This year's trip was a whirlwind - we visited 27 hotels in just 13 days - and we stayed in 10 of them!!! hard work, but someone has to do it! Now that we are back and starting to feel rested and have been able to digest all we saw and experienced, we have compiled it for you in the blog.
For this year's trip, I asked that my travel companion, (and mother) Lee Robinson, (who is a fantastic writer and lover of Italy) to help with my blog entries. She has never done this before and this is her first try. Please let us know what you think - but go easy on her :) Enjoy!
Arriving
jet-lagged in the fairyland of Venice, the Londra Palace is a very welcome
sight. Our large and luxurious room and bath exude the promise of
comfort; our the balcony overlooks the Grand Canal; and the Lagoon which is
alive with an array of vaporettos, ferries of every size and type, as well as
gondolas navigating the busy ‘chop’.
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| The Londra Palace welcomes us! |
Looking down on the crowded Riva degli Schiavoni with its waves of tourists can be daunting; and the ‘toot’ of a tugboat brings us to the window as it gently nudges a vast cruise ship down the channel to its berth at the Port – a scene which is a other worldly with the ancient back drop of a virtually unchanged ancient Venice.
The staff is friendly and attentive as we settle into the hotel’s sidewalk café for our first gelato and Campari soda and a Bellini while we watch the passing parade.
The next morning, after a refreshing deep sleep we are awakened again by a tug as yet another floating city gently glides by. After a few hours of exploring the intriguing back streets, alleys and climbing the many arched bridges over the canals we buy some funky and beautiful Murano glass jewelry and return to the Londra and change hotels. Most of this trip will be just one night in each hotel; and as much as we hate to leave the ‘cushy’ Londra Palace, we pull our bags two doors down the Riva to meet Jacapo Derai at the front desk of the Hotel Savoia and Jolanda . Again our new junior suite ‘digs’ are light and bright with a balcony and luxurious bath with a carwash-like shower. I could get very used to this.
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| View from our suite at the Savoia and Jolanda |
Our lunch today is at a neighborhood fish restaurant for pasta with a mountain of baby clams (in their shells) in a delicious garlic and olive oil sauce; and a baccala with polenta. We stop to see the Palazzo Priuli, a really beautiful palace with lots of Venetian stained glass. Located in the maze of canals the Pruili is a step back in time featuring lots of original architectural detail including some beautiful stained glass windows and where at the front door gondolas are creating a bit of a traffic jam with competing singing gondoliers. How’s that for atmosphere?
And
on we go to visit the very charming Locanda Vivaldi which is also on the Riva
with rooms fronting the lagoon, as well as its own canal gondola
entrance. One can easily picture a gondola collecting you in a ball gown
for a costume ball at one of the Grand Canal palazzos. The manager,
Stefano, graciously suggests we take their vaporetto to see their recently restored
Palazzo Stern…what a treat! We incur stares from passing ferries as the
vaporetto is sleek with lots of mahogany ‘bright work’, shiny brass, and is
outfitted with easy chairs slip-covered in off-white canvas. A short ride
down the Grand Canal brings us to an understated but grand palazzo with a
charming terrace right on the canal. The hotel’s manager, Emanuel, who
joins us on the terrace for an espresso and a sweet shares his impressive
knowledge of the history of Palazzo Stern. We are then joined by Roberto,
whose family has recently completed a multi-year restoration of this lovely
family villa. The palazzo is located in the Accamdemia neighborhood of
Dorsoduro, perfect for ‘culture vultures’ who want to visit the Guggenheim and
other museums. As it is away from the hustle and bustle experienced by
hotels fronting the busy lagoon, this sophisticated yet understated hotel where
‘no corners have been cut’ in this restoration, is truly an elegant property
with generous-sized rooms, and a roof top hot-tub overlooking the Venice
skyline which is chock full of church spires and views into charming canal-side
gardens, as well as the distant mountains. The hotel has no restaurant,
but the surrounding charming neighborhood of tiny piazzas offers many good
choices.
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| Palazzo Stern from our private boat |
Our
last night, we walk along the canals to the Rialto bridge, which is more
spectacular at night. We pick an anonymous restaurant and have a good
dinner of roasted pork and fegato di Venezia and then wander Rialto’s tony
shopping street and find our way back to the Piazza San Marco, which is a
reverie at night. Always populated, this warm night two orchestras are
giving a concert of popular European classics, with San Marco’s gorgeous uplit
façade as a backdrop.
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| San Marco - during the day |
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