Swiper, non rubare!

I woke up fairly early in the morning, so I decided to get a few pictures from the balcony of our hotel room at Hotel Al Sole.  Notice again, the streets are bare.

As we started to get ready for our first, full day in Venezia, I decided to take in a little Dora the Explorer.  In Italy, the episode is in Italian and the phrases to learn for the day are in English rather than Spanish in the US.  The phrase of the day was "Look Out!" and instead of Swiper, no swiping!  It is "Swiper, non rubare!"

Time to hit the town for a little sightseeing of the elegant decay that is.... Venice.

Time for lunch and more Venetian seafood!  This time we stopped at a little trattoria called A La Bricola.  Rather than bottles of red, house wines, Venice offers carafes of local, white wine.

By the time we were in Venice, I was pretty proficient at ordering an assorted seafood appetizer at every stop.  We would order the appetizer and then see what arrived.  The seafood in Venice has been phenomenal so far and I have been trying anything that they have put in front of me including the tiny little fried "minnows" below.


As we began our meal, Kel took time to check the map.

Look!  Kelly cleaned her plate!

Now she has time to check her map again.

More doors!

Next stop was the Bridge of Sighs.  A stop on everyone's list when they go to Venezia.  The bridge that connects the interrogation rooms at the Doge's Palace with the prison.  The tiny windows are the last view of beautiful Venezia before crossing the bridge into the depths of the prison.

Enough buildup already...  It's time to fight the cruise ship crowd to get a view of the site that we have been waiting for.

Only to find it completely commercialized and pimped out for a gallery display of a fashion designer's photography.

I literally snapped three pictures and headed over to the original Harry's Bar.

The entryway was less than two foot wide and we were greeted by a server that said, "No short pants", so we headed back outside.

Speaking of laundry!

After Harry's Bar, we continued our sightseeing.  Keep in mind that these buildings were not originally hotels or apartment buildings.  These were homes.. of the incredibly wealthy.  The goods for trading were delivered to the ground floor and traded while the majority of the remaining floors were the owner's home.

It's time to do a little shopping, so we headed over to the Rialto Bridge area.

The shops ranged from Venetian masks and jewelry to souvenirs.

In the window below, the window ranged from "Hello Kitty" to...   Hello Kitty.

Ok ladies.  Mark my words, these next fashion statements are on their way to Iowa.
Bold prediction:  The following fashions will be in Iowa by next summer.
#1:  Flashy tights or nylons.


#2:  Big white bloomers under mesh pants.

Just Kidding...
I have been suspecting this all week, because I have seen it quite a bit in Firenze on this trip, but it is all over Venezia.
#2:  Visible bras under shirts.
Most of the time, these are nice, expensive bras that are made to be seen under mesh shirts or tank tops.
Here is an example of one of the worst.
Now, I get the broke college kid in Europe thing, but let's go with the black bra or something lacy.  Not a nude bra that your mom bought you when you were 17 with a backless halter top that was already too small for you two years ago.

Back to something beautiful.  Piazza San Marco.  This was purposely built to show the power of Venice to anyone entering the harbor from the sea to trade.  I don't know if there is a quiet time in San Marco as far as tourists go, but this piazza was packed.

The nightlife in this area involves grabbing an outside table at one of the restaurants and listening to the orchestra.

Keep in mind that everything in Venice has to be completed via the water, so the service vehicles were worth noting.  

A dry cleaning service, a water taxi, and a courtesy public servant photo.

It must be time for more gelato!

Next, a trip back to the hotel room to get ready to go out for the night.

Everyone got to pick something that they had to see or do on this trip.  I am glad that my pick wasn't the bridge of sighs.  I had hoped to see bras, so I am glad that I didn't waste my pick on that because those are everywhere in Italy this year.

Tonight is my pick for the trip:  

Casino di Venezia.  Opened in 1638, it is the oldest casino in the world!

We walked to the casino and we were greeted by what I think was a patch of grass grown specifically for dogs to go outside and since I had recently seen "Get him to the Greek", I was inspired for a "Rub the furry wall" picture, but I didn't actually rub it.

This casino was right out of James Bond.  Suits, tuxes, dresses, and handguns.

Keep in mind that handguns are illegal in Europe, so Davin pulling out his carry permit instead of his driver's license, made for an interesting start to our evening as the person at the front desk asked Davin after a long pause and probably after the pushing of several buttons under the desk, "Are you trying to scare me, sir?"

Once we were settled into the gaming tables, I was the only person making any noise (the American).  There was no pit.  If you needed a drink, the dealer would quietly ring a bell and the server would come over and place a small table beside you for your drink.  If the floor needed to be called, the bell would summon a pit boss.

 We played Blackjack at the table in front of the fireplace below.

For dinner, we tried to take another tiny elevator up to Ristorante Wagner.

Frescoes... chandeliers... beautiful.

After dinner and a little more touring of the building, we decided to move on.  This time we went out toward the water to take the shuttle home.

Oh, I forgot to mention.  I did pretty well that night at the tables that night and several of the chips are going to make their way back to the states with me.

Go to 6/20/11