Almost vegan in Venice I

We landed the next morning at the port of Ancona on the east coast of Italy. It was most of a day’s drive north to get to Venice. Our hotel was on the mainland, so after dropping things off, we drove across the bridge to the entrance of the city. We took a water taxi up the Grand Canal to get to our dinner at a restaurant inside an unassuming little waterside inn. They poured us red wine in these ginormous glasses.



I said it before and I’ll say it again—the Italians, not surprisingly, make superb marinara sauces. This one was probably my favorite of the trip.



Alongside that, I got yet another antipasto platter.



Dessert was a slice of vanilla-hazelnut ice cream terrine topped with caramel sauce.



After dinner we walked right outside the inn and got on another water taxi for our Venice-by-night canal cruise. The oohing and aahing was nonstop (as with the Seine cruise in Paris) as we whizzed through the inky sea past building after beautiful lit-up waterside building.



Our cruise wrapped up near the Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs), and from there it was a short walk to the magnificent St. Mark’s Square.



We were the envy of the Square as we relaxed at the tables we’d reserved on the terrace of a ritzy restaurant, sipping bellinis and munching on crunchy snacks.



The sky had been overcast that afternoon and the air had been moist throughout the evening. We expected rain the next day, but we never could have predicted the tempest that was in store for us...
To be continued!