my favorite Degas pastels are no longer on display. These are the marvelous drawings of ballet dancers backstage and such. The helpful docent told me that, for conservation purposes, after 3 months on display, they must be sheltered from all light for 3 years! After  communing with the other works of Degas, Monet, and others, I set out for Printemps, one of the major department stores along the Blvd. Haussmann (no relation). Along the way I passed:

 

 
On the 6th floor of Printemps, I settled in for lunch at the Brasserie, under its spectacular cast iron and stained glass dome. 

 

  

 
After a lovely lunch (won’t bore with you with delicious details) and talking myself out of what would have been an expensive visit to the Men’s Dept, I hoofed it back to the Louvre. Sigh… yes, it’s hot and crowded and a labyrinth but man oh man is the art amazing. As usual I visited my favorite David, Delacroix, and Gericault works in the French 19th Century Hall, and spent a bit of time looking at Islamic art (somehow not romantic enough for me). 

The #27 bus got me back to my hotel in time to take the photo above of the Pantheon – very nice at the end of the day when the sun hits it.

More stained glass in my future tomorrow, as I visit Sainte-Chapelle. Stay tuned!

Here are some random thoughts encountered during my recent airport terminal visits and flights:

Luggage Overload – Mindful of the fact that I’ll be lugging my suitcase up and down stairs in places and over cobblestones and of the current fashion for luggage surcharges, I always try to pack lightly. Not Rick Steves’ “lightly” mind you – I still use a 26″ rolling suitcase and a carry-on bag – but I try to keep the suitcase down to 35 lbs. I noticed at several airports that my concerns aren’t shared by everyone. Some folks travel with amazing amounts of overstuffed luggage. Maybe they’re moving to a new home? Maybe they’re richer than Croesus? They’re definitely not loved by everyone waiting in the “Bag Drop” line…

Loving the Takeoff – I love travel and never more so when it begins with a thundering run down a runway. As the plane goes from zero to 180 or so mph in 20 seconds, I always tick off “V1” (when the plane has enough lift for the nose wheel to come up) and then “V2” (when all wheels come off the ground), usually while listening to some rousing music (The Indigo Girls this trip). Then a bit later when the “flaps” are retracted and the ride smoothes out, I’m happily on my way, marvelling at the utter magic of flight.

Craft Beer on Virgin Atlantic – I was delighted to see my favorite beverage appear in the menu on my flight. Among the offerings was something from Old Busthead brewery in Gainesville, VA, where one of my work colleagues performs occasionally in a band. Good beer, that. These are bottled beers only so, sadly, no Mad Fox brews for now.

ORLY vs CDG – I flew from London into Paris Orly airport, rather than Charles deGaulle airport, for the first time on this trip and it’s a much nicer experience. Orly was the original Paris airport and is still very much in use but it’s smaller than CDG and less hectic. The OrlyVal automated rail shuttle takes you from the airport to the RER B rail line for a fast ride into central Paris. Give Orly a thought for your next flight into Paris.

When flying in Upper Class on a Virgin international red-eye, there are several schools of thought. There are the Sleepers, who immediately request a “sleep suit”, pull on a blindfold, and go (or at least try) to sleep. Then there are the Diners, who want to enjoy the benefits of their premium service and figure they won’t get that much sleep anyway. I fall into the latter category and, since you asked, here’s what was on for dinner:

 

  

  

 

Tasty stuff and I was snoozing soon thereafter.