Just D.I.N.K.ing Around: Trattoria da Romano

The hotel has a nice inner courtyard where we met each morning for coffee and breakfast. There was also a bar and each common room of the hotel was still frozen in time.

Over the last week, we have procured quite of bit of souvenirs and other goods, so we decided to ship some of it home rather than paying for luggage overages... or additional luggage. Christal has already bought one additional bag for the return trip. :)
So our mission today was to go to the ufficio postale to research shipping pricing, get boxes, etc.
We asked the hotel where the post office was and once I was finished with my coffee, we were off.
Strikes are very common in Italy, but when we got to the post office, it was completely closed, as in stripped clean and non-existent. We were all in such disbelief that we all took turns staring in the windows at the emptiness.
We eventually found a post office, researched the prices, and bought sei (six) boxes. Long story... don't get me started... but the incredibly lazy lady at the counter didn't speak English, yet she didn't understand Italian either. Actually, she might not have been able to read time either, because she was always on lunch.

Time for more sightseeing. We hit the Rialto bridge area again for some lunch.

As I mentioned earlier and as you most likely already know, there are no roads in Venice. Each of the 118 islands are connected by a little over 350 bridges and the bridge project wasn't completed until about 1854. Until then, each island was fairly independent.

All business was and is completed by water, so we began taking pictures of all of the service "boats".

Polizia Locale:

In the foreground is a Traghetto. These are used solely to cross the channel in groups for only a few Euro per person and it is traditional for all to stand.

In the background is the Vaporetto, which is the bus of Venice along with the "bus station".

A garbage boat. The arm would pick up the garbage container and the bottom would open automatically by placing it on the pedestal over the opening.

Fedex! Seriously!

Fuel boat.

A luggage boat. These boats would take your luggage only and deliver it to your hotel. We opted to fill our water taxi with the luggage and ourselves.

Grocery delivery for ristorantes. Note the vats of wine!

Laundry Service Boat.

Christal's pick for the trip... Cimitero Cemetery. So a stop at San Michele Cemetery Island was in order. I really enjoyed the tiny cemetery at St. Paul's Chapel in downtown Manhattan along Trinity Wall Street, so I was excited to see an ancient cemetery in Europe that consumed a walled island.

As I began to take photographs furiously after getting off of the water taxi, we soon saw the signs that photographs were illegal out of respect to the deceased, so most of the trip around the island produced poor incognito hip shot photos.
As we ventured deeper into the island, the number of tourists and family members dwindled to the point that we could snap a few shots while maintaining a level of respect.

Quick shout out to the public servants!

The island of Murano.
Murano is know around the world for it's glass blowing. Several trades in Venice consume their own island for fire safety.
The word "ghetto" is actually a Venetian word for copper. The copper foundries were isolated to their own island to prevent a devastating fire that could consume the rest of Venice.
The kilns in Murano, although on a smaller scale, were isolated as well.

Murano owns up to what Venice truely is... a city in elegant decay. The paint on the homes has dulled and the only tourists are the ones that get off of the water taxis while they are on their way to Burano (where we are headed as well.)

Immediately after getting off of the Vaporetto, a headhunter, as I like to call them, quickly herded us toward a glass demonstration. We followed along. Another headhunter greeted us just outside the door to the show. "Last show of the day. 3 Euros each."
"Yeah, right." I thought to myself.
We all looked at each other and then Davin said, "Let's do it. I just made an executive decision."
We all went in and watched the glass blower and his apprentice make a vase, then a fish, and then the Ferrari horse. Each in about 5 minutes. Just enough time before the glass cooled and hardened.

I told the group after the show that I had no interest in blown glass whatsoever, but after seeing what they were capable of doing in such a short amount of time, I was truly amazed and awe-inspired.

They used pliers, tins snips, etc. to mold, cut and texture the glass as they continued to turn the piece as it drooped back and forth in its quickly solidifying state. To see them set the horse on its back legs as they snip off the end of the tail to leave it free standing when it was still succumbing to gravity only a few seconds ago was mind blowing.

The apprentice will spend 10-15 YEARS helping with details like the ring of glass around the vase in the previous picture before they go out of their own... Incredible.

Laundry, laundry, and more laundry in the isolated islands that make up Murano as we made our way to Burano.

The trip to Burano is not a short one. It is probably 90 Euro each way by taxi, but we used our Venice Pass to take the trek via a Vaporetto, which made for a calm scenic stroll.

Burano has taken a slightly different approach to its tourism. In addition to being world famous for lace making, they have repainted the homes in the traditional colors, so it is a vibrant city of color.

Leaning towers are very common in Venice. The islands are made up of millions, yes millions of alder trees driven into the mud. The Venetians fled to the marshes and bogs to escape the Barbarians. In order to build homes, they needed to establish a foundation to build upon and with a lack of oxygen deep underneath the mineral rich water, the wood of the buried trees petrified in the mud and established a foundation to build upon, but centuries later, the city IS sinking... partly due to a rising global tide, but also due to a slightly settling foundation.

Next stop, Da Romano!
Da Romano is on our radar thanks to an episode of Anthony Bourdain that was filmed in Venice where he raved about the risotto at Da Romano. Italian cuisine is simple and this dish is no different. It is made from only about 4 ingredients and one of them is only found in the area of the Burano islands.
After our long trek and a full day, we finally arrived at Da Romano... to find it closed.

In the hopes that Da Romano simply wasn't opened due to the late hour at which the locals eat dinner, I quickly asked a local if Da Romano was closed on Mondays (many museums are closed on Mondays) or when it opened for the evening.
He responded that it should be open in a short while, much to our relief.

As we waited, we got to witness another Italian tradition...La Passeggiata. The Walk.
With small apartments, there isn't much space to hang around in the living room, so Italians socialize by hanging out at the local fountains, parks, and by simply walking up and down the main streets with family and friends.

After awhile, a little bit of movement started to stir at Da Romano, so the smiles quickly returned.

Da Romano wasn't originally famous for its risotto. It is more famous for the generosity of it's owners.
Due to the unique beauty of Burano's brightly colored homes of the fisherman, artists soon came to Burano to paint, draw, etc.
In true "starving artist" fashion, the artists would provide artwork in return for a meal at Da Romano, so the walls are covered with artwork from very famous artists.
With only two exceptions, we have been sitting outside at each restaurant, but we wanted to sit inside at Da Romano and I think the servers... and owners noticed. While waiting for the next course, or during a course, we kept looking at the pieces on the walls and the names of the artists.
The inside was empty. Any other tourists that visited wanted to sit outside and they were in a hurry, of course... Ugh.

Eventually the server asked us if we were visiting "due to Bourdain". We replied that we were and they were immediately appreciative. A quick side note is that I had read reviews about Da Romano that said that Da Romano was annoyed by the tourists that visited due to the show and that may have been true at one time, but they would truly embrace it and us this evening. More to come on this, but that is why I don't trust reviews on the Internet, except the ones with poor grammar and typos. Those are the most reliable ones.

There's no need to look at the menu just yet, we asked for a recommendation for a regional red to go with our seafood. We were pleased with the recommendation.

As usual, we ordered the assorted seafood appetizer and some Acqua Panna to start.
The food quickly started to arrive. Eel, sea snails, cuttlefish, crab cakes, etc.

Time to order.

Let's see... what should I order?

Hmm. I wonder if they have seafood risotto here?

As the meal progressed, the son of the owner came out and spoke with us. He appreciated our interest in Da Romano and he pointed out his mom in the back. Another server brought out a photo album that showed pictures from the annual flood in Venice that came right up to the front door.
In Venice, life goes on during the annual flood, people just wear waders.

The risotto is made here in a very unique way by slamming the pot on the stove as it cooks to stir it. We were ordering for four, but they will cook it for orders up to about 10 people, so the tower of risotto can get several feet high in the air.
On a whim, we asked the owner's son if we could sneak a peak in the kitchen while they were making it and much to my surprise, he agreed. We even shot some video of the action.