Stefan’s plane left from Venice on Saturday, so we decided we’d drive down there and have lunch.
Yes, we’d just stop in Venice for lunch.
Who ever heard of such a thing?!
On the way down in the car, we made a list of all our top things we wanted: lunch, gelato and espresso. So we did it exactly right. We parked, by chance, in the tronchetto parking lot on the outside of town near where the cruise ships dock. The vaporetto took us around along the outside of town, not through the Grand Canal. If you have never been to Venice, going through the Grand Canal first is probably a good introduction. For us, this was perfect because I wanted to go to the residential Dorsoduro neighborhood for lunch and the best gelato on the planet.
We had the best meal I’ve eaten in Venice yet right on Campo Santa Margherita at a little (nameless?) place next to an Irish Pub that had St Patty’s Day signs up. The best gelato in the world is there on the campo, though most people think it’s got to be further south (like in Rome or Florence).
It’s not. I know this because I have eaten gelato nearly everywhere. The summer I studied Italian in Florence my daily lunch time assignment was to come back with a review of a new gelateria. Every single day. That’s a lot of gelato. So I feel I can definitively say the best gelato is in a place called “Il Doge” on Campo Santa Margherita. I don’t understand how they get the flavors so rich and strong. The chocolate is almost black. I had nocciola, too, but wish now I’d had caffe.
We strolled through the residential neighborhood near the gelato joint then made our way over the giant, wooden Accademia bridge into the heart of Venice. We made our way St. Mark’s Square and had ten dollar espressos at Caffe Florian, sitting in the sun. It was totally worth ten dollars. The orchestra played a waltz then a polka. I was happy to be there with a man who can dance. We are living the good life, he and I.
